Because I'm the type of gal who needs closure, here is the final Italy entry.  After our brief stay in Florence, we drove down to Rome and said goodbye to our little Fiat.  We stayed in a little hotel on Via Nazionale, not too far from the train station and just a 10 - 15 minute walk from the Trevi Fountain.  Once we deposited our bags, we grabbed dinner and then walked over to the fountain.  It's always one of my favorite places, day or night.

The following day was our one and only day in Rome with sunshine.  We had pre-booked tickets to go to the Vatican Museums and so that's where we headed off to for the day.  Had we known in advance what the weather had in store for us, we would have tried to change things around.  But instead we spent the sunny day indoors and the rainy days outdoors.  One never knows.... The Vatican Museums were crazy full.  We were relieved to have pre-purchased tickets so we could skip all the lines outside, but inside it was nuts!  We followed the snaking mass of people through the various exhibits until arriving at the Sistine Chapel.  It's been restored since my last visit and looked incredible.   We were even lucky enough to score seats on the bench AND to be in the room at the time the guards didn't care much if you took photographs or not.  Pretty good timing.  Besides the Capella Sistina, our favorite exhibits were the Raphael rooms and the outdoor areas with the sculptures.   But, we both vowed that we'd have to forget just how crowded it was in the museums before we ever signed up to do it again.  :)

After the museums we walked over to St. Peter's, waited in line again, and then climbed to the top.  Given the blue skies and the sunshine, we had some great views.  I kept thinking about the last time I was there (summer of 1994 with my parents), when the lens from my mom's glasses popped out and down the sides of the cupolas. This time we didn't lose a thing.   From the top we headed into the Basilica.  Our timing was unfortunate and they were just preparing for mass so our freedom to explore the interior was limited.  We saw as much as we could, which fortunately included La Pieta.  I've always loved that sculpture.

Our next stop was the Pantheon.  On our way there we happened upon a delicious gelato shop, "Frigidarium Gelato".  Definitely one of the best gelato's we had (up there with Gelato Pazzo in Aosta and Gelato Suso in Venice) during our trip. We marveled at the Pantheon, people watched in Piazza Navona and then found dinner before returning back to the hotel.

Friday was our day dedicated to the Colosseum, the Forum and Palatine Hill.  We were super excited to go on the "dungeon" tour we booked before coming.  With the tour guide we got to go beneath the arena level, see where animals were housed, were the gladiators entered and exited and the "elevator shafts" used to raise animals to the arena floor.  It was fascinating.  We also got to go higher up than the general public and got amazing views of the entire structure.  We were just disappointed that the skies were so grey.  Within 15 minutes of our tour ending, the rain started coming down and didn't let up at all the rest of the day. The rains made for a hurried and wet trip through Palatine Hill and the Forum.  We were soaked in not too awfully long.  But before seeking shelter in a cafe for lunch, we stopped in at the church, Santa Maria in Cosmedin to see "La Bocca della Verita".  Boy, how that experience has changed! 20 years ago it was a quiet little church without lines of tourists waiting to take their picture with the "Mouth of Truth".  You didn't have to pay for your one picture and you had more than five seconds to take it.  It's crazy how different things were.  After a futile attempt at trying to dry out over lunch, we made our way back to the hotel by way of San Pietro in Vincoli to see Michelangelo's Moses.   I couldn't get enough of the sculpture! Unfortunately, Lee had come down with something from all the rain (in every city we visited) and wasn't doing so well.   We ended up hibernating for a few hours so he could recoup and stay dry.  We did rally that evening when we went to the Trastevere district for dinner.  It was still wet, but the food was delicious and the area was really cute.  We liked it a lot and would love to come back.  Despite the amazing art and architecture we saw while in Rome, our favorite moments were wandering the streets and soaking up the feel of the place.

Saturday was our last day in Rome and in Italy.  Unfortunately, it was another wet one.  We escaped the rain for most of the morning while at the Galleria Borghese.  That museum was incredible and definitely our favorite of all the museums.  We were disappointed that our stay was limited to two hours.  The Bernini sculptures were unbelievable.  If only we had been permitted to take in our cameras! We had hoped to explore the Borghese gardens, but it was just a little to wet for us.  We did cross through them to get to Santa Maria del Popolo and commented on how beautiful they must be in good weather.  We would have loved to hang out there.  Instead, we took a little tram out to the Ponte Milvio foot bridge and had the most amazing lunch.  We ate at Antica Tratoria Pallotta and were in heaven.  We could have eaten every meal there.  It definitely was a good way to go out.

The rest of the afternoon we made our way by foot from Piazza del Popolo to the Spanish Steps, to the Trevi Fountain and in and out of all sorts of shops.  By then the rain had dwindled and even stopped and we were able to have a leisurely and museum free afternoon.  It was the perfect way to wrap things up. We dined at L'asino d'oro in the Monti District, walked the streets one last time and then had to say goodbye. We had such a fabulous trip and I can't wait for a return trip when I can take Lee to my favorite places that are off the beaten path!  The pictures are HERE.