Nuthin’ but an H thang, Baybay…

The internets ate the post I made last night…I was understandably upset and promptly went to bed (well, at about 3am). So, I’ll try to recap.

After a drink in the lobby of the Spring House, we purchased Roma passes and took the Metro to the Colosseo stop. The Colosseum was impressive in both its size and condition. We self-toured the structure, taking a million photos along the way. We also located a little cafe called the Trattoria Bar, where we had a late lunch of pizza (Adam, Didrik and Elizabeth) and Fettucini Alfredo (me).

We walked the area around the Colosseum, enjoying the decadent architecture the whole way. It was at this point that Adam started making fun of Elizabeth and her Rick Steves book. She was amazing at getting us around the city with assistance from this book, and when spotting someone in the Colosseum with the 2008 version, she engaged the them about it. All I can remember is her saying, “Do you know Rick Steves?” and Adam turning it into: “Do you know Rick Dees?” He also teased her about “typifying her Americanism”…again, memory fails me for knowing the reference but it sure was funny at the time. Didrik’s stealthy camera angles (namely over the tops of gates we couldn’t see past) earned him the nickname “Sneaky D.” Please, pass it on.

For dinner, the concierge at the Spring House recommended a place about 4 blocks away: La Barca. Rather than providing menus, they just started bringing us wine and food. We enjoyed “Rice Balls”, anchovies, raw squid, fried calamari, prawns, crazy amounts of bread, salmon – this was simply the antipasti. Then, they brought us homemade spagetti with clams (Adam) and lobster (me), some spicy penne (Didrik) and ravioli (Elizabeth). To finish, we enjoyed the best Tiramisu we’ve ever had. Okay, we didn’t actually stop there. They also plopped two bottles of liquer on the table: Lemongela and some unnamed liquer that was clear and quite strong. In short, we left the ristorante feeling mighty fine and laughing at absolutely nothing…it was perfect.

We came back to our adjoining rooms and attacked our free minibars. Didrik and Elizabeth’s room had a lovely balcony, so we joined them for some relaxing and chatting at the evening’s end. What a fabulous day…and I haven’t even done any shopping yet.

Unfortunately, I don’t have much to report since we arrived a little later last night. We navigated from the airport to the Courtyard Marriott “near” the airport via taxi, as the line for the shuttle was about 100 people deep. Dinner at the hotel was lovely and welcome, even though we didn’t think we were very hungry. The bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar was phenonemal. Adam and I slept for 8 solid hours without interruption after dinner, yet I think I could’ve used 8 more. Breakfast was included with our room and it helped wake me up. There was no Diet Coke though, so I opted for some kind of juice called Blood Orange (imagine a very sweet red orange juice). After breakfast, we needed to find more Euros. We trekked down the street and stumbled around a bit, but finally located an ATM. Didrik’s card wouldn’t work because this ATM wasn’t “in-network,” so we’re still on a search for one that is. Poor guy.

Now we’re at a new hotel right next to the Vatican: The Spring House, Best Western. We’re about to head out to see some sights, so I’ll try to report back on that later. Our room is tiny but I’ll give them this: they have Diet Coke! Yes, my vices are still intact. Plus, I’m absolutely LOVING the free WiFi at this hotel…I doubt I’ll have it at the bed & breakfast we’re staying at later this week, so I’m soaking it up now. I may tote my laptop to Florence when we go and find a little coffee shop to blog in. In terms of both technology and distance, I’ve come a long way, Ladies and Gentlemen!

Well, we left last night for our Italy trip with Didrik and Elizabeth. The flight was long, but we did have a moment of excitement: a guy passed out in the aisle next to me and hit his head on an armrest. The flight attendants rushed to help as did a doctor’s assistant who happened to be on the plane. After several minutes of laying on the floor, he ended up being okay. Other than that, I watched Evan Almighty, Mr. Bean’s Holiday and Someone Like You. I slept on and off for about 2-3 hours and skipped both in-flight meals. I had intentions of reading a book or two but was too tired.

Right now, I’m sitting in the Amsterdam airport on a layover for a few hours, typing next to Elizabeth and drinking a well-deserved, massive Heineken. I’m not looking forward to boarding another plane but I’ll be a happy girl when we arrive in Rome. Until then, ciao!