Parisian Paradise

The bed at Hotel 7 was the most comfortable we’d slept on the entire trip, but despite the good night’s rest, Kyle woke up not feeling well. Perhaps it was our constant activity (yes, we know we’ve squeezed a lot in to this trip!) or lack of sleep, but I knew it wasn’t good since Kyle doesn’t get sick often. He had a slight fever, his lymph nodes were swollen and his mouth hurt, but being the trooper that he is, he said he’d take some Tylenol, drink some water and keep going. He decided that if he was still feeling sick, he’d go see a doctor when we went home in just a couple of days.

Powering on, we walked to the nearby market to get croissants from the boulangerie. The croissants were light, flaky, and buttery all at the same time. They practically melted in our mouths. Like the sandwiches we had in Florence, these first croissants in Paris are a food memory we will always cherish.

Over coffee Kyle asked what I wanted to do while in Paris, and I immediately rattled off a list of 10 “must dos.” A bit overwhelmed, we prioritized the list knowing that there’s no way we could do everything in just the 3 days we had left—we already knew we’d just have to come back!

At the top of the “must do” list was the Louvre. We took the Metro (which would soon become our best friend in Paris) and waited in line with thousands of other tourists to get in. This would be the first of many long lines we would wait in, which led Kyle to deem Paris as “adult Disneyland.” Once inside, the museum was completely packed. We went straight to the Egyptian art section to see the many artifacts and sarcophagi.

As we made our way to the section housing the Mona Lisa, we walked by a stunning statue called “The Winged Victory of Samothrace.” We walked through the Greek and Roman antiquities and Italian paintings where we arrived at the Mona Lisa. We were forewarned that the painting was smaller than you’d expect, and it definitely was! The room was filled to capacity with onlookers snapping photos and pushing their way to the front to get a better view of the painting. The experience was not as sublime as I expected as there were far too many people crammed in the room to really enjoy the moment.

Soon after we left the Louvre, we went off the beaten path to find a place to eat lunch. We stumbled on a small café filled with what appeared to be locals. We sat down and knew we’d picked a good spot when everyone greeted one another just like Cheers in the U.S. The menu was in French, so thumbing through our guidebook, we guessed at what we were ordering. We were delighted to be served an unbelievably tasty meal of a cheese plate appetizer, a green salad with smoked salmon and caviar, and grilled salmon with roasted potatoes. While completely different from Italy, the food in Paris was already proving to be equally outstanding!

The two-day Museum Pass we purchased would give us access to more than 50 museums and attractions in the city and cut the line at certain places (much like a fast pass at Disneyland). The next spot on the “must do” list was Sainte-Chapelle to see the stained glass windows. This 13th century Gothic church was commissioned by France’s King Louis IX to house his collection of the Passion relics, including Jesus’ Crown of Thorns. The church was breathtaking inside, with more than 15 nearly floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows in the upper chapel. The details on the windows were so precise and intricately painted. When the sun shone through, it reflected the most gorgeous colors on the hardwood floors.

Next we headed to Notre Dame. We had seen the church from the outside the night before, but the inside of this Gothic church was gorgeous. While much darker than the illuminating stained glass of Sainte-Chapelle, you could feel the rich history of Notre Dame. Praying in the pews felt like connecting to spirits of the past.

Our pass also included access the towers of Notre Dame. We waited in line again (are you sensing a theme here?), where we met a couple from Huntington Beach, California. It turns out that the man works for Aerospace Corporation, directly across from Kyle’s building in El Segundo. What a small world yet again! We climbed the steps of Notre Dame where at the top we could see the gargoyles up close and amazing views of the city. What a surreal experience to be on top of Notre Dame looking down at Paris below! We visited the bell tower before descending the narrow spiral staircase.

By now it was 6 p.m. Paris time on American Independence Day. Normally at this time we would be biking down the boardwalk to Redondo Beach for our annual Fourth of July barbeque at our dear friend Sandra’s house. We decided we’d celebrate the holiday by having a picnic at the Eiffel Tower. We stopped at little specialty shops along the way where we picked up a baguette, grapes, a cucumber and tomato salad, salami, roast beef for Kyle and roast chicken for me. We brought the bottle of champagne the hotel had given us for our troubles the night before and set out for our Fourth of July picnic.

