And so all good things must come to an end. We docked at around 6am and were awake not long after that but still before dawn. We didn’t *have* to be up for a while longer but sleep eluded us. So we got up and showered and tested our projected packing needs. We assumed that everything we had left out would fit into our carry on bags. We were almost right.
Then down to breakfast where I assumed that we would have the opportunity to say good bye to the wait staff who had take such good care of us – especially Mary who had taken on the charge of making sure I didn’t get sick on her watch. But none of the usuals were around. Not that the staff who brought our last breakfast weren’t nice; they just weren’t the “regular” staff. {sigh}
We then grabbed our bags and went to hangout in the lounge waiting for our turn to disembark. We had hoped to find the Canadians that we had spent the week running into and drinking with but that also didn’t happen. Then it was time to wait for our prearranged car to pick us up for the trip into Rome. We had arranged for the driver to meet us at 9am assuming that was a reasonable time yet we were off the ship and waiting at the cruise terminal by just after 8 am. He eventually arrived and found us about 8:25 so we were off to Rome which would take about and hour and 20 minutes because we needed to get to the center of town during morning traffic. While in the car, I got a call from the hotel asking where the driver should meet us at the port. Um, what? Apparently, when I had asked for assistance with getting from the port to the city, they had arranged for someone to pick us up. For some reason, I didn’t get the message about that – although they did send an email! – and had booked and paid someone else to pick us up! Seriously? How long has my brain been on vacation?
We got to the hotel in Rome just after 10am and checked in with a thousand apologies for the mix up. The hotel staff was super nice and very concerned about the situation. They had arranged for a driver to go to to port and he incurred gas, tolls, and other costs just for to be no shows. We decided that it would be fair for us to pay his actual costs which made sure that he wasn’t out of pocket and that the hotel saved face for being the ones who arranged the ride for the flakey tourist. Given how mortified I was about MY mistake, I was glad to have the opportunity to make things right.
We were able to get into our room very early (I think the poor girls on the desk felt bad for us at this point!) and head out to wander the city. We had been to Rome a few years earlier (I’m sure you’ve read all about it here) so we didn’t feel the need to do the typical tourist things. We did have a few items on the agenda – specifically searching for a model of an Alfa Romeo, Frank’s new car. We had Googled a few model shops in Rome and decided to use those as destinations for our transition day. We headed to the train station first to buy our tickets to the airport for tomorrow. Then off to the closest model shop… which didn’t exist.
Travel tip #28: Google isn’t always right.
We checked and rechecked the address and the place that Google quite clearly said was a model shop was, in fact, a diamond store. Not the same thing at all. So we retreated to a cafe for cappuccinos to decide what to do next when the wind picked up, the skies darkened, and then the rain came pouring down. Seriously? What next?
Over the next half hour or so, we made our way along broad tree lined streets by the American embassy jumping from sheltered spot to sheltered spot, be it a restaurant doorway or a tree canopy. We were working our way to the Borghese Museum – a destination I had quickly looked up as a possible place to visit that isn’t on most “Top 10 things to do in Rome” lists but would be a perfect destination in the rain. We made it there relatively dry only to find out that you need to buy tickets in advance and they were sold out. Seriously? What next?
Okay, maybe it was time to try the model idea again. There is another model shop in the north west corner of the city, well out of the tourist district, and we had originally crossed it off the list because of the location. It moved back to the top of the list but we were pressed for time: like many Italian businesses, it would be closed from 1- 4 and we would need to seriously move to make it before closing. Which we did amidst occasional sprinkles with some sun breaking through. And we arrived with 15 minutes to spare only to find that they had a VERY small selection of the kind of models we were in search of. Most were plastic kits or other create-it-yourself items. Seriously? What next?
And now we were destination-less. And hungry. So off to lunch. We found a great place by the Piazza Barberini that did gluten free options. This was no tourist place- down in a basement, we were the only non-Italians in the place. We had a fabulous lunch with excellent house wine and great pasta. Frank had wide noodles with a lamb ragout and I had GF spaghetti carbonara. YUM!
Then it was off for more wandering. Everywhere and no where. From the northeast of the city to the south west, we just walked. We headed back to the hotel late in the afternoon as I had a conference call – a president’s work is never done! – then it was time for a real Roman dinner. We found a restaurant around the corner from our hotel that had allergens clearly marked on their menu. We headed there and had an amazing meal: prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella to start, then steak for me and veal saltimbocca for Frank, followed by creme caramel and tiramisu. All of this accompanied by a lovely Montepulciano d’Abbruzo.
And now it is time to rearrange things in the suitcases to complete the transition from vacation to visit. For tomorrow we abandon sunscreen for sweaters and head to Scotland.
Dubious data for today: 28, 242 steps and 21 floors. (Apparently, that’s almost 12 miles. My feet would agree.)
Nuns spotted: 10
Street markets perused: 2
Bottles of red consumed: 2ish
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