The Hilton and Coming Home

This will be the last blog and I will cover our last day in Rome and our trip home.


Today after getting up and dressed, we finished repacking our suitcases. Then it was down to breakfast. We came back to the room made sure everything was ready to go and went down to the desk and checked out. The car came shortly thereafter and away we went toward the Hilton at the airport. The ride was smooth and quick, since it was an Italian holiday. The traffic was almost non existent. The hotel is located right at the airport and we could walk to it, under cover in case of rain.


The room is very nice and we were upgraded to a very nice room with access to the executive lounge. This proved to be a real gem. After checking in we walked over to the airport to check it out. While we were there, trying to find our terminal, we found out that you can not walk to terminal 5. Terminal 5 is where all the US bound flights originate and terminate. More on this later. While we were in the terminal building 3 we stopped at Mc Donald’s and had a coke and french-fries. They really tasted good.


Coming back to the hotel we tried out the executive lounge and it is nice. They have free snacks and drinks 24 hours a day. I don’t like 2 4/7. The drinks were water, juice soda, beer and wine. At 3:00PM they bring in sandwiches and deserts for tea. Then at 6:00 PM they provide heavy hors d’ oeuvres. We managed to participate in all of it. The food was good and all you could eat.


On Thursday we left a call for 6:30 AM. After getting up, showered and dressed we went down to breakfast in the lounge. Again it was well stocked and very good. The only complaint we had in Italy about the food was the bacon. It is like thin ham here, but not cooked very long. We like are bacon crisp.


After breakfast we finished with our suitcases and went down to check out. After checking out we took the van to what we thought was terminal 5. Here we showed our passports, got a sticker on them and then went out another door and caught a bus to another terminal. Here we got off and pulled our bags to the ticket counter. After checking them in and getting a boarding pass we went to customs for me to get a stamp on a tax free document. Now it was almost take your clothes off and go through security. After passing that test it was up stairs to the waiting lounge. We were traveling Business class, so we had a pass to United’s lounge. We could get snacks, sweet rolls and beverages here, plus nice seats.


When it was time for us to leave, it was again down stairs, into a bus and ride out to the airplane. No Jet-ways, so it was carry your bags up the stairs into the airplane.


We were in Business class as I said. The seats were comfortable, not as nice as when we flew to London. The flight departed about ½ hour late which is good for international flights. The flight across the pond was fairly smooth and we made up some time and landed in Washington DC just about on schedule.


After landing we headed for immigration and the lines that form there. Getting through there we picked up our luggage and went through customs. Now we checked our bags for the flight home and started undressing again for security here in the US. I make it sounds worse that it was. It was take your belt off, shoes off, empty your pockets and take your computer out of its case. Passing this we again dressed and started walking to our new gate in a new terminal. We went down stairs caught the tram to our terminal. Here we walked upstairs, then along many halls, upstairs again and the down stairs. More walking. Why do we always end up at the last gate? We are now all settled in a seat in the waiting area, when the announcement that all travelers fear. Your plane has been delayed due to weather. Oh well, we did not want to fly in a thunderstorm anyway. We got on the plane about 30 minutes late and departed about an hour late, which was not too bad. The flight was good for the most part, just one area of bumps. We arrived in Kansas City about 8:00 PM, an hour late to nice weather. Jackie, the nice lady that house sits for me, picked us up and we headed for home.


We are tired and our internal clocks are off, but it was a wonderful trip and after we get rested we will be ready to head out again. Not next week.

Tuesday June 2 in Rome

Tuesday and we are still in Rome. Up early this morning and down to breakfast. We called a taxi around 8:15 and headed for the Colosseum. As we said there are a lot of people in town and the traffic is bad. If you need to get your heart rate up, but do not want to exercise, take a cab ride in Rome. All I can say is OMG.
 We were among the first people in the Colosseum this morning and it was breath taking to see. How they could build something like this and have it last all these years is amazing. There were seats for the Senators of marble and the rest of the peons sat on rough stone. The closer and lower you were toward the stage the more prestige you had. It was begun in 72 AD and finished in 80 AD. It is estimated to have held 80,000 people. It was the origin of professional gladiators, who were trained to fight to the death. You can see where the gladiators and animals were prepared below the level of the arena. They had lifts to bring them up to the field from the rooms below. It must have been an amazing site in its day, for it is still amazing today.

Leaving the Colusseum we walked to the Arch of Constantine. It was built in the memory of Constantine’s victory over Maxentius. It is very well preserved and has an inscription on it that says “Devine inspiration”. It was chosen to pacify both the Pagans and the Christians.
 From there we got back on the hop on hop off buss to Piazza Navona. It is one of the largest squares in Rome and the location of the fountain of the 4 rivers. We believe that this is the fountain that was portrayed in the movie “Angels and Demons”. The area is very lively with music, restaurants, street performers and artists. We walked the area and then had lunch at a little outdoor café on the plaza. The lasagna I had was the best I have ever had. Judi again had caprice salad. After lunch we walked to the Pantheon. It is the cities only architecturally intact monument from classical times. It is called the “glory of Rome”.

