Photos: http://flickr.com/photos/link774/sets/72157615047980484/
This morning was pretty laid back, we had some breakfast and Juan Carlos helped Kellian with her Spanish. After that, we hung around a bit while Kellian sent some emails for work. Once she was done, we headed out for lunch at a place called Cafe Mundo.
The food was quite good, they served mostly Italian cuisine. Kellian had some eggplant parmesean and I had penne with vodka sauce. The ambiance was quite nice with lots of greenery around. It felt like we were in a jungle or something, even though it was just off of the street in San Jose.
After that, we decided that today would be a good day to do the walking tour of San Jose from our guidebook. The walk took us by a bunch of the sites of San Jose, including Parque Espana, Parque Morezan, Teatro National, Museo de Oro, Plaza de la Democracia, Museo National, Parque National, Biblioteca National, and Museo de Jade.
Unfortunately, we didn't have much time, so we didn't actually go in to any of the museums, but still it was a nice stroll through the parks and getting a sense of the city. We'll probably try and hit a few of the museums before I leave.
During our walk I tried to convince Kellian that men have extra iron in their noses, which we can use as a navigational aid. This was fairly amusing.
After our walk, we stopped by a grocery store to pick up some ingredients for cooking dinner. Kellian made enchiladas, which turned out quite well. I made some guacamole which was also pretty tasty. We tried to bake some tortillas to make chips since we forgot to buy them, but that didn't turn out too well. Some were too chewy and some were a bit too brown. It is a delicate balance that I didn't quite pull off. I think next time I will save myself the trouble and remember to buy a bag of Tostitos.
Costa Rica Trip Day 3 - 2009-03-08
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/link774/sets/72157615003229200/
Today we had some breakfast at the hotel, and hung out on the beach for a while. After that, we decided that it would be fun to rent a bicycle or a scooter and tool around Puntarenas a bit. The folks at the hotel said there was a place a few blocks up, but we couldn't find it. Instead, we just walked along the Pasejo de los Touristas.
We happened upon a street vendor who was selling some wire puzzles. Needless to say, I was quite thrilled. The man was demonstrating the ring-on-a-spring puzzle that I had seen before, so when he handed it to me I solved it quickly. He gave me another one to try that was a bit more tricky. I was getting tired of standing there, so I ended up purchasing that one as well as one called Labyrinth that I had seen before. Labyrinth was from his 'muy dificile' (very difficult) section. They were really cheap, so I should have gotten more. Oh well!
We had lunch at a place called Captain Morenos, where I played around with the puzzles for a bit. I solved the easier of the two puzzles I bought while I was waiting for our food. The food was good and Kellian got a tasty pina colada.
We decided that we were ready to head back to San Jose, so we headed back to the bus station. The ride back was fairly uneventful, I spent the whole time trying to solve Labyrinth. About an hour and a half into the trip I solved it. Hooray! It is a clever little puzzle.
When we got back to San Jose, we went to a Chinese culture thing that was being put on by the Kung Fu school that Kellian has started to go to. In brief: we were starving (7:00PM), we were seated behind a pillar, the event started an hour late, the Kung Fu demonstration was pretty cool, there was a really long speech in Spanish, the food was served two hours into the event (9:00PM!), and the food wasn't very good.
That's it for my third day in Costa Rica.
Today we had some breakfast at the hotel, and hung out on the beach for a while. After that, we decided that it would be fun to rent a bicycle or a scooter and tool around Puntarenas a bit. The folks at the hotel said there was a place a few blocks up, but we couldn't find it. Instead, we just walked along the Pasejo de los Touristas.
We happened upon a street vendor who was selling some wire puzzles. Needless to say, I was quite thrilled. The man was demonstrating the ring-on-a-spring puzzle that I had seen before, so when he handed it to me I solved it quickly. He gave me another one to try that was a bit more tricky. I was getting tired of standing there, so I ended up purchasing that one as well as one called Labyrinth that I had seen before. Labyrinth was from his 'muy dificile' (very difficult) section. They were really cheap, so I should have gotten more. Oh well!
