I still can't believe I was in Rome ....

This post is a bit out of order from the last two, but as I pulled together a photo album of cruise photos, I came across the following picture:

Seeing this photo took me back to that first evening in Rome.......

We were desperately jet-lagged, having landed at 8 AM, and finally gotten into our hotel room around Noon.   After a brief rest and shower, we took the metro to the Piazza del Popolo and met our walking tour guide at a nearby bar.   It was a wonderful tour.   Our guide was originally from the US, had lived in Rome for 22 years, and was an architect!   A perfect combination for a walk in this particular neighborhood.   We went into some of the churches, the Pantheon, and walked by the Borghese Palace.   Our guide pointed out good places for gelato, and options for an early dinner.    We loved the tour, and the feeling that we now understood something about this fabulous city.    Afterwards, we thought that we could easily find our way back to one of the places she had pointed out and grab some food.   We wandered, and as we wandered we realized we had no clue where we were.    And then, this particular bar just appeared and I realized it was the one!

I can only describe the pizza as being heavenly.    Look at how much cheese is on this pizza!!!   Each mouthful was incredible.   And with a lovely glass of wine, we began to relax.... and I thought to myself -- I am really here.   In Rome.   Eating pizza and drinking wine.   And it is so incredibly good.   And yes, it's hot, and we're now beyond the point of exhaustion, but this is Rome!   Unbelievable.