Europe Trip 2008 Day #7: When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do

So today was our one and only day in Rome, and you really wouldn't know it by how late Jenn and I slept in. It wasn't until 10:45 where we made our way to breakfast a few minutes before closing that we started to get ready for the day. We ended up leaving the Rome Hilton Airport on the shuttle bus at 2:00pm where we were in town about 30 minutes later. The airport in Rome is a bit of a hike to the main drag, but the drive went by relatively quick and we were let off a bit of a walk away from the Coliseum and the Ruins. We split ways immediately with Jenn's parents they were off to a leather store and we went straight for lunch.

Jenn Overlooking the Ruins

Next to a Random Statue On the Way to Lunch

One of Jenn and my favorite experiences in Rome last time we traveled there two years ago was a restaurant across from the ruins that had this set three course meal with a glass of wine that I loved last time, and Jenn loved there food as well. Not much has changed in two years, the same meal I had two years ago was there (this time excluding the inclusive glass of wine) which started with a small plate of Lasagna and then a full Roman Chicken Dinner and topped off with a pace of chocolate cake. I had a glass of the house white wine and Jenn had her normal Pasta a la Bolognase and as much water as we both could drink.

Jenn's Spaghetti ala Bolagnase

My First Course: Lasagna

Have to have Wine with an Italian Meal

The Roman Chicken (Loved the Red Peppers)

Another thing about Rome that hasn't changed is the heat, just like my last trip to Rome, I got a nice heat rash. Since we are not sure about my suit that was in the lost luggage (which was originally bought from Rome) I went back to the same suit store after lunch which was by the Fountain de Trevi and purchased a new Italian Suit. With the help of Jenn we got the price knocked down a bit, and what was even better was the store owner remembered us from two years ago right when we walked in which was a good feeling. We bought a suit, tie and belt which I could potentially have lost if the luggage doesn't turn up.

Jenn's Favorite Italian Dish: The Vanilla Gelato

Jenn In front of the Coliseum

Jenn has potentially lost 4 dresses, one of which she bought specifically for the cruise, and to be honest I have never seen Jenn love a dress more, so we went to look for Jenn a formal dress for the cruise following buying the suit. Went to a few different stores, one which was more like an American department store, another that had some dresses she liked and then the final stop was a formal dress only store which Jenn pointed at from across the street and told me "that's the place". Let me tell you when we got in there this very nice elderly Italian women who spoke no English was extremely helpful, Jenn feel in love with a white dress but they didn't have her size so they kept trying other white dresses until her last dress she tried on which was really the nicest one she did try on. She told me that it was the one, and that was that. What was so great about the experience was that everyone in the store continually said "bella, bella" or "beautiful, beautiful" I thought they were talking about me but I realized when Jenn walked out they were talking about her. A common mistake I know, but the shopping was quick easy, and if Jenn I did potentially loose our formal wear we did manage to find some amazing replacements.

We concluded the day by going to dinner with Jenn's folks, this was a restaurant we had gone to last trip and everyone had agreed to come back. It was a nice meal, that concluded our short time in Rome extremely well. We got back from Rome at around 11:30pm where we now pack back up and get ready for the big part of our trip the 12 Day Mediterranean cruise. I do want to make a note for all the faithful readers of this vacation portion of my blog, posting "may" be delayed on the cruise. From past experience, cruises are extremely expensive to use internet with, and also very slow so pictures will probably limited, and time is a bit more limited as well. I will do my best to keep it on a daily basis, but please be patient as I know my internet in 1995 can sometimes be faster then what you get At Sea. We leave tomorrow afternoon from our Hotel to the Cruise ship and I hope to post tomorrow night with pictures of the room, and ship, and a recap of what transpired on our first night on the cruise. Until then, arrivedercci!