We had lunch at a place called Captain Morenos, where I played around with the puzzles for a bit. I solved the easier of the two puzzles I bought while I was waiting for our food. The food was good and Kellian got a tasty pina colada.
We decided that we were ready to head back to San Jose, so we headed back to the bus station. The ride back was fairly uneventful, I spent the whole time trying to solve Labyrinth. About an hour and a half into the trip I solved it. Hooray! It is a clever little puzzle.
When we got back to San Jose, we went to a Chinese culture thing that was being put on by the Kung Fu school that Kellian has started to go to. In brief: we were starving (7:00PM), we were seated behind a pillar, the event started an hour late, the Kung Fu demonstration was pretty cool, there was a really long speech in Spanish, the food was served two hours into the event (9:00PM!), and the food wasn't very good.
That's it for my third day in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica Trip Day 2 - 2009-03-07
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/link774/sets/72157615003091696/
For breakfast today, Kellian got some pastries and fresh fruit from a local bakery, and we also had eggs. There was a squirrel who was eyeing my food, so I took a few pictures of him. Costa Rican squirrels have a very different look from the gray squirrels in the northeastern US.
After breakfast, we decided to head to Puntarenas, which is a small beach town northwest of San Jose. the bus ride was about 2.5 hours. It started to get quite warm when we got over the mountains: San Jose is a lot cooler than the coastal areas.
Once we got there, we stopped at a little restaurant for a sandwich. I got a 'carne y queso amarillo' sandwich, which means meat and yellow cheese. It was actually quite tasty! There were tomatoes, which I normally don't like, but I put up with them rather than pick the sandwich apart. Kellian got a vegetarian version that looked pretty much like what I had but without meat. She also got a frozen guanabana (a type of fruit) drink that was good.
Once we were done with lunch, we decided to head to the Pasejo de los Touristas where we would try to find a hotel. We asked the waiter which way to the Pasejo de los Touristas, and he looked confused and pointed us to the west. Once we started walking, we figured out why he was confused: we were actually already on the road we were looking for!
We ended up staying at a hotel called Alamar, which was right across from the beach and in good shape. The first room they put us in had a door lock that didn't latch, but the second room was fine. In fact, it was a bit nicer than the other room, so that worked out well. At this point it was about 3:00, so we hurried over to hit the beach before it got too late.
The beach was nice, pretty clean and soft sand. It was a brownish color and very fine. One of the cool things about Puntarenas was that there were very few tourists there. Mostly Ticos (Costa Ricans) with their families.
We bobbed around in the ocean for a bit and then decided to head in and get cleaned up for dinner. We checked a guidebook we were using and found a place that sounded pretty good named Kaite Negra. It was about six blocks east and three blocks north from the hotel, so we decided to walk it, since it was only just dusk and we saw folks walking around still.
Most of the walk was ok, but we ended up heading a bit too far north and encountered a stray dog. We tried to walk around it, but it started lunging and barking at us, which was fairly alarming. I barked back at in and lunged towards it in an attempt to scare it off. It backed up a bit and kept barking and we walked away, my heart was racing. Phew!
We were a bit lost, so we asked a old woman in a wheel chair for directions. She was very friendly and wheeled herself to the corner and pointed out the restaurant to us.
The restaurant was definitely off the beaten path with only a few tables and no other tourists, as far as we could tell. I got a filet of some type of fish (sea bass, maybe) with salsa vasca, a white sauce, that was very tasty. Kellian, as a vegetarian, unfortunately has more limited choices. She got a salad that was mediocre and some fried plantains that she enjoyed. The waiter was a bit distressed that she didn't eat much of the salad and was not going to charge us for it, but we insisted.
Rather than risk running into another dog, we decided to take a taxi back to the main drag. We found a nice ice cream place where Kellian got a banana split and I got a chocolate milk shake. The milk shake was great but otherwise un-noteworthy. Kellian's banana split, however, had several interesting aspects: it had corn flakes on it (added a nice crunch), sweetened condensed milk (also good), mangos (good), and jello at the bottom (not so good).