We found a spot on the grass just south of the Eiffel Tower and set out our spread. We sat and took in the view and munched on our meal for over an hour. The lawn soon filled with other picnickers, travelers and locals alike. We relaxed here until the sun set after 10 p.m. so that we could see the twinkle lights of the tower (up close this time!).

After relishing in the light show, we packed up our picnic and decided to round out our Fourth of July celebration by going to visit Harry’s Bar that American writers F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway frequented in the 1920s. Stepping inside brought me back to my English major days of undergrad, studying The Great Gatsby and In Our Time. Knowing that these great American authors had once clinked glasses here gave me chills. The dark wooden walls of the bar were decorated with at least a hundred pennants from American universities. Kyle said that next time we come to Paris we should bring one from USD to hang on the wall.

We only had time to stay for one drink as the last train was leaving at 12:30 a.m. We ran back to the station just in time. Although we didn’t have fireworks or apple pie, we still managed to have a very memorable Fourth of July celebration!

Ciao Italia, Bonjour Paris!

We left Rome early in the morning to fly to Paris. We were sad to leave Italy, but excited to explore a new city and try new cuisine. Things at the Rome airport moved very slowly as the security line and boarding took double the amount time it would normally take in the U.S. It was a good thing we get to the airport early, but the downside was we were so tight on time that we didn’t get a chance to eat breakfast before boarding the plane.

After a bit of a delay, we arrived in Paris at about 1 p.m. and called the hotel to ask the best way to get there from the Orly airport. We took the RER bus and transferred to the Metro where we took the subway to the Corvisart stop, as they suggested. The hotel recommended we call again when we get off the Metro so that they could explain the easiest way to walk from the subway stop. But this time when we called we spoke to a different person at the hotel who said we should actually get back on the Metro and transfer to a different train line to get off on a closer exit. Since we had already exited the subway and didn’t want to pay for another ticket, we looked at a map and decided the location would be close enough to walk—that is if set off in the right direction!

We hauled our 50 pound suitcases and backpacks down the busy sidewalk, only to realize after about a half of a mile that we had gone the wrong direction. At this point it was close to 2:30 p.m., and I had my first (and luckily for Kyle only) meltdown of the trip. I was starving and we were lost lugging heavy suitcases down a city we didn’t know, trying to ask people for help in a language we couldn’t speak. I’m hoping this is normal for most travelers—that at some point in your journey you reach a breaking point. But I will admit that my hunger and exhaustion got the best of me. Finally, toughing it out, we found our hotel.

We were staying at Hotel 7 for two nights, a boutique hotel near the Latin Quarter. When we arrived they said they were having “electrical problems” and could not let us into our room. We didn’t mind as long as we could leave our bags and go in search of food. The hotel manager pointed us to a nearby market on an old street called Rue de L’Arbalete.

This street was bustling with specialty vendors selling bread, meats, cheeses, fresh produce, seafood and baked goods. If only we had such a market in Los Angeles! At the end of the street we found a small café with tartines (open-faced sandwiches) on the menu. Just what we were looking for! We sat at a small table outside so that we could people watch as we enjoyed our meal. Kyle ordered chicken and cheese and I had smoked salmon and avocado. They were incredibly tasty (and I don’t think it’s just because we were starving!). The sandwiches came with a delicious green salad with light lemon dressing. For dessert I ordered a cappuccino, and we just sat and relaxed taking in the scenery. I felt a million times better after eating and revitalized by the energy and the beauty around us! This was more like it!

We returned to the hotel to find mass chaos. Electricity was still an issue and the manager had to take us to our room as the key cards still weren’t working. Then when I went to take a shower, the drain didn’t function properly and I nearly flooded the bathroom floor! Kyle ran downstairs to get towels, and the hotel assured us that they would clean up the mess and fix the drain when we went out for the night. They offered us a bottle of champagne as a consolation. Cheers to that!

