It’s a beautiful evening in Venice, feels a lot like a breezy Seattle day in the mid sixties.  Nice to be back by the water again.  We really have had fabulous weather with hardly a drop of rain in spite of the predictions.  It was supposed to be raining when we arrived this afternoon, but only some clouds and a bit of fog that soon disappeared.  But more of that later.

A look back at Rome reminds one that trying to see much on anything in three days really is insane.  I’m really glad that the Vatican Museum was the very first thing we did, as it was our big ‘have to’.  Our guide had asked us to meet here on the far side of the Sistine Chapel after our allotted time of 15 minutes and she would lead us into St. Peter’s through the special ‘guide’ entrance so we wouldn’t have to go back around to the front and queue up again.  Well, that didn’t happen – Alex was so mesmerized that I didn’t dare edge her towards the exit – that took about half an hour.  It really is an incredible experience to be standing beneath one of the world’s great works of art, in a room sacred to the Catholic faith.  It really is breathtaking. 

So it was back to our fabulous hotel, a bit of a nap, and then off to our Birthday Dinner.  La Scala we the restaurant suggested by Nicolette, just down the street.  It turned out to be quite good.  Alex had a great pasta dish and I had a house specialty that consisted of a white fish baked in a potato crust – really thin potato pancakes layered over the fish.  Really good.  A little gelato on the way back to the hotel and the day was complete.

Wednesday was ‘walking around’ day, and walk we did.  Campo Fiori was wonderful in the morning with the Mercado in full swing.  Alex found a little shop off to the side and came away with a new dress, and I got to watch the vegetable man, a live infomercial.  He was hilarious.  Campo Nuvona, then the Pantheon which was made even more interesting with our little Rick Steves audioguide.  I’m  becoming a shill for the guy, but his audioguides are great – as I said, probably not nearly as interesting as a good guide or tour, but who knows how to find the good ones? 

We eventually stumbled across a Dali exhibit that was really interesting, showing a lot of his work in chronological order, and explaining some of his ‘stunts’.  Alex was thrilled and I enjoyed it as well, as they took great pains to point out the Italian influence, particularly Michelangelo and Ruebens.

That evening we virtually duplicated the walk after dark, adding the insanity of the Trevi Fountain to the mix.  Not quite as insanely crowded as the Vatican Museum, but close.  We found a great little trattoria near the Campo Fiori on the way back, sitting outside to watch the passing parade.  It was on a little alleyway so narrow that I had to pull my knees in when the occasional car went by.  And the freshest little chunks of fried fish I’ve ever had. 

Thursday was Ancient Rome day and the Coliseum which was the other must see on Alex’s list.  About a 25 minute walk from the hotel, we were a little nervous because it sure felt like a storm was blowing in, cloudy and humid.  The way to beat the line at the Coliseum is to buy a ticket for both it and the Ancient Forum area at the same time.  We had spent about an hour wandering the ruins on our way to the Coliseum when Alex hit the wall.  Pale and weak all of a sudden – at least to me – we managed to find a cab to take us back to the hotel.  And the first scam.  It was a legit taxi, at the taxi stand  and when we started off the meter read 6 Euros instead of 2.50 as the one we took from the train station.  When I asked what the deal was, he said a surcharge for the Coliseum.  Even with that, the fare shouldn’t have been much more than 10 -12 Euros.  It’s a little complicated to find one’s way through the narrow streets of Trastevere,  but he didn’t even get close, leaving us with about a 10 minute walk.  When I looked up the meter read 19.10.  We had definitely been had.  But he wasn’t done yet.  I handed him a 20 Euro note which he almost grabbed from my hand and immediately switched it with a 5 Euro note which is smaller but the same color, saying I owed him more.  Thanks for the warning Rick Steves.  What I should have done was grab the 5 Euro note from him and walked away, but I wasn’t thinking that quickly, just mostly concerned with getting Alex back to the hotel and pissed that this clown was ripping us off.  But as I reminded myself on the walk back to the hotel, if that’s the worst that happens on this trip, we are laughin’.

The ride back to the train station this morning was 8 Euros.  Go figure.

A couple of hours of sleep and some liquids got Alex back on track, just in time for some early evening souvenir shopping.  Cheesy stuff, but somebody has got to buy it.  And we found the very best Gelato of the trip so far, at the same place we had breakfast the last two mornings.  Just a simple local coffee bar.  Great way to both start and end the day