Ciao Roma!

Our Florence apartment was only a 10 minute walk to the train station so we took on the bumpy sidewalks, buses, scooters and people and headed to the station.  On Friday, there was a nationwide strike (imagine that, a strike in Italy!  They strike all the time here...this was the 2nd since we arrived.) which is probably what caused the hour delay in our departure for Rome. But once on board and in less than 2 hours, we were in the Eternal City!

I knew our apartment was close to the Vatican but I did not realize just how close.  Our place has a view of the Vatican wall from our living room window!  And even better, across the street (a pedestrian street) is a gelateria and a pasticceria (pastry shop).  The apartment was built in 1819 and is a typical Roman apartment...our host's grandfather originally owned the apartment.  This is the most authentic AirBnB I have had in a very long time and LuLu is loving it!  Lately it seems all AirBnB check-ins are with an app so you do not always get to meet your host but ours had a staff member meet us as they live about 20 miles outside of Rome.  Our hosts, Marco and Antonella, left us a bottle of wine and were in contact via WhatsApp constantly.  Since I work while I am traveling, internet is very important and we had some issues so they came into town to install a booster.  We fell in love with them right away and thanks to Google Translator we had a great conversation.  Antonella was in a wheelchair and she told us she had Parkinson's so we of course we had an instant connection.  To add to it, their granddaughter's name is Linda and Marco told us how his father converted to Catholicism when he was 75 (JB was 69).  It was definitely meant to be for us to rent this apartment.  If you are looking for an authentic experience where you feel like you are staying at your Italian grandmother's (translation you do not mind a few little quirks), I would definitely recommend Domus Ottavia.

No Nespresso machine but there is a
Moka pot so I am honing my skills

Since there are no balconies in the building for clotheslines,
the apartments have indoor clotheslines on a pulley system 

On Sunday at 12:00PM, the Pope gives the Sunday Blessing from his residence window so we headed over to get a little blessing as we began our time in Rome.  But first we visited St. Peter's Basilica... 

Holy Door (aka Jubilee Door) will open on December 24
and stay open throughout the Jubilee closing on January 6, 2026

The inside view of the Holy Door

Meanwhile back outside we stood for 20 minutes waiting on Il Papa
to come out for the Sunday Blessing but he never showed.  A little
research said if he is having health issues he often does not
give the blessing. We did get to listen to the bells while we waited.

LuLu is getting all local on me and standing at
the counter eating her pastry and having her espresso

Now that construction is complete on Via Ottaviano 
Christmas decorations are going up

The hot chocolate was so thick our spoons stood up in it!  

Definitely the perfect treat for sitting outside on a chilly December evening!

To hopefully avoid the crowds, we booked an 8:00am ticket for the Vatican Museum so we could visit the Sistine Chapel.  I definitely recommend booking your ticket in advance especially if you are visiting anytime in 2025 (Jubilee Year) or other high season times. Booking the first tour of the day is the best way to go as this was the first time I was in the Sistine Chapel and it was not wall to wall people.  Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take photos in the Chapel (though many try and the rest of us are subjected to the guards yelling "no photos" so please do not be "that person" and try to take a photo).  The photos below are from the different rooms as you make your way to the Sistine Chapel.

In keeping with tradition, we took the Hop-On/Hop-Off bus tour of the city so LuLu could get her bearings.  With all the construction in Rome right now, it did take a bit longer than normal but it was nice to see the city and plot out our days for the next 2 weeks. 

My friends and I stayed in a pensione in this
building on the 2nd floor when we were in college.

We are enjoying our time in Rome and look forward to discovering more of the city.  We picked up a Christmas tree for our apartment...love how they wrapped it.  All we need now is to get out one of the nativity scenes LuLu bought and we will be ready.