Florence - Rome

Day 14 - Sunday, June 24 - Florence - Rome.

Today, we return to the "Eternal City" of Rome.  On arrival, we will again meet our local guide and continue our Roman experience including a visit to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.  Tonight, we enjoy our farewell dinner together.  Toss your coins into the Trevi Fountain, then on to a dinner part with fellow travelers in one of Rome's popular restaurants.  Our group will enjoy a delicious four-course meal and drinks will be served.  A wonderful way to say "Arrivederci Roma!" Overnight Rome.

It's hard to believe that this is our last full day in Italy. We say goodbye to our beautiful Hotel Astoria and head for "hot" Roma. It does not fail to come through with the heat either. Our first stop is the Colosseum. The bus dropped us off in front of a soccer field in perfect view of the Colosseum. The locals seem unimpressed as the soccer game took preference. We met our Rome guide Marco once again and began our journey through the Colosseum. At each point of interest, we would try to crowd into the only spot of shade available. Next we proceeded to the Roman Forum. We walked under the Arch of Titus to a perfect view of the Roman Forum. We did not get to view the entire area due to lack of time but what we did see was amazing. We took a shortcut back to the soccer field and traveled to our last hotel. It was a nice hotel with decent sized rooms. I also had Internet access, but not enough time to prepare today's page. We all took a much needed shower and prepared for our farewell dinner. It was wonderful. We had a great four course meal, multitudes of wine, and entertainment once again. After this dinner, we boarded our bus for the last time to travel to the Trevi Fountain. It was dreadfully crowded so a good view of the fountain was not possible unless you were willing to push the crowd out of the way. I did manage to get a few shots, but by this time, the sun was down and using a flash would not do justice to the fountain. The bus took us back to the hotel where we all prepared for an early departure to the airport. Country roads, take me home.