A bit frazzled by the chaos at the hotel, we raced out at 6 p.m. to take the Metro to the Eiffel Tower, which was the meeting point for our bike tour of the city we would take that night. When we arrived at the Eiffel Tower, the sheer size took our breath away. Seeing this iconic landmark in person was both stunning and surreal.

We met the guide from Fat Tire Bike Tours at the south pillar of the tower. There were about 20 people in our tour group. They outfitted us with bicycles and reflective vests (very cool looking…we didn’t stand out as tourists at all!) and we set off on our way. The guide took us through the streets of Paris, past the Louvre, pointing out and stopping at major sites along the way. When we reached Notre Dame, we parked our bikes and got an ice cream. We ate the most amazing salted caramel ice cream as we looked over at Notre Dame—unbelievably amazing!

The bike tour ended with a boat ride over the Seine River. This was the perfect way to get spectacular views of Paris at night (that is when the sun finally set after 10 p.m.!) We passed by the Louvre and the Orsay museums that were beautifully lit with floodlights, and even got to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle with thousands of tiny twinkle lights that illuminate nightly at 10, 11 and 12 p.m. The boat ride sealed the deal—just a few hours in to our first day here and we had already fallen in love with Paris. We borh agreed that it is the most beautiful city we’ve ever seen.

We couldn’t have thought of a better way to spend our first night in Paris. We loved the chance to get an introduction to the city by bike and by boat. We highly recommend the Fat Tire Bike Tours to anyone who’s planning a visit to Paris!

Our Last Day in Roma

Our last day in Rome started at 10 a.m. as we toured the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Our tour guide shared the violent history of the Colosseum. It was eerie to stand in a space where killing was a spectacle sport and so many people and animals had brutally lost their lives. Despite the tragic nature of the setting, the building itself was quite impressive. Built more than 2,000 years ago, the fact that even some of the structure is still standing today was unbelievable. We learned that the Colosseum actually had a retractable roof that workers moved on tethers—what an advanced system! We also learned that the Colosseum is the most pillaged site in Rome, which you can see by the holes where looters dug into the limestone to extract the metal.

I was even more impressed by the Roman Forum, where archaeologists have uncovered ancient ruins from the times of Julius Caesar and Emperor Augustus. Walking through ancient ruins was also an unusual feeling, but remarkable to see what people so many thousands of years ago were able to construct. It was exciting to see the archaeologists at work excavating ancient ruins from the ground below. What an incredible day at the office that would be!

The tour ended at 1 p.m. and by now the heat was sweltering again. We took the bus back to our neighborhood and decided we needed to correct the bad sandwich experience we had last night and find something that could rival the deliciousness of what we ate in Florence. There was a carniceria next to our hotel that smelled delicious every time we walked by. We popped in to discover that they offered sandwiches with fresh bread, meats cured at in the shop and different types of cheeses. For just 9 euro, we got one spicy salami and cheese sandwich, one regular salami and cheese sandwich and two giant bottles of water. Why hadn’t we eaten here every day for lunch?

We took our sandwiches and walked to the Pantheon. As we rounded the corner we were amazed that we had not yet seen this incredible structure. We sat on some steps at a bank across from the entrance to the Pantheon and ate our sandwiches while looking at this beautiful monument. The sandwiches were absolutely delicious (Kyle thought they were on par with those in Florence!). Then we went inside the Pantheon, which has a gorgeous dome that Brunelleschi studied to construct the Duomo in Florence. We saw Raphael’s tomb here (one of the world’s greatest painters) as well as the first two kings of Rome. Walking around the outside of the Pantheon, we could see remnants of the ancient city below that had been built on top of over the years.

We did some more souvenir shopping and then took a short siesta. For dinner we went to a top-rated restaurant in Rome called Matricianella. We ate a memorable meal of insalata with pear and pecorino cheese, penne arrabiata, fettuccini carbonara and eggplant parmigiano. For dessert, we went to our favorite gelato place, Il Ciampini, and each enjoyed a blackberry and lemon cone.

