Rome, Italy

           Wednesday, 27 Mar 2024 – After another excellent breakfast, we placed our luggage outside our hotel room a little before 9:00 AM.  Then, we met in the hotel lobby at 10:00 AM for the bus ride to the airport.  We used a cart to transport our luggage to the ticket counter.  It was a fairly good distance and Sally did not have a wheelchair this time, but she made it okay.  We flew from CDG, Paris to the Leonardo da Vinci-Flumicino (FCO) Airport, Rome, departing at 2:05 PM.  After arriving in Rome, a wheelchair attendant noticed Sally struggling and offered he a ride.  Then he found wheelchairs for other members of our group that needed them.  He was extremely helpful in picking up our luggage and getting us to our bus.  Tini suggested that I give him a good tip!

First, we went to our hotel (which seemed very far from the airport).  Our hotel in Rome was the Aparthotel Colombo.  We ate dinner with the Ivy group in a nearby pizza restaurant.  The bill was so confusing that Wilbur decided to pick up the tab.  Thanks Wilbur!  Our room was on the second floor, and was a little larger than the one in Paris, and had a small refrigerator.  It was even harder here to find any TV station with English there!

            Thursday, 28 Mar 2024 – An excellent breakfast was spread in a small, compact area, but plenty was available.  We asked for “coffee-with-milk” which was made behind a counter and brought to us.

At 8:45 AM, we departed for a “Sightseeing tour of Rome.”  We soaked up over 2,000 years of Imperial Roman history as the tour guide narrated the sights, including the Arch of Constantine, the Arch of Titus, the Baths of Caracalla, and Platine Hill with the Circus Maximus where ancient Romans raced chariots.  We stopped at the Colosseum, the largest amphitheater of the Roman Empire.   There, we meant a guide who escorted us on a tour of the Colosseum.  It was a lot of a lot of walking!  The Colosseum was followed by a tour of the Roman Forum.  We were already tired, so we waited for the guide at the entrance, while our guide took the others to the Forum.  Sally sat on her cane seat.  After several minutes, Tini returned and walked us back to the bus.

For dinner, the Ivy group decided on a local restaurant, Cotto e Magnato.  The hotel clerk had described its location as “across the street;” however, we had trouble finding it.  We finally realized that it was located on a side street.  We enjoyed a very tasty Italian meal.

            Friday, 29 Mar 2024 – We had to enjoy an early breakfast, as our optional tour of the Vatican departed the hotel at 7:20 AM.  The Vatican was definitely not handicap accessible; no one used wheelchairs.  Once the tour started, there was no way out, so we had to continue through the entire tour.  There was a great deal of walking required.  Sally sat on my cane seat every time we stopped for 45 seconds or more!  Although very tiring, the Vatican was just as beautiful as it had been when we toured it in 2006!  During free time after the tour, Jesse bought rosaries for our neighbors at one of the gift shops.

Our farewell dinner was at the exclusive Tanagra restaurant, with entertainment by opera singers at various times.  There was a very large group of young people at the restaurant who were dressed in formal wear, even though many were wearing tennis shoes on their feet!  Everyone was served the same family-styled meal, which was multi-course and very good.  During the final show, the female singer selected Jesse to “dance” with her at one point, which helped to make his night!  After dinner, our bus returned us to our hotel, as we sang several songs led by the driver!