We woke, showered, packed the last of our things and welcomed a new day.
We were finally settling into the bittersweet fact that our vacation was coming to a close; now we were engaged in the business of getting home - returning the rental car in Florence, catching the connecting the train to Rome, and only after a brief respite, flying home most of the rest of the next day. Sigh.
We then headed downstairs at Pensione Bencista for breakfast - soaking in Italy with each step and breath. The included breakfast buffet was an abundance of bread, fruit, yogurt, meats, cheeses, pastry, jams and honey, juice and cereals. Not a self-serve waffle iron in sight!
The terrace view wasn't so bad either!
With a cup of fresh cappuccino, brother, I'm telling you this is living!
We grabbed our suitcases and headed for the car with one last pet on the house lab's head. On the way to the car I saw the only pickup I ever want to own.
We climbed in the car and gassed her up to top off the tank. Kathi expertly guided me down into Florence as we crossed over the Arno perhaps three times (??) before the mapping program lead us up the ramp into the Avis rental garage. Our chariot was covered in Italian dust and dirt , but otherwise unharmed. Couldn't say the same for the car in the next space - insurance ouch!
We walked to the train station dragging our suitcases behind. Old hands now, we found the nearest ticket kiosks, bought our tickets to Rome and boarded the train. This time, we got adjoining seats.
We arrived in the Rome station, found our way outside, and got into the line of people waiting for taxi service.
One driver grabbed our stuff and ushered us to his car. We gave him our destination, Hotel Smeraldo, and we were off.
Kathi said that one of the things she liked about Rome was that there seemed to be something ancient and interesting around every corner and that certainly seemed to be true. We passed a number of antiquities, passed the “Wedding Cake” and, after about a 20 minute drive, arrived at Hotel Smeraldo.
We checked in, dumped our stuff in the room, then came back downstairs and got some great directions and a map to do some exploring with the time we had left in the day. We had to stop at the Vatican gift stop to purchase a present for my nephew graduating with his PhD in religious studies and a Pope Francis medal for Kathi’s grandmother. Kathi also wanted to see the Spanish Steps again and maybe the Trevi Fountain if we had time.
Off we went to the Vatican. After about a 20 minute walk, we arrived in Saint Mark’s Square.
We found the main gift shop, made our purchases (all in the presence of, and so blessed by, the Pope), and then tried to take in all it’s external majesty. The size and scale of the square is quite impressive. 
Pressed for time, we did not linger too long.
Next, we made our way to the Piaza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps and joined other lovers with a kiss to proclaim our love.
We stopped inside a swanky Nespresso store and ogled all their espresso/cappuccino machines and vowed to one day have one in our reconstructed kitchen.
We continued on to the Trevi Fountain. It was very crowded, so we waited our turn to make our way to the edge and perform the customary ritual of tossing coins over the shoulder into the fountain signaling that we would be back in the future.
I moved
around looking for the perfect angle and shots to capture the essence of
the fountain. Standing on a wall, I was admonished by the Polizia
(after ignoring Kathi’s pleas to get my attention)
At least my amateur photos could not adequately capture the size, scale, and beauty of the place.
We had checked all the boxes we had listed for our short afternoon in Rome and so we started completing the circuit walk back to the hotel.
On our way back, we passed the Pantheon.
We decided to go in for a quick look see. The Pantheon's massive dome was most impressive.
Crowds of people were craning their necks to look up. Kathi and I spent a brief moment facing the alter and saying a prayer and then we continued our trek.
Back at the hotel, we again took advantage of the excellent concierge services to get directions to da Enzo, our final dinner in Italy. We were told it would be just as fast to walk as take any other form of transport, so we perhaps grudgingly set off once more. However, I’m here to tell you, never pass up an opportunity to walk around the city if that’s at all possible.
Our route took us over the River Tiber and, by walking, we got to pause and take in our surroundings.
The Ospedale Fate Bene Frateli hospital...
After crossing the River Tiber we found out that there was some sort of festival going on and Kathi and I agreed to stop in on the way back to see what it was all about.
We made it to da Enzo perhaps 30 minutes before it opened, and already there was a line of about 20 patrons outside. We joined the crowd and watched as some without patience, ahead of us in line, left. 
As we waited, we tried to imagine the seating arrangements of the crowd to gauge when we would get a table and, if we would be so lucky, to get a table outside.
When our time came, we were seated inside - a shame. Inside, like out, patrons were shoe-horned in to tiny tables and you were elbow to elbow with your neighbors. We ordered what we were told were the house specialties.
For the pasta course, I had the carbonara.
Kathi had the cacio e pepe.
And for the main course we shared the poloette al sugo.
The whole shebang...
The food
was glorious and we savored each bite - it would be our last true meal in Italy. Leaving room for one last Roman sweet, we shared Enzo's tiramisu (which I chased with a glass of espresso).
We
didn’t linger out of respect for the people waiting in line outside -
besides, we wanted to check out the riverside festival on the way home. As we squeezed our way out of the restaurant, the waiting line, now tripled in length, was still going strong. No question why!
