Day 4: Roma-Firenze (Two Best Decisions, Autogrills, and Timothy panics (Monday, May 18)
Today it was time to say arrivederci to Roma, but at
breakfast Jonathan, Caroline, and I decided to take a quick walk (just two
minutes from our hotel) to see the Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. St.
Cecilia was martyred (beheaded) for her faith in AD 230, and in 1599 it was
discovered that her body was miraculously intact. She is recognized as the
first incorrupt saint. Under the main altar is a sculpture of St. Cecilia depicted
exactly as she was found—on her side, with her head turned, and her right hand
holding up three fingers: three persons in one for the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit.
When we walked into the basilica the nuns were singing lauds
(morning prayers) and it was hauntingly beautiful.
Back at the hotel, we all gathered in the lobby with our
suitcases to wait for our private driver. In planning this trip, I thought long
and hard about the logistics of traveling from city to city. Originally, I had thought
that we would just take a train, but it wasn’t as simple as that: we would have
to take a taxi to the train station (in our case, two), board the train with
all our luggage, and at our destination arrange for another taxi (again, two of
them) to take us to the hotel. That’s a lot. In the end, it made better sense
to hire a private driver for most of our transfers. Best Decision Ever! I used
the Day Trip app and booked all our transfers before even leaving home.
At the appointed time, a Mercedes Benz van arrived. We
loaded up our luggage and (sadly) said arrivederci Roma! Midway through the
3-hour drive to Florence, we stopped at an AutoGrill. I cannot even begin to
describe the wonderfulness that is an AutoGrill, and if you want to know what I
am talking about just scroll through the photos. IYKYN.
I should also mention it was during our drive that Timothy
realized he had left his International Driver’s License at home. He was booked
to drive a Ferrari in two days—an excursion we had been planning for months!—so
you can imagine the panic. Luckily the problem was resolved after many texts
back and forth with event provider and a quick phone call to the Nonni back
home with instructions to go to our house, open our safe, take a photo of Timothy’s
license, and then text everything to me. Nonna and Nonno were Superheroes
because by the time we arrived in Florence we had Timothy’s license. Whew.
All that excitement with the license AND the AutoGrill made time
pass quickly and, before we knew it, we were in Florence! The driver dropped us
off in front of our VRBO. I had decided that in Florence we would stay in a
VRBO instead of a hotel. Another, Best Decision Ever! Our two-story apartment
was gorgeous! Everyone had their own room and bathroom. The air conditioning
worked great. It was so beautifully decorated. We could do laundry. And we
could see the Duomo from our living room window! Really, I could live there.
The other great thing about the apartment was its location. Within
an hour of checking in we walked to Piazza Santa Croce where we immediately
purchased tickets for the Basilica. This is one of my favorite churches because
you can see the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Dante, and Machiavelli;
additionally, Cimabue’s crucifix is displayed, and I have written the story
behind this crucifix many times. You can read about it here.
Afterwards we dispersed. Joe went to the grocery store for breakfast
items and snacks; Caroline, Lauren, and I went to the needlepoint store; and
the rest of the crew went to a rooftop bar that was famous on Instagram because
of the incredible views. At the needlepoint store, the girls and I each
purchased a needlepoint kit and then joined the boys at the rooftop bar for a Hugo
Spritz. So refreshing!
Dinner that evening, compliments of Jonathan and Caroline,
was at Cantina de’ Pucci. It was one of those local restaurants where the owner
brings out items for us to try (all on the house)—Prosecco, pappa al pomodoro, cantucci—and
it was one of the best meals of our trip.
After a gelato, we returned to our apartment to play cards
and admire the Duomo in the moonlight.
Tomorrow … day trip to Tuscany!
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