mybigadventures.com

Wow this is it, my very first blog. Welcome to my website, as you can see its still a work in progress but I'm trying hard. Hoping to start and get some photo's up this weekend so at least theres something to look at rather than lots of broken links! Thats about all for now but will hopefully have a bit more to say next time round! Better go play geek for a bit longer so I can get this  website on the road. Enjoy!

We had a slightly later start today, only just making it down for breakfast. We decided to catch the B line train over to the Vittorio Emanuele monument, stopping at Colesseo and walking the rest of the way. The monument is very grand is home to a couple of museums and the tomb of the unknown soldier. You can climb up part of the way for free, and able to admire the views of the surrounding landscape including colesseo which can't be seen from the other viewpoints we've visited (castle St Angelo, St Peter's basilica). You can also get the elevator to the very top for 7 Euros, so we did. 

The view from the top was fantastic! You could see a lot further at the top. It was very hot in the sun but there was some shade cast at either end of the viewing platform and a welcome breeze, so we sat and cooled down for a while. One of the sights we saw was one that looked a little like the colesseum - half a circle in diameter and made up of large archways. According to the map, it was the Teatro Marcello and was surrounded by a number of ancient columns, so we decided to make that our next stop. We made our way towards it, stopping to take some pictures and for some gelato en route.

The way to the Teatro building took us along some of the backstreets of Rome, winding in amongst the houses. When we got there, we wandered round. Some of the structure appears to have been replaced which highlights how worn the older stone is. It was very impressive surrounded by some complete and some broken columns and bits of ruin.

From there, we wandered towards and across the river, passing through isola (the island) on the way. There appeared to be various events set up - open air cinema, stages and restaurants - all along that stretch of river. Could be nice if you were about in the evening. We pottered about, stopping in a bar for a drink and a sit, before visiting the nearby church, Santa Maria, which has some beautiful mosaic work behind the alter. From there, we headed back to the hotel for a rest before dinner, catching the metro B line from circo massimo. Encountered our first !ertro derlays, however, and had to wait 45 minutes before there was a train we could squeeze into. Technical problems, apparently!

Had a rest at the hotel before heading out for tea. Returned to Meid in Nepols once more, as we enjoyed it before and it's so close. Again, enjoyed it, both of us having pasta this time and we returned to the hotel feeling very full and weary!

An interesting day so far! Woke up early, but lazed.. Ben went down to Starbucks to get tea and we drank it with our leftover muffins from yesterday - a very tasty start to the day. We were picking up our hire car at around/after 10 AM, so we moseyed down at around 10:45 AM, heading towards Union Square.

When we arrived at ‘Dollar’ (the hire place) there seem to be a sizeable queue, so we went on, nipping into Macy’s to use the restrooms. Got back to the queue at about 11:50 AM and got in line, standing outside - it was quite cold! An hour later, we had made a bit of progress - a couple of metres. Rumours were rife - people had been there for three hours… And it sounded like there was a wait to actually get the car too…

Two and a half hours later - we were served! Incredible! In answer to the “and how are you today?” question, a rather curt, “ I don’t think you want an honest answer to that”, put an end to the small talk. It took about 5 minutes to actually get the paperwork sorted, which makes it staggering that we waited so long. It cost a further $70, as we needed to increase the breakdown insurance to cover towing away and replacement.

Left the place rather dazed, having lost a good chunk of the day to a queue. Decided not to get the car immediately as we hadn’t had any lunch. Went to Subway to pick up a sandwich to take with us - though where we are actually going was yet to be decided as the day has drifted away! Popped into a T Mobile shop to enquire about an American Sim card, but no joy. So, headed to get the car. They couldn’t find the key for the designated car, so we think we got an upgrade. Anyway it’s a Chevrolet Sprint - a big saloon (quite dwarves our KA!). Had a quick lesson in automatics from one of the managers and then set off.

Headed south, vaguely towards Santa Cruz, but stopped off in Palo Alto, home to Silicon Valley (Google, etc). Pulled over for a break and decided to wander. And we were glad we did! A really pretty little place - very leafy and lots of little restaurants. We fell into The Cheesecake Factory, and decided to order dessert, by way of dinner. I had the plain cheesecake with some strawberries, and Ben had chocolate cheesecake. We both got most of the way through, but took a doggy bag home. So full!

On the way back to San Francisco, we passed by Google International and the place where we think Facebook is, though it wasn’t marked, so we stopped for a photo opp. We tried to have a look at Microsoft, but got entangled in some concert parking.

Had a very good journey back and Ben negotiated the traffic and the car beautifully! We parked in a LAZ car park we had spotted before, a couple of blocks from the hotel, which was much more reasonable than the hotel parking ($45) as it only charged $25 overnight. Got a bit lost coming out of the car park, but made it. Dumped stuff at the hotel, and then headed out to Chinatown to see the lights. A little disappointed, however, as it wasn’t as bustling and well-lit as we thought. Took some photos and then walked back - up all the hills of California Street! Ordered a pizza from the village pizzeria again and scoffed at about 11 PM.