The End. (I never know how to end these things)
For breakfast today, Kellian got some pastries and fresh fruit from a local bakery, and we also had eggs. There was a squirrel who was eyeing my food, so I took a few pictures of him. Costa Rican squirrels have a very different look from the gray squirrels in the northeastern US.
After breakfast, we decided to head to Puntarenas, which is a small beach town northwest of San Jose. the bus ride was about 2.5 hours. It started to get quite warm when we got over the mountains: San Jose is a lot cooler than the coastal areas.
Once we got there, we stopped at a little restaurant for a sandwich. I got a 'carne y queso amarillo' sandwich, which means meat and yellow cheese. It was actually quite tasty! There were tomatoes, which I normally don't like, but I put up with them rather than pick the sandwich apart. Kellian got a vegetarian version that looked pretty much like what I had but without meat. She also got a frozen guanabana (a type of fruit) drink that was good.
Once we were done with lunch, we decided to head to the Pasejo de los Touristas where we would try to find a hotel. We asked the waiter which way to the Pasejo de los Touristas, and he looked confused and pointed us to the west. Once we started walking, we figured out why he was confused: we were actually already on the road we were looking for!
We ended up staying at a hotel called Alamar, which was right across from the beach and in good shape. The first room they put us in had a door lock that didn't latch, but the second room was fine. In fact, it was a bit nicer than the other room, so that worked out well. At this point it was about 3:00, so we hurried over to hit the beach before it got too late.
The beach was nice, pretty clean and soft sand. It was a brownish color and very fine. One of the cool things about Puntarenas was that there were very few tourists there. Mostly Ticos (Costa Ricans) with their families.
We bobbed around in the ocean for a bit and then decided to head in and get cleaned up for dinner. We checked a guidebook we were using and found a place that sounded pretty good named Kaite Negra. It was about six blocks east and three blocks north from the hotel, so we decided to walk it, since it was only just dusk and we saw folks walking around still.
Most of the walk was ok, but we ended up heading a bit too far north and encountered a stray dog. We tried to walk around it, but it started lunging and barking at us, which was fairly alarming. I barked back at in and lunged towards it in an attempt to scare it off. It backed up a bit and kept barking and we walked away, my heart was racing. Phew!
We were a bit lost, so we asked a old woman in a wheel chair for directions. She was very friendly and wheeled herself to the corner and pointed out the restaurant to us.
The restaurant was definitely off the beaten path with only a few tables and no other tourists, as far as we could tell. I got a filet of some type of fish (sea bass, maybe) with salsa vasca, a white sauce, that was very tasty. Kellian, as a vegetarian, unfortunately has more limited choices. She got a salad that was mediocre and some fried plantains that she enjoyed. The waiter was a bit distressed that she didn't eat much of the salad and was not going to charge us for it, but we insisted.
Rather than risk running into another dog, we decided to take a taxi back to the main drag. We found a nice ice cream place where Kellian got a banana split and I got a chocolate milk shake. The milk shake was great but otherwise un-noteworthy. Kellian's banana split, however, had several interesting aspects: it had corn flakes on it (added a nice crunch), sweetened condensed milk (also good), mangos (good), and jello at the bottom (not so good).
The End. (I never know how to end these things)
Costa Rica Trip Day 1 - 2009-03-06
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/link774/sets/72157614900827014/
I flew into Costa Rica last night, arriving at around 10:30 Costa Rica time (Central Time). The flight was fairly uneventful: the most exciting thing that happened was that there was nobody in the center seat, so I had a bit of extra room. Unfortunately, some guy who was sitting next to a baby came and asked if he could sit in our center seat, so it was only like that for half the flight.
Kellian was there to greet me as I came through customs. There was a glass window where everyone who was waiting for someone was pressed against the glass, which was pretty amusing. It looked like they were watching an exhibit in SeaWorld or something and I was the exhibit.
