Italy & Vatican

25 October 2008
Bari, Italy
                It was about 9:30 in the evening and we had our luggage gathered.  We followed the crowd outside and once again didn’t know which way to go.  The map we saw online showed that that hotel looked like it was only 5 or 6 blocks away, so we decided to walk.  Some other travelers decided to take a right and we followed.  There was a wall that was keeping in the “port” and didn’t allow us into the city.  We walked for about a kilometer and were joined by some other travelers.  There were two people far ahead of us and a car stopped to talk to them.  Then the two people crossed the street and the car followed.  The driver got out and walked to a gate and then the two people went through it.  We were pretty far away but glad to see it looked like we had finally found a way out of the port.  The car was long gone by the time we arrived at the gate, and the gate had closed.  When we discovered that the gate was opened with some sort of electronic key we were quite disappointed.  To keep going straight was going to take at least a few more kilometers and we couldn’t even see if that was the way out.  To turn around meant back tracking.  We all decided to back track.
                Back at the ferry entrance we decided to get a cab.  It was 10:30 now and we didn’t even know precisely where the hotel was.  Because the ferry arrived an hour earlier, all the taxis were gone.  Debra asked a guy where we could find one, so the guy called one for us.  When it arrived we found that the meter was already up to €7.50 because he was called.  The taxi then took us far away from where we thought the hotel would be.  About €10 later we arrived at what looked like a rundown university.  Anna checked the sign and sure enough, it was our hotel.
                At check-in the guy running the desk said we didn’t have a reservation.  We tried to assure him not only did we have a reservation…it was paid in full.  Eventually he called someone to help him translate.  When she arrived she told us they had cancelled our reservation because this third party company we booked through would keep our money and not pay the hotel.  So we were stuck having to pay again and try and get our money back from the third party company.  Doug shot off a message to the bank and we paid for the room with headache.
                Thankfully the room was big and comfortable.  We all settled in and went to sleep not much later.

26 October 2008
Bari/Sorrento, Italy
                The morning started out pretty slow.  The day before had been long, and we were all pretty tired.  Once we were all up and dressed, we went down to the second floor for our complimentary breakfast. 
                After breakfast we packed up, and checked out of the hotel.  There was a bus stop not too far away.  We needed to get to the train station, and find a way to get to Naples, and then down to Sorrento. 
                At the bus station we met a mother, and daughter from New Zealand who had been traveling around for a month or two.  It sounded like they were traveling through the holidays, and would be going home sometime early next year.  The bus soon arrived; the train station was about a 15 minute ride away.  Arriving at the train station we went to the information desk.  The girl at the information desk was very helpful.  She told us the best way to get to Naples was by bus, and from there it would be easy to get to Sorrento.  The bus wasn’t supposed to leave until 12:50, it was now 10:30.
                We went back to the other side of the train station, and purchased our bus tickets, then went back to the train station to the waiting area.  Debra and Anna went for a short walk while Doug watched the bags.  During the walk the girls spotted a McDonalds.  Debra thought this would be great for lunch.  After their walk they went to grab Doug to go to a nearby park.  The park was much more scenic than the train station waiting area.
                After an hour or so we got lunch at McDonalds, and headed back to the other side of the train station to catch the bus to Naples.  The bus arrived on time, and we all loaded up.  As the bus pulled into Naples to let everyone off we noticed we were right next to the train station.  This was working out perfectly.  We went inside bought our tickets to Sorrento, and caught the train south within 15 minutes time.
                The train to Sorrento took about an hour.  Arriving in Sorrento we called the guesthouse to get directions.  Outside we asked a guy which direction it was to a park that we were supposed to get to.  He pointed “right” and off we went.  It turned out we ended up walking in the wrong direction for about 20 minutes.  Finally we met someone who lived in the same building as the guesthouse.  He told us we had to go back the way we came, back by the train station, past two gas stations, and then we would find our accommodation.  After thanking him we began our journey back.
                Just as the gentleman said the guesthouse was past the two gas stations.  We checked into our room, which was the “Blue” room, relaxed for a few minutes, and then went back out to find some dinner.  It was close to 8:00 by now, Anna was hungry, not to mention grouchy.
                There was a restaurant about two blocks down; we had a decent Italian meal.  The service was nothing to talk about though.  After dinner, it was back to the room, and get some much needed rest.