To celebrate our last night in Italy, we went on the romantic “Night Walk Across Rome” that Rick Steves published in his travel guide. We opened a bottle of Montalcino wine and walked from the Campo de’ Fiori to the Spanish Steps. Along the way we stopped at the Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Piazza Colonna, Via del Corso and the Trevi Fountain (this time Kyle tossed in a coin, wishing for a return trip to Italy). The sites and fountains are beautifully lit along the way. At the end of the walk, we sat on the Spanish Steps looking out on the street below. When Kyle asked if I was ready to go back to the hotel, I teared up knowing that meant our trip was over and we’d be waking up early to head to the airport. We stayed until the polizia ushered everyone out at midnight.

And that, my friends, was our arrivederci a Italia.

An Unforgettable Day—Part 2

This is part two of the Unforgettable Day—Euro Cup Championship Game.

As soon as we left the Vatican Kyle was eager to watch the championship game of the 2012 Euro Cup in the main square that we heard would be filled with Italian fans. Kyle read online that the game would start at 1:30 p.m., so we raced back to the hotel to change. (We bought blue Italia shirts from a street vendor to share in the excitement with the crowd.)

The hotel told us that the game would be shown in the Circo Massimo (the ancient circus grounds where chariots used to race). This was a long walk from our hotel but equally far from a Metro, so we took the streets on foot. I struggled to keep up with Kyle’s long legs as he looked at the map to lead us to a part of the city we hadn’t yet explored.

We walked so briskly that we arrived at the site in less than 30 minutes only to find it completely empty except for one lone fan. This man was shirtless in the middle of the empty space, waving an Italian flag and yelling, “VIVA ITALIA!” at the top of his lungs. (He was surely on drugs.) Confused, Kyle said, “I don’t understand…The website said the game was at 1:30.” We walked over to the tents where the TV cameras were setting up, and I asked a man what time the game would start and he said “20:45” (or 8:45 p.m.). Turns out Kyle had read the time on the United States ESPN website (which meant the game time was 1:30 p.m. Eastern time). D’OH! Since we were now 7 hours early for the game, we decided to go find a nice restaurant for lunch.

On a road just off the beaten path from the Colosseum, we found a restaurant with a
shaded outdoor patio. We sat down to enjoy one of the best meals of our trip so far. For antipasti, we ordered the fried artichoke, zucchini, cod and octopus plate. As Kyle put it, the fried cod tasted like “the best fish and chips ever!” For the main course, Kyle ordered lemon linguini with roe and zucchini, and I had risotto scampi. Both dishes were unique and scrumptious. We enjoyed a cold beer in the shade and then went on our way.

We had plenty of time to get some sightseeing and shopping in after lunch. We stopped at Piazza Venezia, which is a giant, beautiful building housing the tomb of the unknown soldier. We then shopped at stores along Via del Corso before retreating to our hotel for yet another siesta to escape the heat.

When it was finally closer to game time, we walked back to Circo Massimo, this time with a huge crowd of people with their faces painted, soccer jerseys and scarves on, and waving flags as they walked. Vespas whizzed by with Italian flags waving in the wind, all headed in the direction of the square. We stopped at a sandwich shop to bring a picnic with us to the game. We got caprese and salami sandwiches (which sadly turned out to be the worst meal of the trip), olives and beer.

When we arrived at the Circo Massimo the scene was quite different than what we saw earlier; the square was now filled with at least 100,000 people (and more kept streaming in), all wearing blue like the team jerseys or red, white and green like the Italian flag. Flags were waving and smoke bombs were being lit left and right, also giving off the colors of the Italian flag.

Awed by the site, but leery of how rowdy the crowd might get, we chose to sit on the hill off to the side of the main square. We sat on the grass between other travelers from Holland and Denmark. Here we had our picnic people watching and waiting for the game to start.

The fact that we were sitting in the country’s capital for the championship game sunk in when the TV screens showed the news and we saw the square where we were sitting. The crowd roared with cheers and vigorously waved the flags for the TV cameras. Soon the players took the field and Italy’s national anthem played loudly over the speakers. The crowd went even crazier, lighting off the brilliantly-colored smoke bombs and singing along.

Unfortunately, Spain dominated the game, scoring within the first 20 minutes. This sucked the energy from the crowd like letting helium out of a balloon. Spain scored again before the first half was over and the crowd went silent. Flags still waved in support, but the tension was palpable. We stood through halftime among the eerily silent crowd.