We took a cab back to Kellian's place, which took about a half hour. It was a very exciting ride though: evidently drivers here don't really pay much attention to red lights. They just go straight through them if there is no traffic in the way.
When we got back to Kellian's place, we had some PB&Js and I got to meet two of her roommates, Brianna and Peter, who were both quite nice. We stayed up for a bit chatting with Peter and then headed to bed.
Today, we woke up fairly early because the sun comes right in Kellian's window. This is probably for the best, since there isn't a whole lot to do around here when it gets dark, because it isn't really safe to be out walking around. We had omelettes for breakfast along with some gallo pinto that Brianna cooked up during the middle of the night (she evidently doesn't sleep). Breakfast was tasty. We ate it out on the patio that overlooks a stream that runs by the house. There is a really cool tree that stretches over the stream from the opposite side all the way to our patio.
The patio is also decorated with a bunch of dreamcatchers made by another one of Kellian's roommates, Juan Carlos, who I met in the morning. Check out the pictures, they're pretty neat, not your standard dream catcher. After breakfast, Juan Carlos taught Kellian some Spanish.
Next, we headed over to meet Kellian's boss, Robb, at his house in Escazu. To get there, we took a bus from San Jose. We had a nice walk to the bus station and got to see some of the pedestrian shopping areas of San Jose. Once we got to the bus station, we had a bit of trouble finding the bus we needed, but eventually we located one.
It wasn't quite the right bus, but it got us pretty close so we took a cab the rest of the way. Robb's house was pretty cool, check out the photos for some pictures of the house and the view, which is incredible. It was windy as hell up on the top of that hill though, and they said it is pretty much like that all the time.
Perhaps the high point of my day was meeting Robb's daughter Georgia's dog, Talula. Talula is a miniature dachshund puppy that was absolutely adorable. Not much to say other than that, but you will probably notice that I am a big fan of mini-dachshunds by the huge number of pictures that I took of her. Once she got tired out, she took a nap on my lap, where I found that I could adjust her position gently to get even cuter shots. The cuteness may just make your head explode: you have been warned!
Alright, this is getting pretty long so I'll summarize the rest and wrap it up: Kellian and I went to lunch near Robb's house. I found out that I didn't like ceviche very much. We hung out at Robb's a bit and then headed out to dinner which was pretty good: it was one of those places where they shave meat off of a skewer. Kellian didn't much care for it. She got a big pile of shredded iceberg lettuce. Yum!
I flew into Costa Rica last night, arriving at around 10:30 Costa Rica time (Central Time). The flight was fairly uneventful: the most exciting thing that happened was that there was nobody in the center seat, so I had a bit of extra room. Unfortunately, some guy who was sitting next to a baby came and asked if he could sit in our center seat, so it was only like that for half the flight.
Kellian was there to greet me as I came through customs. There was a glass window where everyone who was waiting for someone was pressed against the glass, which was pretty amusing. It looked like they were watching an exhibit in SeaWorld or something and I was the exhibit.
We took a cab back to Kellian's place, which took about a half hour. It was a very exciting ride though: evidently drivers here don't really pay much attention to red lights. They just go straight through them if there is no traffic in the way.
When we got back to Kellian's place, we had some PB&Js and I got to meet two of her roommates, Brianna and Peter, who were both quite nice. We stayed up for a bit chatting with Peter and then headed to bed.
Today, we woke up fairly early because the sun comes right in Kellian's window. This is probably for the best, since there isn't a whole lot to do around here when it gets dark, because it isn't really safe to be out walking around. We had omelettes for breakfast along with some gallo pinto that Brianna cooked up during the middle of the night (she evidently doesn't sleep). Breakfast was tasty. We ate it out on the patio that overlooks a stream that runs by the house. There is a really cool tree that stretches over the stream from the opposite side all the way to our patio.
The patio is also decorated with a bunch of dreamcatchers made by another one of Kellian's roommates, Juan Carlos, who I met in the morning. Check out the pictures, they're pretty neat, not your standard dream catcher. After breakfast, Juan Carlos taught Kellian some Spanish.