27 October 2008
Sorrento, Italy
                The morning was much more relaxed today.  Everyone got up, and did their thing before going down to a nearby café for a small breakfast.  At the café we were all served a croissant, café (Anna & Debra), and orange juice.  The croissant was surprisingly filling. 
                After breakfast we went into town to scope out some of the shopping.  Anna and Debra had to refrain themselves for a while.  We were going to do a sweep through the town to figure out what we wanted to buy, and then come back to the stores.  It was a beautiful day outside, with a blue sky.
                We walked around for a couple hours before deciding to get lunch.  Anna and Doug had become accustomed to sandwiches being on a budget so they were always on a lookout for a deal.  There was a place which had a sandwich for €3.50.  The sandwich turned out to be quite large.  We took the sandwiches to a lookout, and had lunch.  We were able to see the boats coming in and out of the port.  There was a cat which decided to ask for food.  Debra appeased the cat, and later Anna followed giving some of the fresh mozzarella off of the sandwich.  After lunch we did some more shopping before heading back to the room.   A good number of the shops close for a few hours in the afternoon for their siesta, so we decided to do the same.
                Once we relaxed for an hour or so, it was back out on the town.  Anna and Debra found a few gifts to buy.  We stopped by a café for a snack, and just took our time throughout the evening.  We probably made it back to the room by 8:30 or so, and stayed in for the night.

28 October 2008
Sorrento/Rome, Italy
                Today we needed to go to Rome.  After breakfast we packed up our things, and headed to the train station.  We arrived in Naples about an hour later.  The next “budget” train was to leave for Rome from Naples at 2:10pm.  This gave us plenty of time for lunch.  And low and behold there was a McDonalds in the train station.
                Everyone ordered lunch and sat down to relax.  We had about 2 hours before our train was to leave.  We wasted some time playing cards, and people watching.  Around 1:50 we went out to board the train, and got our stuff stored out of the way.  The train left on time.
                We arrived in Rome on schedule a little after 5:00pm.  Now we needed to take the subway to get to our hotel.  Everything went very well until we got to our subway stop, and looked outside.  It was pouring rain, pretty hard.  Well the directions to the hotel supposedly were only two blocks away.  And luckily it was only two blocks away, but when it is raining hard, and there are no taxis around, it is a long way.
                Arriving at the hotel we were all soaked.  All things considered this was the first time the weather had not cooperated with us the entire time Debra was with us.  We couldn’t complain too much.  After changing, and drying we went out to get dinner.  By now the rain had stopped.   The hotel recommended a restaurant that was just past the metro station.
                At the restaurant we ordered our meals, along with a bottle of wine.  We took our time with dinner before going back to the room for the night.

29 October 2008
Rome, Italy
                The free breakfast was quite good.  Once we had our fill we headed off for Debra’s one day in Rome.  Thankfully she had been here before so there wasn’t a lot of pressure to fit in everything in one day.
                Our first stop was the Colosseum and Arch of Constantine followed by the Monument to Vottorio Emanuele II.  Then we walked up the street to a 4D show called “Time Machine.”  They had three screens put together and they had seats that would move in sync with the picture.  They would also occasionally spray you with water or blow air on you too.  They had two shows.  The first was all about the creation of the earth and its evolution from Earth being a place covered in molten lava through different stages of animals up to present day.  The second show was about Rome and its rise and fall.  Both were entertaining.
                After a quick trip back to the room we went back into town, checked out the Spanish steps and the Trevi fountain.  Then it was back to the room for good.

