Gotta laugh

By the time we got to Rome we were all exhausted.  But, there was no rest for the weary.  Marisa's suitcase didnt make it to Rome; it never made the transfer so it was still in Dublin.  As for the Monks and Rounds...well, we were stuck in the car rental facility because the gate was malfunctioning and wouldn't open for us.  However crazy the travel was we are all alive and well and are resting in our hotel rooms for tonight's tour that begins at 9:15.  Should we walk the 25 minutes to get there or should we take the local public transportation?  It's a 90 minute walking tour.  Hmmmm...only time will tell if we make that decision with our 60 something bodies or our 20 something minds 🙃.

Well, the 60 something mentality won out and we decided to take a bus into the city for our Dark Heart of Rome tour.  We each purchased a 3 day bus pass and found our way to the bus stop about a half mile from our hotel.  We got onto the correct bus - #916.  However, after a prolonged period of time, going to the last stop (as we were told), and checking the city map one more time, Michael realized that we took the right bus number but went in the wrong direction (away from the city instead of into the city).  Oh well!  We may not have made our tour, but we created our own Dark Heart of the Rome tour by spending an hour on the public transit bus going into dark parts of the city - parts no one wanted to venture into.  We ended up staying on the bus back to where we originally caught it and having a great meal and wine at a local restaurant.  Our young waiter, Francesco, was wonderful.  After finishing 3 bottles of wine and great meals and dessert, we hiked up the hill back to our hotel only to find the gates closed.  We walked further up another hill to a different entrance, but that gate was closed too.  Fortunately, Marisa noticed a buzzer and we were able to get in.  It was time to catch some sleep and look forward to catching the bus again tomorrow.  Only this time we would head in the right direction into downtown Rome.

It is now midnight and we just returned from a long but fun day.  I am sure there will be many typos here so just bear with me.  We left the hotel at 10 this morning to catch a bus into Rome.  We started off by going to what we thought was the bus stop, but the bus blew right by us.  A local woman saw what happened and stopped her car to direct us to the right place.  We did catch the bus and this time we headed in the right direction.  We first made our way to St. Peter's Square.  Before we got there a thunderstorm with a torrential downpour hit, so we opted to wait it out by sitting down under a canopy at a sidewalk cafe and having beer.  Once the storm cleared we made it to the Square, but it was cordoned off because there was a vote going on to name five new cardinals.  We were told to return later so we walked over to Castel St. Angelo where we spent hours in amazement. 
Here is the site for the Castel: https://www.italyguides.it/en/lazio/rome/ancient-rome/castel-st-angelo/castel-st-angelo-exterior
We thought we had lost the Monks, but when we finally exited they were outside waiting for us.  From there we headed back to the Vatican stopping along the way for lunch and more beer.  Marisa was able to purchase her Vatican flag, we were able to find some markers that we remembered from the book, Angels and Demons, and we headed toward Campo di Fiori where we were to meet the guide who would take us to our pasta making class.  All this time we were beyond hot, but we made through the final 10 minute walk to the apartment where the pasta making class was to take place.  The guide opened the door and directed us to the fifth floor/ yes there were five flights of stairs!  On the positive side there was an old elevator just right for two people.  Anne and I opted for that while the rest of the gang walked up.  Steve said as he walked he did a lot of sweating and swearing.  Despite our tired  state from walking all day (the class began at 6:45), we were excited.  Our instructors were Andrea and Roberto, two fantastic and very personable young men.  We had a blast on a rooftop terrace overlooking Rome making ravioli and fettucinI from scratch all the while drinking  Proseco and listening to music.  After the pasta was made, Andrea and Roberto cooked it for us and served it with red and white wine.  It was delicious!  We then had lemon and basil gelato and limoncello to finish off the meal.  We remained with Andrea and Roberto talking about the Italian culture, language, and politics.  They presented us with certificates and recipes.  Hugs and kisses were given as we said good bye and once again we headed toward a bus stop for the ride back to our hotel.  Today was a whirlwind of memorable experiences with wonderful friends.  Pictures will be posted once we get state side.
https://www.walksofitaly.com/rome-tours/rome-cooking-class#

It is our last full day in Rome.  We left the hotel still wiped out from yesterday, but determined to take the bus and betro (A and B) to meet our tour guide and bus to the Catacombs of San Callisto.  With Michael at the helm, we made it from the bus to the Metro where we took train A to the Termini and successfully connected to train B.  We actually made it from train B to the correct stop.  It was only then that it took a while to make sense of the street names and building numbers. We did eventually get to the right meeting place and were ready for our bus and guide to arrive.  Our guide, whose name I believe was Francesca, passed out our headsets (little amplifiers) so that we could hear the information she was giving without standing right next to her.  The problem for Steve was that he thought she ws speakng Italian when she was actually speaking English.  Aside from that we were given great information about the catacombs we toured.  To think that almost a half million people were interred in that location was amazing.  You can get more information at the site.  http://www.romeanditaly.com/package/catacombs-of-san-callisto-2/  It is quite interesting.
The tour then took us to the Appian Way and we walked the stone road that was one of the first and most famous Roman roads.  You could still see the ruts that were worn into the stones themselves.  Our final destination was the Park of the Aqueducts.  The aqueducts are something that Steve has always been interested in so he was thrilled to be there.  Here is a link to that site so you can learn more about it (at this time I can't remember a damned thing other than enjoying it).  https://www.walksofitaly.com/top-attractions/the-park-of-the-aqueductsOnce the tours were over and we were dropped off at the original meeting place, we decided to walk down to the Forum (it was very close).  Although we had all been there before, it was something we all wanted to experience again.  The sun was brutal as was the heat.  It was the type of weather where you just feel like pouring a bottle of water over your head.  I was glad I took my hat with me.  While visiting the Forum all I could think of was "Why didn't I pay better attention when I was in high school studying Ancient History".  Back then, as a teenager, I never thought I would have need or desire to study it further.  Oh well...if I knew then, what I know now, I would have studied that subject with much more enthusiasm (actually I had no enthusiasm for the subject at that time).  The Forum leaves me with wonder.
After the Forum, it was almost painful to walk back up the hill to the Metro station.  So when we got there I was glad the stairs were going down instead of up.  LIttle did I know we were on the wrong side of the Metro, so we had to walk back up the stair we just walked down, cross the street to the other entrance in order to take train B to train A to bus 31.  The train B part was okay.  It was the train A that left us with another story to tell. 
The train arrived and it was already crowded.  We had to split up.  I actually found one empty seat which I took.  Just as I was getting ready to relax Michael thought we were on the wrong train and told those closer to him to leave the train.  Since I was not close I didn't notice him exiting nor did I hear him.  What I did hear was Steve shouting "EVERYBODY OUT!"  That is when I got up quickly and headed out the door.  Five of us were on the platform; the sixth, Anne, was still on the train behind closing doors!  Tom became superman and caught his hands in the door to separate them to save his damsel in distress!.  That wasn't funny.  However, what WAS funny was that Steve said when he shouted "EVERYBODY OUT", the regular passengers looked up in fright.  He could have caused a big scene; a stampede of commuters thinking there was an emergency.  Since the Metro has police with automatic weapons posted at every stop, Steve could have started an incident.  So there is a lesson to be learned.  When traveling you must not sit down on a train; you must not be comfortable - just push through the exhaustion and stick with the group or your need for a comfortable spot might be the cause of a major incident.  We finally did make it back to the hotel.  We remained there for the night and had dinner there as well.  All in all, it was another great day in Rome.