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Post by paul on Dec 21, 2023 14:21:23 GMT -5
It's always disappointing when someone hypes something up and it doesn't live up to expectations. I've learned that whenever someone tells me that something is the "best in the country/region/world" to take it with a grain of salt. While I liked the pizza I had in Rome I also prefer the North American version. I'm sure Italians would consider it blasphemy though.
Glad you enjoyed your tours today. It definitely is breathtaking when you see the majestic Colosseum all of a sudden standing right in front of you.
Enjoy Pompeii! Hopefully the mosquitoes aren't as active as they were when I was there.
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Post by Vegas on Dec 21, 2023 16:07:13 GMT -5
I woke up today thinking I was going to Pompeii but that is actually tomorrow and instead Vatican City was today.
For Vatican City, we had 9:30 tickets but the Pope called for a meeting which meant only St. Peters Basillica was open so went there and then had to deal with the combined morning and afternoon ticketed crowds at the Vatican which made it really busy. So we walked through the Vatican perhaps a little quicker than we would have otherwise except for the IMO best stops on the end which includes the hall of maps, the Raphael painted rooms (incredible,) and of course the Sistine Chapel itself with its Michelangelo-painted ceiling.
had dinner at the local pasta place at the end of the block and I had pasta and two Spanish beers (that is to prepare or next year's December trip to Europe as I believe I will be in Spain,) again Rome has the best pasta IMO, I won't eat pasta for awhile when I get home but I am enjoying it on this trip
looking forward to seeing Pompeii tomorrow
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Post by Vegas on Dec 22, 2023 16:16:15 GMT -5
long day today,
for the second straight day, I woke up 5:45 AM local time and this time I was on a bus to Pompeii at 7:30, the trip included a bus tour of Naples (Italy's 3rd largest city) where the traffic is somehow actually worse than the traffic in Rome
I might have mentioned this before but, although various similar flatbread dishes date back to the time of the Ancient Egypt, pizza in its modern-day toamto-based form started in the Naples area and this part of the tour included a free pizza in the birthplace of modern pizza. Although the pizza in Italy is brought to you uncut, today's pizza was definitely better than the pizza I had in Rome two nights ago.
Afterward, with Mount Vesuvius in the background, I burned off alot of the pizza I ate with a steep 2 hour guided walking tour of Pompeii led by an English-speaking historian. The excavations we saw included theaters, businesses, streets, homes, brothels, forums, and temples. The end of the tour show the encased remains of several victims of the volcanic eruption from Mount Vesuvius in the year 79 which destroyed Pompeii. The guide said that December (unless it is raining and it thankfully was not raining today) is a good time to visit Pompeii as the crowds are very small and the mosquitoes are not around.
I had a good time, but a long day as I bordered the tour bus at 7:30 and did not return to Rome until a little after 8. Afterward, the cab driver only drove us part of the way home because he said it was too difficult for him to make a detour as the police closed a bridge over the Tiber River and we had to walk the remainder of the way (worst cab experience ever.)
Tomorrow I am sleeping in.
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Post by on_the_edge on Dec 24, 2023 22:29:16 GMT -5
Merry Christmas Zeke and have a safe trip home tomorrow. Should be nice and quiet traveling on Christmas. <thumbs up>
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Post by Vegas on Dec 25, 2023 1:15:27 GMT -5
Merry Christmas Zeke and have a safe trip home tomorrow. Should be nice and quiet traveling on Christmas. <thumbs up> Thank you Martin! Congrats on your Lions winnng yesterday and Merry Christmas to you my friend! I leave for the airport in an hour. My main concern today is the short turnaround time in Dallas as 90 minutes is not much time to collect my bag, go through customs, go back through security, etc, and board my final flight to Las Vegas. Lots of factors out of my control (first flight being on time, timely bag delivery to the baggage claim carousel, length of lines at both customs and security- although I have a fast pass, etc) and last year on Christmas I had the same issues and was stranded in San Francisco (although the airline paid for the hotel and gave me more food credits then I could use, I ended up using the remainder at the airport bar the next day on beer so those food credits did not go to waste.) Also in Dallas today, this time I will not be wearing a VGK shirt but instead my UNLV shirt (it is red for Christmas) so hopefully I will not be slowed down by the hate I experienced in Dallas 6 days ago as a proud VGK fan while making my connecting flight lol. Overall, I really liked Rome alot but I think I liked Berlin (where I went last year at this same time) a little better. |
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Post by paul on Dec 25, 2023 12:34:29 GMT -5
Glad you enjoyed your trip. I hope your flight back goes smoothly.
Merry Christmas, Zeke.
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Post by Vegas on Dec 25, 2023 17:38:42 GMT -5
Glad you enjoyed your trip. I hope your flight back goes smoothly. Merry Christmas, Zeke. Thanks Paul! Merry Christmas to you too. My plane landed early in Dallas and I got through Customs and the security line for connecting flights quickly. I am currently Tony eating BBQ in Texas for my Christmas dinner at a restraint near my gate before my flight to Las Vegas leaves in about 90 minutes. |
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Post by paul on Dec 25, 2023 17:46:45 GMT -5
Glad you enjoyed your trip. I hope your flight back goes smoothly. Merry Christmas, Zeke. Thanks Paul! Merry Christmas to you too. My plane landed early in Dallas and I got through Customs and the security line for connecting flights quickly. I am currently Tony eating BBQ in Texas for my Christmas dinner at a restraint near my gate before my flight to Las Vegas leaves in about 90 minutes. Glad to hear your flight went off without a hitch. That's always tense wondering if you're going to make the connecting flight on time. BBQ for Christmas dinner sounds great. I would actually prefer that over turkey. |
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Post by TTX on Dec 25, 2023 19:57:48 GMT -5
BBQ over Turkey any time but especially Thanksgiving and Christmas
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Post by Vegas on Dec 26, 2023 0:34:09 GMT -5
Vegas in Rome is now Vegas at Home (in Las Vegas.) My kitten Ahsoka (who turns 1 on Wednesday/the 27th) is very happy to see me.
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