30 October 2008
Rome, Italy
                Debra left early in the morning to catch her flight home.  Anna and Doug managed to get back to sleep.  Once we were up we headed off to our new hostel.
                We checked into the Adone house which was only one metro stop from the main train/metro terminal.  The hallway stunk of cigarettes and there were no toilet seats or shower curtains in the bathrooms.  Thankfully our room was big and relatively clean.  The guy running the desk was very nice and once he heard we were off to do laundry, he said we could use his washer, but we would have to line dry the clothes ourselves.  This sounded good to us.
                We headed out into town to scope out the logistics of Doug’s Grandmothers arrival to Rome.  For Grandma’s birthday, the family pooled together money to buy her a plane ticket Rome.  Doug’s Dad had been nice enough to burn off all his hotel points and get her a room in a hotel.  Grandma was also being escorted by Doug’s uncle, Don. 
                Our first destination was to metro stop that would bring us to the airport.  We got off and found the train terminal and felt comfortable with getting to the airport.  Next we headed off to the subway stop near the hotel.  The website advertised that there was a free shuttle from the subway stop to the hotel.  We arrived and asked a ticket booth lady where it arrived at.  Then we headed back to our place.
                We settled in for a couple hours and kept trying to get our laundry started.  The problem was it was a front loader and once a cycle starts, it can’t be stopped.  Somehow the clothes in the machine got bumped through two extra cycles before we could use it.  Finally we got the laundry in.  We also were trying to use the internet, but their idea of free internet was using somebody else’s “unsecure” across the street.
                Right after the laundry was finished; we quickly hung it up and raced off the airport.  The laundry going in late compressed our timeline.  We arrived at the terminal and quickly found departures but we had to ask where arrivals were.  After we finally found it Anna noticed there seemed to be two entries for the arrivals.   Doug went to one while Anna watched the other.  After a few minutes Anna ran over to Doug and said, “They just wheeled your Grandma out in a wheelchair.”  We rushed over and asked if everything was ok.  The first thing Grandma said was, “Finally, somebody that speaks English.”  Then Don explained they just wheeled her out as a convenience.
                The four of us went to the train station and boarded a train to the main train terminal in Rome.  Then Grandma got her first (of many) subway experiences.  We arrived at their stop and only had to wait a couple minutes for the shuttle to arrive.  Once we were at the hotel they checked in and we stayed and talked awhile before heading back to our place for the evening.

31 October 2008
Rome, Italy
                Anna and Doug made their way to the hotel early in the morning and ended up trying the public transportation bus instead of the free shuttle.  We beat the free shuttle by about 30 seconds. 
                Up in the room Don said that they were changing rooms.  One of the two beds was a hide-a-bed and it was terribly uncomfortable.  We made our way down to the free breakfast.  Doug and Anna decided to try blending in with the crowd and have some free breakfast too.  Nobody on the staff seemed to notice (or care).
                Soon it was out on the town.  We didn’t want to go to the Vatican on the first day because we knew that Grandma and Don would be tired, and we wanted them rested for that.  Our first stop was the Colosseum and Arch of Constantine.  Doug ran off to buy tickets for the Colosseum at the Palantine.  The ticket for the Palantine includes the Colosseum and a couple other things, but the line is much much shorter at the Palantine.  When Doug came back the four of us breezed through the entry to the Colosseum.  The Colosseum was torn apart during the renaissance and although the place is quite impressive, it just a shadow of what used to be.
                Next we wandered up to the Monument to Vottorio Emanuele II.  By then it started to rain so we headed back to the hotel.  After spending some time with Grandma and Don at the hotel, we headed back to our own place.
                Throughout the night the door bell buzzer was buzzing and the phones were ringing, but the person working was nowhere to be found.  Unfortunately our room was just on the other side of the wall from reception.  Twice a guest from another room came to answer the phone and said simply that they didn’t work there and didn’t know where the reception person was.  At one point Doug got up to buzz somebody in and at another point someone banged on our door hoping that the guy working the reception desk was in our room.  All in all, Doug was awake from at least 3am to 6am, and nobody was ever working the desk. 

1 November 2008
Rome, Italy
                When Doug got up at 8am and went outside and the main guy was there with somebody else, Doug asked who was working last night.  A guy Doug has never seen said he was.  Doug then relayed the story of last night’s events.  The main guy was glaring at the guy who was supposed to be working.  Then he tried to lie his way out and say he was out for 10 minutes to get cigarettes.  Unfortunately we were staying another 6 nights or so, and they have keys to our room, so Doug didn’t make a big deal out of it, but the boss guy knew what was up.
                At the hotel we were pleased to hear that the new room from Grandma and Don was much more comfortable.  Then Doug and Anna snuck in on the free breakfast before everyone headed out.
                In town we stopped at the Santa Maria del Popolo church right by the Piazza de Popolo.  Inside they were in the middle of mass so we decided to stay for the rest.  When it was over Grandma said, “That was a highlight.”
                Next we checked out the piazza and then walked along a side street that was loaded with work from different artists.  It was time for lunch so we stopped in at a small café to eat before going to the Spanish steps.  After the token photos we went off to the Trevi fountain.  Once we arrived Anna left with Don to get Don and Grandma their first gelato which they loved.  Then we all headed back to the hotel and once they were dropped off, we headed back to our own place.

