My Roman Chronicles

This is where I will spend a little time each day remembering all the wonders of my pilgrimage to the ancient city of cities. Pictures and events to come.


1/13-14/11 Thursday - Friday
Departure from LAX went smoothly albeit ever so early in the morning. I don't know many people who actually slept that night and, other than an hour or so on the plane, I was too excited to sleep. I did a little reading to finish up my pre-trip requirements but finished that after the first flight to Atlanta. From Atlanta we had a nice long ten hour flight right into Rome. I love flying so other than poor leg space, I have no complaints. Because of the time difference we landed as the sun rose in Rome, Italy at 7:30 in the morning. English became a treasure as foreign tongue alienates even the most confident of travelers. We got on buses to go to our beautiful hotel Casa la Salle, a quaint hotel located near the end of the red metro line.

We were in our rooms by 9:30 or so and had an hour to get ready for a little tour of the surrounding goods and services offered for our various needs. After returning a small group of us decided that, while a nap would nice, we couldn't pass up the opportunity for adventuring. So, that afternoon we walked around the Spanish Steps and the Trevi fountain where we eventually ate our first Italian pizzas and pastas and had our first Americans-as-foreigners restaurant experience.

We returned to the Spanish steps later that evening to join some others who came later and there we watched the sun set over Rome making the yellows and oranges and reds of the city glow with even more vibrant voices. After that the now bigger group walked to the Pantheon. My imagination could not have dreamed up the wonder of this ancient place. It was so tall and regal, and hauntingly beautiful and old. My breath was taken and held at an arms length for quite a while. I was here. In Italy. Where so many have come before.
Again we split up and some of us finished off the day with our first Italian gelatos of the trip. Every taste was magic in a cup. I slept like a baby after not sleeping in almost two days!

1/15/11 - Saturday
We woke up bright and early and we ate breakfast at the hotel. The cappuccinos even from the machine were absolutely amazing! Croissants, cheese, fruit and juice, some cereal were all wonderful. At 9am we met in the lobby of the hotel to set our for the day's adventures. We got on the red line of the metro and got off near the Avantine hill overlooking the Ceasar's palace and the Circus Maximus. We walked down into the Circus Maximus and walked the distance of the pseudo-battlefield.