October 24, 2005
Topic: Florence to Rome
We leave Florence this morning. Of the two cities we’ve visited so far, I’ve liked Venice best, but I find that I’m a little sad leaving here. The nuns at St. Elisabetta have been very gracious and the holy hotel itself is very nice. We had a large, airy room and enjoyed both the gardens there as well. I think I also have a much better understanding of how things developed in Rome, based upon what I’ve seen here,

We cabbed to the train station and got there way too early. The Florence station is a madhouse and, unlike Venice, once you’re there, it’s not easy to go anywhere else, unless you want to cab again. We did explore a bit and find a quite coffee bar along one concourse. So, we nursed our coffees and relaxed. We also picked up sandwiches here, having learned from our last trip that food is scarce on the train.

This train wasn’t as modern as the one we rode from Venice. That one had folding tables and even an electrical outlet. This one was pretty basic. But, the scenery was interesting once we got out of the city and it was direct to Rome, so we couldn’t complain.

We didn’t have to queue up for a taxi like we did the first time we arrived at the Rome station, so we were at St. Brigida in no time. The convent is on the Palazzo Farnese, and the first thing the nuns warned us about was the pickpockets. Some things never change! Our room is fairly large and overlooks the Via di Monserrato. There’s a rooftop terrace overlooking the Piazza. Very nice set-up!

Riding a train is pretty tiring, so we took advantage of the Italian siesta tradition!

Early in the evening, we walked to the Piazza Navona to check out our old haunts. St. Agnese is in scaffolding again. The piazza was filled with vendors selling toys and bad art. We had coffee and walked around the outside edge of the piazza to make sure the old print shop that Steve favors is still there. We also walked by Grappola d’Oro. One of my favorite restaurants in the past. Sadly, the old man who started the restaurant has retired. The new owners have remodeled and raised the prices significantly, so I think we’ll pass on having dinner there. After walking around Campo d’Fiori, we found a restaurant called Sergio’s on a street just off the Piazza Farnese. Their specialty is grilled meat—had some great veal steak.

View from our new digs in Rome: Off to Rome 10-14-05