VENICE AND ROME 1997

Rome and Venice...the first solo trip that was entirely on my own, specifically as a tourist. I had decided to take a Christmas jo
b at Barnes and Noble (15 years later...haha) to help pay for the cost of a spring trip. I decided on Rome and Venice as they were the settings for 2 of my favorite movies. Can you guess them? **Scroll down for Answer 

Sadly, I have very few original pics to share. This was LONG before the days of iPhones or even digital cameras. The photos are pasted in an old fashioned photo album which is long buried away. I think I have a few that I digitized. I don't even remember the names of the hotels. I think the hotel in Rome was called the Americana. When I looked it up on
Trip Advisor/Expedia/Hotels.com I couldn't find it listed. Anyway, it was a rather dingy, small place. But that didn't matter to me. I was in ROME!!! I had my maps and a fanny pack. Remember this was before cell phones and better travel bags. Still, I tried NOT to look like the goofy, American tourist. I remember stepping out of the hotel and looking right, then left, and just heading out-map in hand. I was there to see the sights and eat the food. I remember feeling a tad alarmed the first time I went into a little shop for a coffee and role. But I soon got the hang of it. This was almost 20 years ago and I really don't remember the order of things that I saw, but I saw all the biggies:

*The Vatican
*La Sistina Cappela
*The Forum
*The Colosseum
*Trevi Fountain
*The Spanish Steps
*The Pantheon
*Day trip to Naples and Pompeii

I do remember going with a tour group to see the Vatican. Walking through the amazing artifacts had little appeal for me. Rather I felt the pull to the Chapel. That was it for me! Truly mind boggling! Looking up and feeling almost overwhelmed by the colors and visuals...almost overwhelming.

It was pretty awesome seeing the Pieta. I'm not a religious person at all, but I can appreciate all the great art work that was done in the name of religion and the Pieta is certainly one of those pieces. The other piece of truly profound meaning for me was the of St. Ecstasy of St. Therese by Bernini. I remember reading about this particular statue during an art history lecture in an undergraduate class...I minored in humanities.  The rather small, unassuming chapel that it is housed in was very close to my hotel. I think I was one of only 10 people in the chapel that day. It was dark and lots of scaffolding was around due to renovations. This did not take away from the power of this statue. 

After a few days in Rome, I took the train up to Venice. 20 years later, I remember the exact moment of stepping out of the train station and seeing the Grand Canal. I'm sure I gasped aloud. I took a canal bus to almost the end of the canal where my hotel was... a perfect way to see the canal for the first time. Again, the name of the hotel escapes me, but I remember it was very near the Piazza San Marco. Highlights from Venice include: 

*Piazza San Marco
*Gallerie del' Accademia
*Day trip to see the small outer islands of Venice
*A lovely night listening to a string quartet in a old church lit by candles 

This is the only one I could find...

****answer to question above: "Roman Holiday" and "Summertime."