Tam & Peg’s Excellent Adventure

Our Last Day in Italy

We’ve completed our last day in Italy and it was perfect.
Our first stop was Trevi Fountain which was really a thrill to see. We both tossed three Roman coins in and made a wish. It would have been great to be there without the throngs of people because a good photo was impossible, but we both enjoyed it very much.
We walked through a very nice area of little shops until we arrived at the Pantheon. WOW! It is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful and ornate. We spent quite a while there before doing some more shopping and having lunch. We were already tired from walking before we showed up to meet our afternoon tour of the Vatican.
We had an unexpected advantage for this tour: because of the late start time, most of the tourists had already completed their visits and left. We were better able to understand our guide because it was so easy to gather around her and there was much less ambient noise than in other tours we’ve been on. It was great.
Everyone told us that we’d be blown away by the Vatican, and we definitely were. Having depleted my cache of adjectives, I can only say it was stunning. Huge collection of art in a most opulent setting and then the Sistine Chapel and La Pieta, the marble sculpture of seated Mary with Christ’s lifeless body draped over her lap. Moving and powerful. St. Peter’s Basilica is HUGE, lavish and beautiful. What an experience! We wandered around in amazement and tried to soak up all of the elaborate detail.
We feel like we crammed in an amazing amount of sights and experiences during our stay here in Rome, as well as in our other stops. Of course, without Tom to lay it all out for us, we’d never have been so successful in accomplishing what we were able to. Thank you so, so much Tom.
We’ve had a great time and we even agree that, although we’d not have been surprised to be a little anxious to go home at this point, we’re still having fun. We’ll pack up and get ready for our early morning departure this evening, and then we’re going to go poolside and enjoy a drink and a toast to close out our Excellent Adventure.
We are looking forward to getting home and seeing and getting hugs from everyone we’ve missed. Thanks to all who shared our trip via our blog (Thanks, Turk!).

Arrivederci!!!