When the second half began, Italy had renewed energy and looked stronger and more confident on the field. Sadly, this revitalization was short-lived as Spain scored its third goal around the 70:00 mark. The crowd was getting anxious now and more smoke bombs were being lit. Kyle turned to me and said, “If you see one of those things fly in our direction, make sure you jump up quick and move.” No less than 10 minutes after he told me that, a fiery smoke bomb came streaking into the grassy hill where we sat and landed just two people away from us. I jumped up and grabbed Kyle’s arm. He quickly pushed me behind him to protect me from the heat. The people around the smoke bomb stomped on it, putting out the fire that had started in the grass. The two guys who were sitting were the smoke bomb landed complained of burns and left immediately for the first aid tents.

Shortly after the smoke bomb incident, we decided to leave and beat the crowds that would be streaming out of the square at the end of the game. As we walked away, we heard Spain score its fourth and final goal. The news the next day called the Spanish team “the best in history,” and it certainly showed as they dominated the entire game.

Despite the loss, the fans were surprisingly low-key as we walked away from the stadium. No one caused any trouble, and we saw no one rioting or vandalizing like often happens in the U.S. Even though Italy lost and we almost got lit on fire, this was such a cool cultural experience.

An Unforgettable Day—Part 1

Note: I’m writing and posting as I have time on our trip, so the posting dates do not correspond with the actual dates the events took place. For instance, I’m posting this on Wednesday, July 5, this actually happened on Sunday, July 1, 2012.

This day was so special, that I’m going to break the post up into two parts—Part 1: Day Two of the Vatican and Part 2: Euro Cup Championship Game.

We woke up early again to return to the Vatican before it was too hot and the lines too long to climb to the top of St. Peter’s dome (or Cupola). We only had to wait in the security line for about 15 minutes, and then we were able to walk right into the stairwell of the dome without waiting! We hiked to the top of the dome (the more than 500 steps felt like a piece of cake after climbing the Duomo in Florence and the steps in Cinque Terre) and took in the amazing views of the Vatican and Rome. Behind the church we saw the Vatican courtyards, gardens and museum. From the front we could also see down into St. Peter’s Square. All around we saw the sprawling city of Rome—with views as far as Piazza Venezia and the Roman Forum.
We hiked back down the steps, which led us directly inside St. Peter’s Basilica. This worked out perfectly as it was now 10 a.m., and Mass would be held inside the church at 10:30. Thank goodness we were there 30 minutes early, as the pews quickly filled to the max and visitors were turned away to standing-room-only areas in the back.

I could not wrap my head around this—we were sitting in a pew inside St. Peter’s Basilica waiting for Sunday Mass to start. How is this happening to me?!?! This experience reminded me of just how blessed I am as I soaked in the setting around me and thanked God for making this possible.

This experience moved me to tears at several points. The first of which was watching the countless priests, bishops and cardinals proceed through St. Peter’s Basilica and up to the altar where Mass would be said in Latin. An all-male choir sang as the organ played, filling the walls around us with beautiful music. This felt like something so special, reserved for religious and world leaders, royalty, politicians, even celebrities, yet here we sat as part of the congregation. Unbelievable!

The guards gave us booklets so that we could follow along. While we had no idea what was being said, the words didn’t matter. Just being here in this space, surrounded by other visitors from all around the world, sharing in our faith together was incredibly powerful. The Prayers of the Faithful were read by priests in Italian, French and English, and the Sign of Peace was said in countless languages.

I was moved to tears again as we walked up to receive communion in front of the most gorgeous altar I’d ever laid eyes on. Taking communion in this space sent chills down my spine yet again. Mass soon commenced and the clergy proceeded out of the church just as they had entered.

Walking away, we saw nearly hundreds of people lined up in the back, craning their necks to catch a view. Knowing what we had just experienced brought tears to my eyes for the third time. I will remember this hour and half for the rest of my life!
As if this day hadn’t been special enough already, we exited the church at 11:55 a.m., only to find out that the Pope would give a blessing to the crowd gathered in the square at noon. We walked as quickly as we could to get a spot in the square, just below the window where the Pope would appear.

