DAY 111

Sunday 30 October 201

We awoke quite early Sunday morning so we could spend as much time as possible on our first day in Rome, though we did not yet know quite how early we actually were getting up. Because of daylight savings, we had lost an hour, making it 5:00 AM instead of 6:00 AM! Charles and Nicole napped more in the car and Dian drove. We got to Happy Village camping where we were able to get a discount thanks to Charles' press pass. We took the next shuttle, offered by the camp for free, into a train station then to Rome. We could not help but notice all the beaming faces that entered the bus, but we guessed that was all a part of the "Happy Camping" experience.

Our first stop? The Spanish Steps! In days gone by, people would have been asked in this spot by artists to be their models. Dian drank from the fountain and we climbed the steps. It was a gorgeous day, even hot, and we ducked in the church at the top for refuge. Outside, we peeled some of our layers of clothes.

Descending the steps, we walked a short way through the chi-chi shopping area, and into the Prada store, where we got a bag!...Well, a paper carrying bag one of the employees kindly gave us to replace our ripping plastic one. Nicole tried on a handsome cream sweater, but they left without any purchases.

Trying on a sweater at Prada

Next stop was Termini station, where many tour buses originated. In the metro station there was a bookstore with English books, so we tried again, without success, to find Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad. It had gotten even hotter at this point, so we took a moment in the store to rearrange the clothes we had shed into our bag.

Circus Maximus

With the recommendation of a tourist information station, and thanks to Dian's parents Joe and Marie Michell's treat, we took the red, 110 Double-Decker, audio-guided, good-for-48-hours tour bus that drove us to almost every one of Rome's major sites and attractions. We had a little down time before the bus arrived, so Nicole walked around and shot pictures of a statue depicting Pop Benedict XVI.

We got seats on the top level of the bus and enjoyed not only the sites and audio tour, but also not having to drive in Rome! Among other sites we saw: The Colosseum, Circus Maximus, Victor Emmanuel II Monument, Hadrian's Arch and The Forum.

Sitting under an open sky, it began to get a little chilly, so Nicole started going through our bag to get her orange sweater and scarf. They were nowhere to be found. Our minds raced trying to remember where they were. Luckily, Nicole saw the sculpture of the Pope, and we ran back to where we thought the items might still be in the bookstore. Success! There the clothes were, laying next to the clerk behind the counter. We thanked him vigorously, and his honesty boosted our opinion of Romans once again.

Dian hiding unnecessarily in shame

Stomachs grumbling, we lunched at a real local eatery with good food and great prices. It was mainly Indian food, and the portions were so good we even had leftovers! As twilight descended, we took a "night" tour on our bus again, stopping at the Colosseum. Sadly, it was closed, but at least we got to see it up close along with Hadrian's Arch.

Taking a walk around the area, though a bit more removed from the teeming crowds and incessant vendors, we met Mario, a musician playing classical guitar music with a beauty and maturity so great that we sat and listened for a long while.

We walked back to the Metro station closest to Circus Maximus, but Dian was finally snagged by one of the street vendors selling scarves, and she bought a beautiful cut velvet one.

Finally arriving at the stop where the Happy Village shuttle came, we were just too late, so we waited around the hour and a half for the next one, with a scoop of gelato to pass the time, we eventually got home. All in all it was a great introduction to Rome.

Mario