113. Scarlet’s Day in Rome

“Now, you are in charge of Rome” This has been the motto for the past 3 weeks. Scarlet and I were given the responsibility of planning everything we did during the last three days we have in Rome with Grandma and Grandpa. Although we both did the same amount of work in planning it all, I was often looked to for answers and a schedule. Scarlet does not like being under appreciated, so today it was made clear that Scarlet was in charge.

Being in charge is a double edged sword. You get to do whatever you want, but if anything goes wrong, it’s all your fault. On top of that, the person in charge has to make all decisions, no one else ever cares to suggest anything, so sometimes its really a drag. But being in Rome it’s not bad at all. I thought I’d be doing Scarlet a favor stepping back and making her lead. What I didn't anticipate was that every opinion, suggestion, and comment would be taken as a personal blow to her carefully scheduled day. As soon as I stopped talking to anyone, the day got a lot better.

We had a lazy morning and met up at 8:30 for a breakfast where, again, we weren’t given any plates. They must love cleaning up crumbs all over the tablecloth. Soon after, we headed for the Hop on Hop off bus. Rick Steves hates these things, but I think they are just so convenient. Originally, we were going to hop off at every stop and look around, but by the end of the day we were just sitting on the bus riding around the same loop over and over. The first place we hopped off was the Bocca della Veritá this statue has an open mouth and it is said that if you are a liar and you stick your hand in its mouth, it will bite your hand off. Scarlet and I both tried. I’m coming home with one less hand.

We stopped for lunch at the Trevi Fountain and found this little restaurant with the cutest chairs where umbrellas were attached to shade you from the sun. Chairs are now how we judge restaurants.

Another stop was the Santa Maria Maggiore.  Supposedly this cathedral houses the wood of the manger. I didn’t see it. What I did see was a baby being baptized. Just the baby and her closest friends and family. Plus the thousands of tourists walking by.

In the afternoon the rain started, so we found good seats on the bus and stayed there for an hour or so, memorizing the geography of the city. We got back in time for dinner and decided to go to Restaurante Isidor again. What can I say, they were really impressive! I can’t resist a good pasta place. We made it known that we were repeat customers and were given a nice free desert. Of course before going home we had to stop by our last gelato shop in Europe. Scarlet got a cone full of Nutella, not Nutella gelato, just a good heap of Nutella straight from the can. As Grandpa put it, we enjoyed ending our last night in Europe eating gelato with the Colosseum in the background right outside the gay bar.