Goodbye, Hello

We woke up super early this morning so we could hop on an early flight out of Sicily. It was sad to say goodbye to Jimmy and his family. We loved our time spent with them. I hope one day when they settle down we can live somewhere nearby and enjoy regular time together.

Our 6:55am flight took off and we landed just an hour later in our next destination, Rome! We caught this amazing sunrise with Mt Etna in the background after takeoff.

We arrived in Rome early and grabbed a taxi to our hotel right in the heart of Rome. Thankfully they had a room available so we were able to unpack and freshen up before heading out.

We wanted to get a feel for the city so started with the Rick Steves audio tour. We saw so many gorgeous fountains and obelisks along the way. 

One of our favorite moments was turning the corner and seeing the Pantheon. This was gorgeous inside and out. 

We decided to eat at one of the restaurants where we enjoyed some margherita pizza and fresh made pasta, all with a beautiful view of the Pantheon.

The tour also took us by the Trevi fountain, which is just a few blocks from our hotel. It was beautiful! We, of course, had to throw a few coins in to ensure our return one day. We are excited to go visit the fountain again after dark sometime.

We were just ambling along on our tour and took a bit of a wrong turn, so we ended up taking a side path to the top of the Spanish steps. This means we got the pretty view first, then walked to the bottom to look up. 

These were pretty but nothing we would need to see again. And the stores just down from the Spanish steps had guards standing in front of the doors. It was sort of off-putting (thought it’s not like we could afford to shop there anyways).

During the tour we stopped in at several churches. I loved that all the churches in Rome were free and we took advantage of that by stopping at several.

There was one church, in particular, that absolutely amazed us. Chiesa di San Luigi dei Francesi was unassuming from the outside but amazing from the inside. And the best part sits in the back corner - three paintings from Caravaggio. If you’re like me, you wouldn’t know a Caravaggio from a hole in the ground. Brian and I are notorious for skipping every art museum because we really get bored by art, but the moment I saw these I was in awe. There just aren’t words to tell you how transcendent they are. We loved them so much we looked for other Caravaggio works to see while in Rome and we will be sure to go back and visit the church again before we leave. So maybe we *do* like some art. 🙂

We did a little wandering on the way back and stopped for the traditional Italian treat - gelato. Yum!

Next up was some relaxing time in our room. We just sat and rested for a bit, catching up on news from CNN. We did go out a bit later but then the wind picked up and it started to rain. By the time we made it back to the hotel it was hailing. The windows are open in our room and the shutters in nearby rooms are whipping back and forth in the wind. Thankfully, this weather should pass tonight and tomorrow looks better.

Before I close, let’s talk about the elephant in the room - Coronavirus. We first became aware that it was something to be cautious of when Jimmy mentioned it to us. Then one of the only english-language stations in Rome is CNN, so we've been watching that. We keep hearing about it, especially how it has hit Italy. There’s a lot of scary news out there, but at this point it’s been really hitting northern Italy, which we won’t be visiting. 

Brian and I are taking some of our own precautions. We have cancelled our day trip to Naples, which would have required hours on a train with others. We took a cab from the airport instead of public transportation. We are taking it easy in Rome and focusing on outdoor activities where we can have a little more space from other people. We are also washing our hands well and using hand sanitizer. For several weeks we have been taking emergen-c which is heavy in vitamin c to help boost our immune system. And more than that, we are healthy adults so we aren’t letting this scare us from continuing our adventure.