Next, we headed over to meet Kellian's boss, Robb, at his house in Escazu. To get there, we took a bus from San Jose. We had a nice walk to the bus station and got to see some of the pedestrian shopping areas of San Jose. Once we got to the bus station, we had a bit of trouble finding the bus we needed, but eventually we located one.
It wasn't quite the right bus, but it got us pretty close so we took a cab the rest of the way. Robb's house was pretty cool, check out the photos for some pictures of the house and the view, which is incredible. It was windy as hell up on the top of that hill though, and they said it is pretty much like that all the time.
Perhaps the high point of my day was meeting Robb's daughter Georgia's dog, Talula. Talula is a miniature dachshund puppy that was absolutely adorable. Not much to say other than that, but you will probably notice that I am a big fan of mini-dachshunds by the huge number of pictures that I took of her. Once she got tired out, she took a nap on my lap, where I found that I could adjust her position gently to get even cuter shots. The cuteness may just make your head explode: you have been warned!
Alright, this is getting pretty long so I'll summarize the rest and wrap it up: Kellian and I went to lunch near Robb's house. I found out that I didn't like ceviche very much. We hung out at Robb's a bit and then headed out to dinner which was pretty good: it was one of those places where they shave meat off of a skewer. Kellian didn't much care for it. She got a big pile of shredded iceberg lettuce. Yum!
Italy Trip Days 3-7
Ok, I got lazy and didn't blog about the rest, but you can kind of get the gist of it by looking at our photos since I tagged them. Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/link774/collections/72157603652411851/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/link774/collections/72157603652411851/
Italy Trip Day 2 - 2007-12-28
Here are pictures from Day 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/link774/sets/72157603646787206/
Today was our day to see really old stuff from ancient Rome. It was a beautiful, sunny day which was perfect for walking around outside. We started out by heading to the Colosseum, which was quite impressive. We got the audio tour, which I think was pretty worthwhile. They pointed out things that we wouldn't have noticed and told stories about how the Colosseum was used.
We were really hungry, so we abandoned the pretense of trying to find a non-touristy place and just went in the first place that looked good. We both got pizza for the first time on this trip, and it was quite tasty. It took us quite a while to get our bill, so to kill time we were looking around and spotted a piece of paper that was posted above each table (see photos), that appeared to be describing some kind of game. Do any of you Italian speakers out there know what they're talking about? I think it means that if you get your bill to work out to be the specific highlighted amount, the 'game' is free, whatever that means. It seems like that would be a relatively simple task.
After eating, we headed to the Forum, which is right near the Colosseum. This area has lots of great ruins of what used to be the center of Rome. We saw the remains of the Basilica of Constantine, which was quite impressive. Check the photos to see Kellian next to the ruins to get a sense of the scale.
Other interesting sights included the Temple of Julius Caesar, which was surprisingly small, and the House of the Vestal Virgins. We were hoping to see Palatine Hill, but were running out of time and decided to head on to see the Pantheon before it got too dark, since it was closed last night. The Pantheon was quite amazing: it is a huge dome with an open top. The floor is slanted to allow the rainwater to drain out. Another interesting fact: the artist Raphael is buried there.
After an exciting day of looking at old stuff, we decided to hit up a gelato place. I was quite surprised that we made it for this long without having any. We went to Giolitti, which is one of the more well known gelato joints in the city and we could see why.
Tomorrow, we will look at the National Museum of Rome.
Today was our day to see really old stuff from ancient Rome. It was a beautiful, sunny day which was perfect for walking around outside. We started out by heading to the Colosseum, which was quite impressive. We got the audio tour, which I think was pretty worthwhile. They pointed out things that we wouldn't have noticed and told stories about how the Colosseum was used.
