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Yesterday we had the nicest weather of the trip. It was so warm that we walked around in cotton dresses with just light sweaters most of the day We went to the Piazza Navona, the Pantheon , shopping on via Condotti, up the open 4 flights of flower covered steps from the Piazza Sragna, up the Spanish steps to the Church of the Holy Trinity of the Mountain and the Villa Medici. We went to the ruins of the Baths of Diocletian through the National Museum with its well known bronze and marbles such as the Discus Thrower. Then out to dinner to a small restaurant and shopping. That wound up Rome for us. In Rome you can buy sets of 12 Kodak slides for 400 to 600 lira (65 cents to 1 dollar) cheaper than you can take them so we bought lots, especially of the insides of churches.
At night we walked around the shopping area. Went to see the Trevi Fountain (the 3 coins in a fountain fountain) and threw our coins in. It’s a beautiful fountain with sculptured horses and all. Now all of us are assured of a repeat visit to Rome. – all except Jeannine who threw her coin into the fountain and it landed behind her in the street. Judy had a near mishap when she got her foot caught in a trolley track and lost her shoe while crossing the street.
We’ve spent 5 days total in Rome. Each was a 12 to 14 hour day and we made the most of every minute, visiting the most important sites. Rome is expensive and almost full up. The hostel was way out of town and we were very lucky to stumble into a clean nice pension for about $1.30 a day right in the center, a block from the Coliseum.
Today we left Rome after 5 days and drove to Florence. It is a 400 bed hostel and in an old Medici Palace. They gave our reservations to someone else and we had to sleep in corridors. It was rainy and cold and we cut our visit short. A hostel full of 400 Europeans – mostly Greeks and French – get pretty grubby. Hostelers are not very clean people. I can’t imagine what hostels smell like in the summer.
At night we walked around the shopping area. Went to see the Trevi Fountain (the 3 coins in a fountain fountain) and threw our coins in. It’s a beautiful fountain with sculptured horses and all. Now all of us are assured of a repeat visit to Rome. – all except Jeannine who threw her coin into the fountain and it landed behind her in the street. Judy had a near mishap when she got her foot caught in a trolley track and lost her shoe while crossing the street.
We’ve spent 5 days total in Rome. Each was a 12 to 14 hour day and we made the most of every minute, visiting the most important sites. Rome is expensive and almost full up. The hostel was way out of town and we were very lucky to stumble into a clean nice pension for about $1.30 a day right in the center, a block from the Coliseum.
Today we left Rome after 5 days and drove to Florence. It is a 400 bed hostel and in an old Medici Palace. They gave our reservations to someone else and we had to sleep in corridors. It was rainy and cold and we cut our visit short. A hostel full of 400 Europeans – mostly Greeks and French – get pretty grubby. Hostelers are not very clean people. I can’t imagine what hostels smell like in the summer.
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