Day 174: Roma

It seems like we've been waiting for the European part of the trip to start for a while. The kids have had eyes like saucers every time they talk about RomeParisLondon - yes, it has all become one word - you can't say one without the other. Beth and I decided a long time ago to include these three classic European cities at the end of the trip. A taste, really, of three important, iconic, beautiful places. However, for a long time, we pretended that we would have to choose just one of the three cities.... I know, sounds like torture, but it was fun. Every time Abby would lean towards Paris, I would say "yeah, but Rome is awesome". When Robin said "I'll go to Rome!" Beth said "but London has so much more to see!".

We finally told them at a dinner last year.... Of course we went to Rocco's Plum Tomato and told them we had a special trip announcement. Abby had grudgingly guessed that we would be announcing "Italy" as the winner since it was an Italian place. I don't know how Paris has programmed every teenage girl in the world to be in love with Paris, but somehow I think they've managed to do it! Well, when we revealed that we'd be going to all three cities they were ecstatic! When we revealed we always were going to all three cities, they were pissed then laughed.... A perfect reaction!

But first, we had to get out of Istanbul. Beth and I were up early to meet the artist. As promised, he was there at 7:00am and we began to look through his shop. We found more pieces that we liked than we could possibly mount on our walls. We ended up chatting with him for a while then bought two small oil paintings that we love. My day pack is now full of artwork, and my big pack has stiffly packed paintings along the back. We will need a micro loan just to frame the stuff!

We got in the cab just after eight. We were headed to the Asian side airport again, and in anticipation of a jerky, traffic filled ride, Robin had ordered up a shot of Gravol. We zipped around outside the city wall, and I snapped this pic of the morning sun peaking down at the Sea of Marmara.

We went past the New Mosque where the activity by the bridge to Galata had already started. In another five minutes we were almost to the end of the old city wall, and I looked back at Robin to remark how long the wall was and she was fast asleep, head hanging down. Wow - that's good stuff!

The cabbie was fantastic... Here's a superlative - yes...I'm going to do it.... He was "the best cabbie we've had in Turkey". I tried for Asia, or even Western Asia but I just wasn't completely sure. However, he was a great guy. Not to mention, he drove safely and smoothly - a rarity, albeit with limited observation.

Our cabbie saw an opportunity on the road and took it, so we managed to take the Western bridge across the Bosphorus and see a different part of the Eueopean then the Asian side of the city. It really is like Disneyland - so clean!

The cabbie was married to a Christian woman from Greece. I loved his reaction to my question on whether that was a problem for his family (he being Muslim). "No...what problem? Nobody cares". He laughed. But that is the Turkey we've come to know - on the far opposite side of religious extremism. He had three kids and sounded pretty well travelled in the region. In fact, he just got back from ballooning in Capaddocia with his family - November is the time that Turks travel a lot.

We got to the airport in record time and said goodbye. The checkin process was smooth, so we had time for another Starbucks. Our ambitious, ass covering barista tired two attempts at finally getting my name right - "Kreik" and "Krein" just didn't cut it :-).

Our fifth and final Pegasys flight was flight #31 - yee haw!

The airport in Rome was under renovation, and it was a bit of a maze getting transportation, but eventually, we were in a mini van with a couple from Saudi Arabia on the way to the hotel. The driver, this burly young Italian guy was on his phone most of the way. At one point, he started yelling and waving his hands. The kids looked at me and asked what was going on, and I jokingly said he was probably talking to his family. A couple of minutes later, he dropped the phone and said "sorry.... problema witha da family". Too funny.

Apparently, the girls had their minds set on gelato and pizza, because it wasn't too long after the "oohs and ahhs" from the airport taxi as we zipped towards the hotel, until they began their mission. We checked into the hundred year old Alexandra Hotel - managed by the same family since it was built in 1910. The place is perfect - a large two bedroom suite with a huge bathroom in the heart of all the action of Rome.

Bags dropped, out the door and the girls found gelato not ten steps from the door of the hotel.

I took us on a walk, meandering through cobbles, alleys and stairways, and ended up at the top of the Spanish Steps. Unfortunately, the steps were all fenced off as they are doing repairs and maintenance to the whole area. D'oh!

The artists along the top and bottom of the steps had some nice stuff for sale... No wall space, no wall space, no wall space....ok, I'm good now

We meandered, following the throngs of people. This was Europe now people so it was time to get used to the hoards of ever present tourists. It was close to three o'clock, and we were stuck with the two hour time change in a twilight zone between lunch and dinner. We opted to check the second box in the kids mission - pizza.

A short walk later, and we were steps away from the Trevi Fountain. Abby took a couple of shots of some of the little vendor trucks that are set up all over the place.

We saw a huge crowd of people, and rounded the next corner only to see the Trevi Fountain also blocked off and completely dry. A quick Google search and I found that it had been closed since the summer of 2014. The girls were pretty disappointed, but what can you do. It actually looked like they were just finishing up, as the place looked immaculately clean. The fountain and building behind it are beautiful.

The girls still made a wish and launched their coins into the dry fountain to join the thousands of other coins. Beth and I had made two wishes that both came true here last time, so who knows?!

We continued to wander. The girls and I found one of those street spray paint guys that we'd seen in NYC and I'd seen many times in Vegas. The style of the end product is not our favourite, but it's really cool to see what they can produce with spray paint and bits of cardboard. Beth, meanwhile, had snuck into a leather jacket shop...

We rested our legs in an alleyway restaurant. There are tables and chairs attached to restaurants in literally every alley and square in the heart of the city. Having a drink and watching people go by is one of the best parts of Rome.

The sun had set and we were still walking. Everyone was still full of "city energy". Rome at night becomes an even prettier city than the day. The buildings light up in a warm yellow glow, and the colours and shadows transform the cityscape. The people come out of the woodwork here at night, as locals and tourists converge in search of food and drink.

We went by the Trevi again, and soon after, along some random alleyway, we stumbled into a photographer's shop. He had some really cool stuff, and we started to chat him up. Turns out, he was just married to a woman from Montreal and they might be moving to Toronto next year. A half hour later, Abby had bought a cool montage of Italian windows and we'd learned a ton of ways to use photoshop. Carlo was a great guy, and we arranged to go back tomorrow so he'd have a chance to mount Abby's poster. It was a great, chance meeting.

By around seven, we'd found a little sidewalk place for dinner near our hotel. We were still working on Istanbul time, so it was nine o'clock for us. We'd had a great day. Beth and I always knew the girls would love Rome, but they were beyond happy.

Looking forward to the next few days exploring this great city.