A Wet Start to our Trip

Ah, Rome, the eternal city. Oh, rain, and lots of it. We arrived in Rome on a wet Friday afternoon. Driving in from the airport, we passed lots of fender benders and one Smart Car rolled on its side. Looks like Italian drivers have as many problems with wet pavements as we do in LA.

Spending the night at Hotel Forty Seven. Really nice, small, modern boutique hotel. It's near Trastavere, the Colisseum, and the Jewish Ghetto. Caren, Barry, and Laurie quickly found the bar and started sampling Italian wines.

We trudged around in the rain, getting soaked, until we came to our senses and bought umbrellas (imported from China) from the street vendors that appeared out of nowhere. We made it to the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps before calling off our sightseeing due to rain.

Along the way, we had to stop for our first of what will be many gelato breaks. The stuff can become addictive. It is SOoooo much better than ice cream in the U.S..

Later on, the rain stopped and we had a fantastic dinner at Trattoria Giggetto al Portico d'Ottavia. The fried Jewish artichokes were a big hit - can't get them in the U.S..