2 November 2008
Rome, Italy
                Doug and Anna did their usual routine, and met everyone at the hotel for breakfast.  This free breakfast was nice.  Today we were going to the Vatican to watch the pope bless the audience at noon.
                After breakfast we made our way to the subway, and to the Vatican stop.  It was surprisingly a beautiful day.  The weather was cooperating really well, being that the forecast always predicted rain.
                Arriving at St. Peters square we found a place to stand to view the pope.  A woman on the subway told us he was going to show himself out of the second window from the right near the apartments to the right of the square.  Sure enough a few minutes before twelve a red banner was put outside of the window, and about five minutes later the pope showed himself.
                  The pope said something in Italian, and then he began saying a few things in a few different languages one of which was English.  The whole presentation lasted about 20-30 minutes.  After being blessed we all made our way to the security to get inside St. Peters cathedral.
                Once we got inside the cathedral we had gotten Grandma an audio tour so she began that, while Doug and Don started their photos.  We hung out at the cathedral for another couple hours before everyone was starving.  It was time to eat.
                Walking out side of the square a gentleman approached up advertising his restaurant, and we decided to follow him around the corner.  The four of us shared two medium sized cheese pizzas, and two small salads.  The food was less than par.  When the server came to give us the check Anna began questioning a few things on the bill.  First there was a restaurant tax.  Anna asked him about this.  She and Doug had been in Rome now five days, and have never been charged a restaurant tax.  And then the server said that the bill did not include a tip.  Anna was really irritated by paying a restaurant tax when it didn’t ever exist; let along give this guy a tip.  He was a terrible server, and was not attentive by any means.  We paid him the exact amount of the bill and left.
                We made our way back to the subway, and back to the Holiday Inn.  Anna and Doug stayed for a while before heading back to their room

3 November 2008
Rome, Italy
                After breakfast we took the shuttle making our way to the subway.  The plan was to go to a small city outside of Rome called Tivoli.  However, we discovered the gardens were closed on Monday.  So we decided to go into the city, and take one of those bus tours.  The ones where you are able to be taking to all the sites of the city, and are able to hop on and off at the different spots.
                We made our way to the train station, and outside.  There was a woman advertising one of these bus tours so we followed her across the parking lot.  The woman was trying to price the tour a little high, but Anna proceeded to talk her down to the price which most of the other companies were charging.  We paid the fee for the tour and the woman lead us to the road where the bus was waiting.
                The first stop was at one of the oldest churches in the city so we decided to get off the bus here and go inside.  One of the best features in Rome is that all the churches are free to enter.  This is not always the case with European churches.  After viewing the church we made our way back to where we got off the bus and waited for the next one to arrive.
                This time we stayed on the bus for a few stops before getting off at the stop which we could walk to the Pantheon.  This was also one of the oldest churches in Rome.  After viewing the Pantheon, we walked to a piazza nearby for a gelato, and rest.  Then it was back to the bus stop. 
                We stayed on the bus for the rest of the tour this time, and arrived back at the train station around 5:00.  It had been a full day.  It was time for dinner so we began walking around looking for a place to eat.  There was a cute restaurant down some stairs a few blocks away, so we decided to try it out.  The food ended up being really good, and it was pretty quiet being down in the basement.
                After dinner we made our way back to the subway and back to our rooms for the night.

4 November 2008
Rome, Italy
                Today we were going to the Vatican museum.  This was one of the highlights for Grandma.  We had to wait until today because of the timing.  On Friday Grandma and Don were still a little jetlagged so we wanted to keep the day short, it was closed on Saturday for All Saints Day, Monday has a large portion of the museum closed, so Tuesday was our choice.
                After breakfast we made our way to the subway, and then to the Vatican museum.  Thank goodness there wasn’t much of a line to get in.  Once getting through the doors, Anna and Don arranged for a wheelchair.  The museum is quite large, we would be on our feet for hours and we wanted Grandma to be able to enjoy it without getting too tired. 
                We soon bought our tickets, and entered the museum.  Grandma sat in the wheelchair, and thought it was a good idea.  She loved being pushed around.  Instead of doing a tour we got a couple of audio guides for the day.  This was we could really take our time viewing the different displays without being ushered around.
                The museum took up a good portion of the day.  Grandma and Don were amazed by some of the different sculptures, paintings, tapestries, all of it.  Anna and Doug had already been here separately a few years ago, but it never fails to impress.  After the museum we decided to just go the restaurant there.  The food looked decent and the prices were not that bad. 
                Once lunch was over we made our way to the subway.  Arriving at the subway it was too early for the shuttle to the hotel.  The shuttle for the hotel stops running from about 12-6.  The time was now 4:00.  So we decided to take the bus. 
                Well it wasn’t raining when we left the subway station on the bus.  But about half way to the hotel it began pouring outside.  It was raining so bad we didn’t get out at our bus stop, but at the next stop.  We hoped to catch a taxi to the hotel because it wasn’t too far away from the hotel.  Anna attempted to get a taxi, but no one was stopping.  So here we were outside in the pouring rain, and we couldn’t really go anywhere.  It was raining so hard the drains on the roads were getting plugged up, and a small river was forming on parts of the road.  Water was splashing up over our feet and there were no stores to take cover in.  We decided to get back on the next bus.  When we boarded we were all soaked, especially Don who didn’t have a jacket.
                We got on the next bus, took it to the end of the line, and then took the bus back to the subway station.  By the time we got to the subway station it had stopped raining (go figure), but the shuttle would begin shortly.  Anna and Doug waited with Grandma and Don until the shuttle arrived, and said we would meet them in the morning.  Everyone was drenched, cold, and needed to change their clothes to get warm.