Right at 12 p.m., Pope Benedict XVI appeared in the window waving his hands to the crowd below. Groups of people were gathered waving their country’s flag and holding signs. I cannot find the words to describe just how surreal this experience was. The Pope was looking down near where we had just climbed a few hours earlier and now here we are hearing his blessing. He spoke for about 30 minutes (his voice booming over speakers in the square). He read the Gospel we had heard earlier in the Mass and then delivered a blessing in no less than 7 different languages. He said: “To my English-speaking visitors … we pray for all those in need of His healing touch. We pray for God’s blessings of wisdom, joy and peace.” (Kyle captured this on film, which I will post when we get back home.) Then, just as soon as he appeared, he was gone again.

What a mind-boggling, absolutely perfect day (and it was only 12:30)!

The Vatican Leaves Me Speechless

Today we woke up early to go on our tour of the Vatican. The tour was worth every penny as entering with a guide allowed us to skip the long lines (which were bigger than those at any amusement park or tourist attraction we’d ever seen). Inside the museum, the tour guide pointed out important pieces of art and explained the history of the church. The knowledge she shared was priceless, especially with so many paintings, tapestries, mosaics and statues to see, it was helpful to have a guide bring critical pieces to our attention. The long lines outside led to a completely packed museum inside, the force of the crowds pushed us forward from room to room.

Our tour guide led us out to a terrace overlooking the Vatican gardens and described the crucifixion of Saint Peter and how the church was built on his tomb. She then explained the frescoes that we would soon see inside the Sistine Chapel (since theoretically there should be no talking inside the Chapel—the guards have a hard time enforcing that and are constantly shushing the crowd). She described the fresco of “The Last Judgment” painted on the entire altar wall, the New and Old Testaments depicted along the interior walls, and the ceiling with the nine scenes from the book of Genesis, including the infamous “Creation of Adam.”

The museum tour lasted about one hour and led us directly into the Sistine Chapel. Stepping foot inside the room brought tears to my eyes. I had seen countless pictures of it before, but seeing how massive the painting of “The Last Judgment” is in person and knowing that these paintings were done more than 500 years ago was awe-inspiring. I felt chills run down my spine as I looked up to the ceiling and saw Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the other unbelievable masterpieces all around the room. We were able to spend about 10 minutes in the chapel soaking it all in. Later our guide told us that the Cardinals gather inside the Sistine Chapel to vote on the next Pope. Knowing that we just stood on the same ground as these religious leaders, Michelangelo and the Pope himself blew my mind.

Leaving the Sistine Chapel, our last stop was in St. Peter’s Basilica. As if my head wasn’t spinning already, stepping inside the church was an emotional, unforgettable experience. The sculptures, the mosaics, the architecture, and the all-around sense of history and piety of this place left me speechless.

Our tour guide showed us around the church, pointing out works of art and explaining history along the way. The tomb of Pope John Paul II now rests inside the church (the current Pope Benedict XVI moved him inside the church in 2011 when he was sainted), which again sent chills down my spine. We stopped and prayed here, which was truly an out-of-body experience.

The tour guide bid us farewell at this point, and we were on our own to explore the church. We took pictures and soaked in the sites. Then we found the Blessed Sacrament Chapel with a sign saying, “Only those who wish to pray may enter.” The chapel is small room within the church, so there was a short line where we had to wait to go inside. One impatient person in front of us walked out of the line, straight past the guard and tried to pull back the curtain to go inside the chapel. The guard stopped him, explaining that he must wait in line and wait for space to clear. The man began to argue with him, and soon another guy came out from behind the curtain. This guy said, “He’s with me!” as if this were a nightclub and you just had to come outside to get your friends past security. The guard again told the man that he must wait his turn, and the two men then angrily argued back and puffed up their shoulders as if they were going to fight the guard. We could not believe what we were seeing—this was a place of reverence with a sign saying “Only those who wish to pray may enter,” yet these guys were arguing and about to start a fight?! How crazy is that? The guard immediately escorted both men out (although we didn’t see if they were escorted all the way out of the church).