We were really hungry, so we abandoned the pretense of trying to find a non-touristy place and just went in the first place that looked good. We both got pizza for the first time on this trip, and it was quite tasty. It took us quite a while to get our bill, so to kill time we were looking around and spotted a piece of paper that was posted above each table (see photos), that appeared to be describing some kind of game. Do any of you Italian speakers out there know what they're talking about? I think it means that if you get your bill to work out to be the specific highlighted amount, the 'game' is free, whatever that means. It seems like that would be a relatively simple task.
After eating, we headed to the Forum, which is right near the Colosseum. This area has lots of great ruins of what used to be the center of Rome. We saw the remains of the Basilica of Constantine, which was quite impressive. Check the photos to see Kellian next to the ruins to get a sense of the scale.
Other interesting sights included the Temple of Julius Caesar, which was surprisingly small, and the House of the Vestal Virgins. We were hoping to see Palatine Hill, but were running out of time and decided to head on to see the Pantheon before it got too dark, since it was closed last night. The Pantheon was quite amazing: it is a huge dome with an open top. The floor is slanted to allow the rainwater to drain out. Another interesting fact: the artist Raphael is buried there.
After an exciting day of looking at old stuff, we decided to hit up a gelato place. I was quite surprised that we made it for this long without having any. We went to Giolitti, which is one of the more well known gelato joints in the city and we could see why.
Tomorrow, we will look at the National Museum of Rome.
Italy Trip Day 1 - 2007-12-27
Here are pictures from Day 1: http://www.flickr.com/photos/link774/sets/72157603651247373/
Kellian and I left Boston at 6:00PM EST and arrived in Rome at around 10:00AM Italy time, which is 6 hours later than EST. Despite our plan to sleep on the way there so we were rested when we arrived, we didn't have much luck falling asleep. After getting our bags, we headed to the train to get from the airport to Rome.
The train was completely packed, we ended up crammed with our luggage near the doorway along with an older Italian couple. The Italian man got into an argument with the conductor about his ticket which was pretty amusing.
After arriving at Termini, the train station in the middle of Rome, we made our way to our hotel, Hotel Madison. It had a fairly decent although small lobby. The staff at the front desk told us that our rooms were not yet available, but that we could leave our bags in the lobby if we wanted to. I was a bit concerned at first, because they had a sign up saying that they weren't responsible for bags left in the lobby, but Kellian reminded me that we didn't really have anything of value in our bags anyways. All our money is with us, I have my camera, and the front desk took our passports (I have no idea why).
So we decided to leave our bags and head out to find some food. Looking at my trusty Rick Steves' Rome 2007 Guide Book which was our main guide for the trip, we decided to head to one of the restaurants he recommended in Piazza de Republica near Termini.
Unfortunately, the place we had selected was a bit too fancy given that we had just gotten off of a plane (Kellian was wearing pajama pants), so we decided to wander a bit to see what we could find. We stumbled across what turned out to be a really nice find: it was a small establishment that had a bar that served panini in the front and a small room in the back that served some reasonably priced entrees. Lots of locals were there, so we felt like we found a legitimate place for our first meal, which ended up being quite tasty.
Refueled we headed back to the hotel for a nap. The room was quite decent, it was clean and in good condition. We slept until around dinner time and decided to take Rick Steves' Night Walk Across Rome, which starts in Campo de Fiori and ends at the Spanish Steps. With the help of the front desk and the tourist's information booth, we figured out which bus we needed to get on and headed on our way. Unfortunately, we quickly realized that we had no way of figuring out what stop we wanted to get off on because they weren't announcing the stops. I resorted to jumping out of the bus to look at the sign at every stop, which must have looked pretty insane. Eventually a nice Italian gentleman helped us figure out where to get off.
We were hungry again so we turned to out trusty Rick Steves' Rome 2007 Guide Book to try to find a restaurant in the area. Unfortunately, the ones that sounded good were closed, so we just decided to wander again. We were fortunate enough to find a cute little place with about 8 tables in it. It looked to be family run, with a goofy looking, Kramer-like fellow with glasses and a short, plump older woman waiting tables. We had a great meal, complete with ricotta pie and tiramisu for dessert.