Pantheon

We then walked back to the Piazza Navona and treated ourselves to a gelato. Sitting on a bench and enjoying the gelato and people watching, a Belgium gentleman stuck up a conversation about traveling. Very nice person and very good English. After a little shopping we got a taxi back to the hotel.


Arriving back at the hotel around happy hour, we indulged ourselves.


We are moving to the Hilton Hotel at the airport tomorrow in preparation to fly home on Thursday. Tomorrow is a National Military holiday with many celebrations, parades and a public mass by the Pope in St. Peters square, which is going to turn Rome into a parking lot. Trying to get to any site will be almost impossible.

Emperor Hadrian's Mausoleum---The Colosseum

Monday May 31, 2010 Rome

We woke up early this morning, not sure why, but way before breakfast. When the restaurant opened, we went down to eat. After breakfast we walked down to St. Peters square. The hotel advertises it as a “couple of steps.” -- 15 minutes to the museum and that many more to the square. It was a nice morning walk by the wall that encloses Vatican City. We purchased ticket for the hop on hop off bus and boarded it close to the square.

Don & Judi @ Trevi Fountain ----  Spanish Steps

The route took us past Plaza de Popolo and around to the Trevi fountain. We got off and walked down some side streets to the fountain. It is beautiful and if it was not for the crowds, it would be very relaxing. We walked back up the alley/street to the corner and asked directions to the Spanish Steps. Judi was disappointed seeing them this time. When she was here before, they looked like the pictures you see in magazines, with lots of pretty flowers on both sides and up the middle. This time there were people sitting on both sides and up the middle and all over instead of flowers. We left the steps and headed back to the alley, because we saw some outdoor restaurants there. After checking out several of them we settled on one. The pasta was good and the atmosphere was great.

After the lunch we walked back to where we left the bus and boarded it for the ride back to St. Peters square. We passed the Colosseum and Palatine Hill, where the Forum is located. We crossed the Tiber River on our way back to the square. We were getting a little tired, so we thought about taking a taxi back to the hotel. When we priced one at the square, he did not want our business, because he quoted an outrageous price, so we walked.

When we walked in this morning, the line to get into the Vatican museum was at least a half mile long. I know that sounds like an exaggeration, but it is not. The walk going back to the hotel was just like the one this morning, uphill both ways.


Back at the hotel, we relaxed and tried to figure out where we could grab a salad or sandwich, since the hotel room service had neither. We walked across the street and split a pizza and then it was back to the room. This afternoon in a crowd I had my back jarred so when we got back to the room I poured a little medicinal liquid into a glass and headed for the bathroom. I took a nice hot Jacuzzi bath and drank my “medicine.”


It was off to bed then. We are planning on taking a taxi to the Colosseum early tomorrow to beat the crowds. Lots of people in town as there is a national holiday coming up and the Pope is going to celebrate a public mass. They are already closing down certain streets.


PS: Roman Spelling was used.

This is our last full day in Venice. We decided this is the day to just walk around and look at the area, do a little shopping and have some relaxing fun. The day started off with another nice breakfast in the hotel. The name of the hotel is Locanda Orseolo, which means Orseolo Inn. As we said the hotel building is over 1200 years old and located on the canal Orseolo. The area around the hotel was owned by one family, a very rich family, and so the canal and a street are named after them. The people who run the hotel are very nice and greet you by name as soon as you are introduced to them. The breakfast is as good as or better than we had on the ship.

After breakfast, we started walking and window shopping. Window shopping did not last long, and Judi was off and running with her purchases. I was just along to help her spend her money. I have to say, that she made an outstanding purchase, but will let her explain what it is. I purchased some souvenirs and a gelato.


We walked over to the other hotel that is owned by our hosts. It is very nice and as a balcony where you can have a drink and watch the activity on the Grand Canal and also with a view of the Rialto Bridge. While we were sitting there some people that we met on the cruise sailed by on a vaporetto, a boat “water bus” that circles the city on the larger canals. They yelled and waved at us, so being friendly people we waved back. We spent about an hour there and then walked back to San Marcos square, using some new side streets and crossing some new canals. Actually there are no new canals or side streets in Venice, but they were new to us. Arriving at San Marcos square we found a restaurant and had some pasta for lunch.


Now it was back to the hotel, to rest for awhile. This evening we went back out and looked for a pizza parlor. They are not hard to find, but finding one that will sell pizza by the slice is a problem. We finally settled on a pizza parlor. This is our new world, a pizza parlor in Venice, Italy, owned by a Chinaman. Oh well, we ate the pizza walked back to San Marcos square and then to the hotel.


Tomorrow we depart for Rome. We are wondering what it will be like to go out of our little window in to a water taxi. Oh well another adventure.


Here are some pictures from the other day.

Grand Canal                         Isalnd of Barano 

                                                                                                      Low Bridge             
             Glass Blower on Island of Marano