Rome (Italy)
 24 April 2024

24 April 2024

Woke up at 1:40, 16:40 23 April our time. Couldn't get back to sleep, neither could Rita. Tossed and turned until about 4:30 - 5:00, 19:00 our time, Finely we were able to get back to sleep. The alarm woke us at 9:00. Wish we could have slept more, but we have to visit the Pantheon at 13:00. Looked for coffee at the office. The janitor gave me a couple of coffee pods and gave me instructions on the coffee maker. Tried to make coffee. The machine didn't turn on. Tried and tried all kinds of things. No luck. Went back to the office found the janitor again and he came to our room to show me how to use the machine. He tried and tried. No luck. He was going to unplug the machine to replace it with one that works. As he pulled the small fridge out of the way to unplug the coffee maker he discovered it was unplugged. Mystery solved.

Finally left at 12:00. Started walking following Google Maps. It said to walk to the right of the hotel. As soon as we were at the end of the street, and out of range of the hotels Wi-Fi, it cut out. Too far to walk back to the hotel and upload the new offline map. Haven't figured out our sim card yet for mobile data. I had studied the map of Rome a little bit, and being overconfident I figured I knew how to get there. Wrong. I should have brought the old fashioned GPS with us as backup. At Castle Sant'Angelo it started raining.

After crossing Ponto Sant'Angelo, we put on our cheap garbage bag type of raincoats I had bought online. Worth ever penny. We were pretty well the only people who weren't soaked.

Walked and walked and walked. Finally had to admit we were lost. Found a Taxi and he Drove us to San Lorenzo in Lucina for 9EU, where we were supposed to pick up our tickets to the Pantheon. We picked up our tickets and tried to find the Pantheon. Every block we asked the locals if we were going in the right direction. Finally arrived at the Pantheon at 13:00 our designated time.

Went inside and got our Audio Guides, Useless, all it did was give you the names of the frescoes and statues, no explanation of anything and played music.

  
  After handing back our useless audio-guides we started walking towards Piazza D'Aracoeli which is beside Piazza Venezia. Flagged down a cab and he drove us there 8EU. This is where our trouble began. I left my cell phone, with all the information on it, in the cab. Tried and tried phoning my cell, to see if the driver would notice that the cellphone was there. NO LUCK/
Went to Piazza D'Aracoeli 16 and explained the situation to the girl behind the counter. Told her we had a ticket to be picked up at for the Colosseo. Gave her the Credit card I had purchased the ticket with, and after searching she found our tickets. The entry to the Colosseum was at 18:00. It was only 14:30 so we had plenty of time.
Walked around the Victor Emanuel II memorial.
  
  Started walking towards the Colosseum. Millions of tourists and school classes. Can't imagine what it would be like during peak tourist season. Walked around the Colosseum.

  
 

Every 20 Meters or so, there was a vendor trying to sell us Hop On Hop Off tickets. We told them we already had tickets and asked for directions to the closest stop.

It was around 15:30 and we were hungry. Figure we would hop on the bus find a nice restaurant, have something to eat, and have plenty of time getting back to the Colosseum before 18:00. Amazing, with millions of tourists around the Colosseum, we couldn't find a nice restaurant nearby. Decided to take the HOHO back to Ponte Sant'Angelo where we noticed a lot of nice restaurants.

Ordered Artichokes, Salad, Ravioli with spinach stuffing and sauce, 375ml of red wine.

 

The bill came to 87EU paid 100EU and left the restaurant about 17:15 which left us 45 min. to get back to the Colosseum. At the HOHO stop we were told that HOHO service will end at 18:00 and the last stop would be the Termini station. That should have given me the clue to call a Taxi, but I'm not that smart. So, we just stayed on and ended up at the Termini station where we had to catch a Taxi anyways. The guy pretended he had the meter running on his cell phone. Charged us 18EU. Didn't have time to argue so paid the 18 and went as fast as we could to the entrance. Got there 18:05, the gates were closed. Asked a policeman if there is a way to get in if you are a few minutes late. There isn't. We hopped into another cab told him we wanted to go to Borgo Pio 91. He said 40-45EU.We were  so tired we would have paid him more, lacking common sense. Dropped us off on the other side of St. Peter's. Walked across to our hotel and fell into bed, from total exhaustion.