After eating, we headed out on our night walk. We got a bit of a late start, but people were still out and about. We walked from Campo de Fiori to Piazza Navona, which was one of my favorite sites from my last visit to Rome. Unfortunately, the Four Rivers Fountain was closed for maintenance. The Piazza was set up for Christmas and New Year's festivities with carnival booths all over the place. After that, we headed over to the Pantheon and then to the Piazza Colonna. The Trevi Fountain was our next stop, which was quite nicely lit for nighttime viewing. Finally, we made our way over to the Spanish Steps. This was the end of the walk, so we took a cab back to our hotel because the subway was closed.
That brings us to the end of the first day, tomorrow we plan to look at the Colosseum, the Forum, and the Pantheon.
Kellian and I left Boston at 6:00PM EST and arrived in Rome at around 10:00AM Italy time, which is 6 hours later than EST. Despite our plan to sleep on the way there so we were rested when we arrived, we didn't have much luck falling asleep. After getting our bags, we headed to the train to get from the airport to Rome.
The train was completely packed, we ended up crammed with our luggage near the doorway along with an older Italian couple. The Italian man got into an argument with the conductor about his ticket which was pretty amusing.
After arriving at Termini, the train station in the middle of Rome, we made our way to our hotel, Hotel Madison. It had a fairly decent although small lobby. The staff at the front desk told us that our rooms were not yet available, but that we could leave our bags in the lobby if we wanted to. I was a bit concerned at first, because they had a sign up saying that they weren't responsible for bags left in the lobby, but Kellian reminded me that we didn't really have anything of value in our bags anyways. All our money is with us, I have my camera, and the front desk took our passports (I have no idea why).
So we decided to leave our bags and head out to find some food. Looking at my trusty Rick Steves' Rome 2007 Guide Book which was our main guide for the trip, we decided to head to one of the restaurants he recommended in Piazza de Republica near Termini.
Unfortunately, the place we had selected was a bit too fancy given that we had just gotten off of a plane (Kellian was wearing pajama pants), so we decided to wander a bit to see what we could find. We stumbled across what turned out to be a really nice find: it was a small establishment that had a bar that served panini in the front and a small room in the back that served some reasonably priced entrees. Lots of locals were there, so we felt like we found a legitimate place for our first meal, which ended up being quite tasty.
Refueled we headed back to the hotel for a nap. The room was quite decent, it was clean and in good condition. We slept until around dinner time and decided to take Rick Steves' Night Walk Across Rome, which starts in Campo de Fiori and ends at the Spanish Steps. With the help of the front desk and the tourist's information booth, we figured out which bus we needed to get on and headed on our way. Unfortunately, we quickly realized that we had no way of figuring out what stop we wanted to get off on because they weren't announcing the stops. I resorted to jumping out of the bus to look at the sign at every stop, which must have looked pretty insane. Eventually a nice Italian gentleman helped us figure out where to get off.
We were hungry again so we turned to out trusty Rick Steves' Rome 2007 Guide Book to try to find a restaurant in the area. Unfortunately, the ones that sounded good were closed, so we just decided to wander again. We were fortunate enough to find a cute little place with about 8 tables in it. It looked to be family run, with a goofy looking, Kramer-like fellow with glasses and a short, plump older woman waiting tables. We had a great meal, complete with ricotta pie and tiramisu for dessert.
After eating, we headed out on our night walk. We got a bit of a late start, but people were still out and about. We walked from Campo de Fiori to Piazza Navona, which was one of my favorite sites from my last visit to Rome. Unfortunately, the Four Rivers Fountain was closed for maintenance. The Piazza was set up for Christmas and New Year's festivities with carnival booths all over the place. After that, we headed over to the Pantheon and then to the Piazza Colonna. The Trevi Fountain was our next stop, which was quite nicely lit for nighttime viewing. Finally, we made our way over to the Spanish Steps. This was the end of the walk, so we took a cab back to our hotel because the subway was closed.
That brings us to the end of the first day, tomorrow we plan to look at the Colosseum, the Forum, and the Pantheon.
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