5 November 2008
Rome, Italy
                After we completed our “hostel to hotel” commute, the four of us set off early to the Vatican.  A couple days prior Doug acquired tickets to the Papal Audience.  When we arrived the guards allowed us to a section of St Peters square that had chairs set up so we could see the Pope.  The crowd was flooded with people from all around the world, especially Brazil.
                When the Pope arrived he came out in the back of a truck and drove all along the crowd so people could get pretty close.  One English lady who was sitting behind us was screaming with joy after she returned from one of the barriers because the Pope had looked right at her and waved after she shouted hello.
                Soon the Pope took his seat looking out on to the crowd.  Cardinals approached a microphone near him and began speaking.  While they were speaking we began to hear cheers from around the crowd.  After a couple different Cardinals had cycled through doing the same thing we realized they were announcing groups of pilgrims from around the world specific to their language.  When the English speaking cardinal started speaking he announced pilgrims from all over the US, Canada, England, Ireland and Australia.
                After the English speaker a German cardinal spoke and one group that were announced began a short chorus that the cardinal stopped to listen too.  The singing was quite beautiful and received cheers from around the crowd including the Pope.  However nothing compared to the reaction of the announcement of pilgrims from Brazil.  There seemed to be hundreds of them with flags and banners and they would chant “Brasil…Brasil…” 
                When the Papal audience was completed we went back into Italy for a bite to eat.  We found a small café and ordered sandwiches before heading back to the Vatican.  Once we were through security we went to the Tombs.  Inside are the sarcophaguses of numerous Popes and even some Queens.
                We did once last trip through St. Peter’s Basilica before going to the Vatican gift shops and Post Office for our last chance at souvenir shopping.  
                Back into Italy we stopped for Don and Grandma’s last, and quite possibly, best gelato yet.  The scoops were enormous and included a mini-cone to be used as a spoon.
                Soon we were back at the hotel.  After a rest we walked to a nearby grocery store and bought some items for a picnic dinner in the hotel rooms.  We bought two rotisserie cooked chickens, cheese, bread, chocolate and wine.  Back at the room we made chicken sandwiches for dinner, chocolate for dessert and toasted our trip with wine. 
                After we said our goodbyes to Grandma and Don before heading back for the night.

6 November 2008
Rome, Italy
                Today we decided to go stretch our legs.  We walked to a nearby church that we hadn’t seen yet.  Then we walked to the Colosseum to catch the subway to yet another church (apparently there are 250 in Rome).  Then we took the subway to the Colosseum again and decided to walk to the Trevi fountain.  We found a pizza place and ordered some to go.  We sat on the steps and ate our pizza while watching the tourists take photos and the Hawkers try and sell junk.
                After our lunch we walked up the Spanish Steps.  Neither of us had ever walked up the steps before so we did.  After a rest we took a route towards the Piazza de Popolo that overlooked the city.  Down inside the Piazza we took a rest and finally walked towards the Castle of Saint Angelo.  Past that we walked up to the St. Peters Basilica and did our quickest entry and exit of a country on the entire trip.  We walked across the threshold to enter the Vatican and then turned north and immediately exited again.
                On the way to the subway we stopped at the same gelato place as the day before for our last gelato in Rome.  Then it was back to the hostel for the evening.

7 November 2008
Rome, Italy
                After sleeping in, we packed up and headed out to the subway.  We caught the subway to Termini and then caught another subway to the train station.  From there we took the train to the airport. 
                Getting checked in and through security wasn’t much of an issue.  But we were pleasantly surprised to see that we were seated in an exit row.  It is always nice to have some extra leg room.  A couple of hours later we arrived in Ireland.

Ireland Journal

Back to Europe Journal