Italian Occupation: Very Late and Thin First Post

I apologize for taking so long to make our first blog post but we had a rather shakey start on arrival day and then a rapid and extensive two day primer tour of Rome.

We got off to a slow start having suffered the worst jet lag either of us have experienced to date. Our plane got in on time Saturday morning which put us at the hotel before 10 am. Too early to check in so we left our bags and set out on weary foot to explore our neighborhood and try to get our bearings.

Our hotel (Hotel Forum) is directly across the street from the ruins of the Forum so we didn't have to go far to get a taste of ancient Rome. We wandered the perimeter of the Forum without really knowing much about what we were looking at. We also walked the streets east of the hotel and wandered into a church off the beaten path that housed a statue of Noah we would later learn is not to be missed while in Rome.

We found a little sidewalk cafe for an early dinner and then went back to the hotel for an early bedtime.

Before we left the States, we arranged to have two full day private guided tours. On Sunday we met Ferenna (see picture and Cassie and Ferenna inside the Pantheon) at 9 am and started a fast-paced tour of the Forum, Colleseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and St. Peter's Square and Basilica.

Ferenna was great! She is a licensed guide, spoke perfect English and was incredibly knowledgeable about everything we saw. She went to college with the goal of being a guide and speaks four languages fluently.

The Forum, where we had spent some amount of time on our own, took on a whole new and complete face with Ferenna's explanation of each location, the players involved and the history. I couldn't recommend with more enthusiasm the use of a guide when you visit a foreign city.

The Forum is the location of the ancient temples, senate house, Emperor's residence, etc. and is also the site of the original settlement of Rome that dates back 5,000 years.