Back to Rome
Our last morning in Sorrento started with more yummy breakfast food (oh, how I love Nutella), and then a brisk walk to the conference hotel. The talks this morning were on the stuff we’re really interested in - using pumps and continuous glucose monitoring in pregnant diabetes. Most exciting of all, our poster was cited by one of the speakers! We were referenced on his slide and everything. We’re so cool.
We left the conference before it was over to catch our train to Naples. We checked out, and then hauled our much heavier bags down cobblestoned streets, through a funeral (which felt very rude, but we had no choice) and up a hill to the train station. We lucked out and caught an earlier train than we expected from Sorrento, and the train was much less crowded on a Saturday morning than it was earlier in the week. We had to drag our bags up 3 flights of stairs at the Naples train station (have they really not heard of escalators?), but at least this time we knew where we were going. We got an earlier train, that wasn’t a direct train to Rome like the one we’d planned on taking, but was still going to get us there almost 2 hours earlier than we'd expected.
Lisa and our bags - her's is Big Blue
There was some sort of demonstration going on when we arrived in Rome, so rather than mess with the craziness that would have ensued with taking the bus, we took a taxi to our next hotel instead. We checked into our new hotel - the Hotel Portoghesi, chosen based on Trip Advisor reviews and its proximity to the historic sights. It’s a cute little hotel, next door to a lovely church and on a fairly quiet street.
Corner of Via dei Portoghesi
We dropped of our bags and headed out to do more exploring. We hadn’t made it to the Spanish Steps, so we went there by way of Piazza de Popolo, so that we could say that we’d seen every sight Loredana had recommended we visit when she gave us the overview of Rome last week. It was madhouse at the Spanish Steps. We climbed to the top of the steps to take in the view, and then headed back towards the Trevi Fountain. It started to rain, so we ducked into a little bar for wine and pasta. It wasn’t the best food to end our trip with, but the wine was good and we were dry. It sprinkled off and on the rest of the evening, but never too hard until we’d already headed back to the hotel.
Street Performer at Piazza de Popolo
Spanish Steps
View from the top of the Spanish Steps
At the Trevi Fountain, we threw our coins again…since our last coins were wasted since it was already a done deal that we were coming back to Rome - we had to if we wanted to catch our flight tomorrow! We did commemorate the occasion with pictures this time, though. We had more gelato (not as good as Primavera’s but still good), and then walked to the Pantheon. On the way to the Pantheon, Lisa decided she needed to buy more Limoncello, so we stopped in a little wine and goodies shop, where we were treated to tastes of two types of Limoncello, limon crema, pistachio crema (divine), and chocolate crema. Of course I got talked into buying more limoncello, too. It was just too good to resist.
Me at Trevi Fountain
Trevi Fountain
Store of Deliciousness
We sat on the steps of the fountain in front of the Pantheon and enjoyed people watching until it started to rain again, then we wound our way through the streets until we finally found our hotel. European daylight savings time starts tonight, which sucks since we’ll be losing another hour of sleep right before we change time zones. I really think they should have had the courtesy to either change when the US did, or wait until we went home to change. It’s only polite.
Despite the time change, the day was still a wonderful end to our trip to Italy.
Pantheon at Night
March 21: Jetlagged in Rome
March 22: More Sightseeing in Rome
March 23: The Vatican
March 24: To Sorrento
March 25: Pompeii
March 26: Conference
March 27: Conference Day 2
We left the conference before it was over to catch our train to Naples. We checked out, and then hauled our much heavier bags down cobblestoned streets, through a funeral (which felt very rude, but we had no choice) and up a hill to the train station. We lucked out and caught an earlier train than we expected from Sorrento, and the train was much less crowded on a Saturday morning than it was earlier in the week. We had to drag our bags up 3 flights of stairs at the Naples train station (have they really not heard of escalators?), but at least this time we knew where we were going. We got an earlier train, that wasn’t a direct train to Rome like the one we’d planned on taking, but was still going to get us there almost 2 hours earlier than we'd expected.
Lisa and our bags - her's is Big Blue
There was some sort of demonstration going on when we arrived in Rome, so rather than mess with the craziness that would have ensued with taking the bus, we took a taxi to our next hotel instead. We checked into our new hotel - the Hotel Portoghesi, chosen based on Trip Advisor reviews and its proximity to the historic sights. It’s a cute little hotel, next door to a lovely church and on a fairly quiet street.
Corner of Via dei Portoghesi
We dropped of our bags and headed out to do more exploring. We hadn’t made it to the Spanish Steps, so we went there by way of Piazza de Popolo, so that we could say that we’d seen every sight Loredana had recommended we visit when she gave us the overview of Rome last week. It was madhouse at the Spanish Steps. We climbed to the top of the steps to take in the view, and then headed back towards the Trevi Fountain. It started to rain, so we ducked into a little bar for wine and pasta. It wasn’t the best food to end our trip with, but the wine was good and we were dry. It sprinkled off and on the rest of the evening, but never too hard until we’d already headed back to the hotel.
Street Performer at Piazza de Popolo
Spanish Steps
View from the top of the Spanish Steps
At the Trevi Fountain, we threw our coins again…since our last coins were wasted since it was already a done deal that we were coming back to Rome - we had to if we wanted to catch our flight tomorrow! We did commemorate the occasion with pictures this time, though. We had more gelato (not as good as Primavera’s but still good), and then walked to the Pantheon. On the way to the Pantheon, Lisa decided she needed to buy more Limoncello, so we stopped in a little wine and goodies shop, where we were treated to tastes of two types of Limoncello, limon crema, pistachio crema (divine), and chocolate crema. Of course I got talked into buying more limoncello, too. It was just too good to resist.
Me at Trevi Fountain
Trevi Fountain
Store of Deliciousness
We sat on the steps of the fountain in front of the Pantheon and enjoyed people watching until it started to rain again, then we wound our way through the streets until we finally found our hotel. European daylight savings time starts tonight, which sucks since we’ll be losing another hour of sleep right before we change time zones. I really think they should have had the courtesy to either change when the US did, or wait until we went home to change. It’s only polite.
Despite the time change, the day was still a wonderful end to our trip to Italy.
Pantheon at Night
March 21: Jetlagged in Rome
March 22: More Sightseeing in Rome
March 23: The Vatican
March 24: To Sorrento
March 25: Pompeii
March 26: Conference
March 27: Conference Day 2