So day #1, landed at 9am, a bit exhausted. Taxi drops us off and says go down that alley and take the second right. Darn pedestrian walkways. We walk and look and look for a sign for the b&b but there is nada. Go to a cafe and ask and they are like it's right there pointing across the street. Still see nothing and walk down the block dragging our suitcases down a cobblestone road. Ask someone else and he is like um, you have the street address have you looked for the number? Duh, no hadn't thought of that, gonna blame that one on being tired. So we finally find #19 and it's just a hotel name next to a buzzer, no sign and it is directly across from the cafe just like the girl said. Rang the bell and someone finally answers and let's us in and we climb to the 5th floor with our suitcases (according to the taxi driver I had the woman's suitcase because it was so heavy....packed running stuff too!)
Owner initially not there, another guest had let us in. Wait about 15 min (we were a bit early) and the owner shows up, doesn't really speak English but luckily speaks great Spanish. But the rooms not ready so out we go exhausted to see the sites. Feeling a bit like a tour guide but I try to give options of things to do so i feel a little less like a guide. It's funny how well I remember Rome, it's been a few years but I remember different restaurants we (me and jaime) ate at and know some vague directions to things.
So we started our tour with a leisurely walk thru piazza navonna and then to campo di fiori, stop for some cappuccinos (the first of many in Italy). Then to ponte sisto and across to the neighborhood of trastevere. Then looped back to the pantheon and instead of wow look at that, my dads response "wow we can just walk in here for free, that's why Italy is broke."
On a side note, I think once you hit over 50 the concept of how to convert euros to dollars is almost impossible. I almost made my dad a little cheat sheet...but that wouldnt have even helped. He asked me multiple times how many dollars would 7 lire be....I reminded him it was the euro and thought he got it until we went by the produce market and it was 5e per kg. He was like how many peaches do i get? After I explained he would also have to convert kg to pounds, I think he just decided he won't be buying anything in Italy.
My dad was getting pretty tired so we stopped for gelato and then back to the hotel for a nap. I have never seen anyone fall asleep so fast in my life.
When he wakes up think we are going to do a nice dinner and turn in early.
Love the update. Arriving in a foreign country after the red-eye is a bit disorienting for anyone, but especially our almost 60 year old dad ;) I'm sure he'll understand the conversion sooner by the time you leave. Don't tire him out too much! Just remember, you are a marathon running, and he isn't. He has the iphone, why don't you find an app for him that will convert kg to pounds and the euro to $$?
How long are you in Rome for?
Posted by: Laurie Fiorito Woychick | 06/24/2011 at 02:17 PM