The Coach taking folks who were heading directly back to the US left at 12:30 PM. Some of those folk had a considerable wait at the airports. But for the 64 of us going on the Italy trip we left at 2:30 AM. Our flight for Rome left about 7:30 so we did not wait very long.
I was able to sleep some on the way to the airport. However, it was fitful. Our driver had a few idiosyncrasies. The trip was like riding with a 16-year-old learning to drive a stick shift. There were a lot of sudden stops and quick starts. The flight to Roma was a bit rough but still much smoother than the bus ride.
Dr. Kingsley went ahead of our group when we left the luggage pickup and he found the bus that would take us to the hotel. When our group all had their luggage, we headed out to the arrival hall and there was Dr Kingsley standing in the midst of a sea of limo and bus drivers holding large signs with the names of the people and groups they were meeting. Dr. Kingsley was holding up a business card with the word “Harlaxton” printed in tiny letters across the back.
The double-decker bus that had been sent did not have quite enough room for all the luggage that we Americans had brought. It did fit in the storage area and in the floor at the back of the bus.
Hotel Pacifica is OK. We have a room with a balcony facing the busy street. The streets of Roma are not quiet until at least 1:00 AM and then the solitude is frequently interrupted by honking and sirens. Rome drivers do not toot their horns they hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonk their horns.
Our room’s radiator was stuck on and it was very warm. We resorted to opening and closing the window to regulate the temperature. Of course, when the window was open the noise was exacerbated.
In the afternoon of the first day we walked (25 minutes) to St. Peters in the Vatican. We had been there before and I recognized and remembered most of the stuff but it is still so very impressive.
The walls have huge reproductions of some of the great painting in the word. They appear to be paintings until you look very closely and you see they are mosaics.
The audio guide was a treatise on catholic doctrine. St. Peter supposedly is buried in the church – can’t see his grave.
For dinner we had pizza take away that you buy by the gram. You tell them how big a piece you want and they weigh it.
We were in bed by 8:00 and slept until 7:00
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