As we approached the Tiber, it was glowing with the setting sun and bustling with activity.
We
descended down stone steps and strolled through the ad hoc pillowed
seating, the riverside cafes, the bands, and the pop up shops.
We bought the girls teen-trendy bracelets, held hands, kissed, and took deep breaths to take it all in. Climbing back up to the Ponte Garibaldi, I took a few parting shots.
What a magical evening on our last night in Rome and in Italy!
We returned to the hotel, and took to the rooftop terrace to enjoy the last of the sunset. Pretty awesome!
We returned to the room, set out our comfortable clothes for the long trip home, packed a bottle of Vino Nobile and two bottles of limoncello in bubble wrap, set our alarm, and went to bed.
We woke up and headed downstairs to check out and reserve a cab for the trip to the airport and then waited with our suitcases in the lobby for the breakfast bar to open. We got a light breakfast, and then jumped in the cab.
We checked our two suitcases - each about 45 lbs. In Kathi’s carry-on was her cherished stone mortar and two large pestles (one maple and the other olive wood), exact replicas of the one she had used in the cooking class in Montorosso al Mare. My backpack (destined for the overhead compartment) was crammed with heavy museum books and I had a smaller backpack (to go under the seat) that contained my camera equipment.
Uncharacteristically, I sailed through the in-flight baggage scanners but Kathi got flagged. The youth Italian female inspector took out Kathi's big heavy mortar and asked what it was. I told her it was a mortar (but was secretly thinking she needed to spend some more time with her grandmother in the kitchen!). Her assistant took out the pestles and started making violent striking motions exclaiming that they were weapons! Our attempts to convince them that they were simple and traditional Italian cooking tools were for nought and we were told we had to get out of the line and go back and check them with the other luggage before returning to the onboard baggage scanning area.
We took them back to the bag checking area, showed them our tickets, and because we had already checked our bags, they were going to charge us another 80 euros to check the mortar and pestle. I told Kathi she should give them the thing because we could order a new one from the same shop and have it shipped to the US cheaper than that. Eventually the agents relented (these men even knew these were cooking instruments), and, seeing that our original bags were both underweight, agreed to take Kathi’s backpack and check it at no extra charge. Nevertheless, the thought of that unpadded backpack providing sufficient protection to her coveted mortar and pestles was perhaps to much to hope for. Still we said silent prayers and whisked them on their way. With any luck, we would retrieve them in New York and swap them out for other contents in the protected suitcases for the last leg home.
As we passed through the duty-free area on the way to the plane terminal, we saw many people buying wine bottles to take on the plane to their final destination. We wondered how it was that these bottles were not weapons and Kathi's mortar and pestles were????
The flight from Rome to NY was non-eventful. We arrived, went through customs (pretty easily actually), and rushed to the baggage claim area to learn the fate of the mortar and pestles. I spied Kathi's backpack and grabbed it before it could tumble down the conveyor belt and miraculously, everything was intact! We moved the mortar and pestles to the suitcase, provided sufficient padding between those and the bottle of Vino Nobile, and stuffed the rest of the contents in Kathi's backpack.
With a sigh of relief, we re-checked our bags, and began the l-o-n-g, 7 hour wait for our flight from NY to Norfolk, VA. Originally, we toyed with the idea of going into the City to go to the 9/11 memorial and getting a bite to eat there, but ultimately, we decided on the safer course of action to stay in the airport and hope for the opportunity to catch an earlier flight.
That hope was unrealized and the time dragged on. we ate in one of the airport restaurants, got snacks, slept, watched movies, got coffee, and eventually the time came to board the plane to Norfolk. It was a short, couple of hours, flight home. We caught a Lyft and returned to the cheers and smiling faces of Hailey and Dana and lots of licks from Bodie.
Wow, what an EPIC trip with Kathi!!!!! It's time to re-read all the blog posts and I'm sure I'll revisit them often to recount our trip, but a few parting thoughts...
- Italy is a beautiful country with so much to see and do. We only scratched the surface.
- Of all the places we visited, I would would want to return to Fiesole, Lucca (to live?!), and Levanto/Cinque Terre.
- It was easier than I thought to pack light and hand-wash clothes - at least in the summer. Based on our experience, I could even shave my suitcase contents some more - fewer pants, maybe one less shirt.
- It was good we didn't overpack, because we did bring home a fair amount of stuff - lots of heavy books.
- Hard for me to say, but I think I took too many pictures and in the future, I'll focus more on the experience and less on the pictures. Our day in Manarola taught me that. Also, I'll take way fewer pictures in the museums and buy the books instead. Their pictures are perfect!
- Next time, I'll bring home more wine in the suitcase!
- Next time, I want to arrange for more experiential activities like Kathi's cooking class. We'll tour a vineyard, take more guided walking tours, etc. - they were some of the best things! (but they do take more time...)
Can't wait for more European vacations!
Peace
