Rome Day 1: airport and sights

Hubby and I flew United from NOLA to Washington, DC and on to Rome. We paid for Premium Economy seats and that was worth every penny. The flight was smooth and in general, not horrible. They passed water, the entertainment system worked, the temperature was ok, the bathroom stayed relatively clean. We arrived early and had no trouble with getting through customs. Unfortunately, brother-in-law was over 3 hours late with US Airways.

Since b-i-l was so delayed we tried to entertain outselves but there's not much to do or see at Rome's Fiuminicio airport, and the time dragged. We watched lots and lots of big tour groups come in. We had snacks and coffee and the best tomatoes of the trip. And waited. At least the free wi-fi worked.

Finally b-i-l arrived and we left around 1230pm. We had to call the B&B for our cab, thankfully my Skype app worked. Daniella said she was expecting us at 230pm and had not been given the update that we were scheduled to arrive at 830am and 910am. At any rate, she managed to get a cab that took us to the B&B, Arco del Lauro in Trastevere. I slept the whole cab ride!

Daniella was very nice and gave us recommendations for restaurants (unfortunately most closed on Sundays, which was not super helpful!). The room was small, as expected, but clean, modern and cool. We refreshed and headed out. As soon as possible we got gelato (just ok) on Isola Tiberino.

  We were on our way to the Capitoline Museums.

 

In our four previous trips, we've never been to these fabulous museums. Really great. Amazing art, sculpture, views. We loved the statue of Marcus Aurelius on his horse (saved because the Christians thoughts he was Constantine!) and going down to the Tabularium for amazing views over the Forum. They were not very crowded either. 

 

 

 

Afterwards, we hiked over to visit Gesu church, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, and San Ignazio. I really like Santa Maria Sopra Minerva with its bright blue ceilings. 

Then we walked all the way back to Trastevere and landed at I Vascellari for dinner. Very good. My first cacio e peppe!

Back to the room to crash until, yes, 10am, when b-i-l woke us up.