By now we had spent more than 5 hours inside the Vatican and were starving and exhausted from what felt like sensory overload. Rather than waiting in the extremely long line to climb to the top of the dome in 100 degree heat, we decided we would come back first thing in the morning (before it was too hot!) and take in the sights when we were fresh.

So we left the Vatican and got pizzas for lunch—thin crust spicy salami pizza with arrabiata sauce and mushroom pizza. Delizioso! We needed to get our laundry done and take a nap to recharge from the crowds and sights, so we retreated back to our hotel for a while.

After our nap, we walked to the Trevi Fountain. The fountain sits in front of a palace and the statues are designed with an ocean theme with water spouting everywhere, even from the conch shell of Triton. Legend has it that throwing a coin the Trevi Fountain will ensure a return trip to Rome. Having fallen in love with Italy, I took out a coin and threw it in the water as Kyle snapped a picture.

Believe it or not we had reached the point of the trip where we were desperately craving something other than Italian food. I imagine this happens to most travelers who spend an extended period of time away from home. While (of course) I wanted Indian food, we had read that Middle Eastern food was the latest trend in new cuisine. We saw a kebab shop with a view of the sun setting over the Vatican, so we thought it was worth a shot and definitely promised a spectacular view. While these certainly weren’t the best kebabs we’d ever had, it satisfied our craving for something other than pasta.

It didn’t take long for us to get back on the Italian food wagon as we ended the night with the best gelato we had tried so far. At Il Ciampini I got a cone with chestnut and chocolate chip, and Kyle got a cone with blackberry and lemon. This was the richest, smoothest gelato yet. We definitely plan to go back here again before our time in Rome is over!

To Roma

On our last day in Cinque Terre, we decided to give our tired legs a break and take it easy at the beach. The beaches here don’t have the soft sand we’re used to on the West Coast; instead they’re made up of different sizes of rocks. Laying on them with a beach towel feels surprisingly fine, but I could not get used to walking on them. We soaked in the beach time, feeling completely relaxed.

But, as Kyle put it, “If there’s one thing we can do at home, it’s lay on the beach.” So we decided to pack our things up and go to the train station to buy our tickets to Rome. We bought tickets for 1:30 p.m. train, which gave us just enough time to go back to the pizzeria and get another slice of that tasty focaccia pesto pizza. To no surprise, the pizzeria owner was in a much better mood today. He explained to us in perfect English that he clearly didn’t want to work last night when there was a match to watch and that’s why he closed his store. “If I’m going to serve people acting like a grouch, what good does that do for you or for me when I clearly don’t want to be here? So I close my store and I go enjoy the match!” How different, but wonderful is the Italian work ethic?!

The train to Rome took about 5 hours. On the ride, Kyle and I played card games, and then I wrote as Kyle watched TV shows on the Kindle. The large windows allowed us to watch the scenery as we passed from town to town. The air conditioning on the train barely cooled the cabin, and again, we fought the heat.

We arrived in Rome on a holiday—the Festival of St. Peter and St. Paul. We checked in to our hotel and set out for a stroll to explore the area around our hotel and find a place to eat dinner. About three blocks from our hotel, I stopped in my tracks as I saw my first glimpse of the Vatican off in the distance. I was so excited knowing that I had wanted to go there for so long and I was finally here, seeing it and tomorrow we would get to go inside and take a tour.

Our hotel recommended a nearby restaurant called Segreto. We tried Roman fried artichokes (that tasted like potato chips) and insalata romana—our first green salad since we’ve been here. For our main courses Kyle ordered penne arrabiata and I ordered ravioli with ricotta cheese and spinach. While it may seem silly to post about every meal we eat, each one is special and unique. Kyle’s cousin Joe told us that “you can’t have a bad meal in Italy,” and he was right!

After dinner we walked to the popular Piazza Navona, a vibrant square filled with street vendors, artists, musicians, restaurants and incredible Bernini statues surrounding the a giant fountain. There was so much going on in this square that we decided to stop at one of the restaurants to have a drink and do some people watching.

While this was a day broken up by train travel, we were still able to spend some time at one of the most unique beaches we’ve ever seen and get a taste of Rome at night—not too shabby!