On Wednesday we flew from Munich to Rome. Pretty uneventful all things considered: a taxi strike in Italy led to an Uber ride from a very friendly Lazio soccer fan who was intrigued with our plans to visit Stadio Olimpico that afternoon. The home stadium for AS Roma is probably not in the top list of destinations tourists seek out upon arriving at Fumincino Airport!

He drove us into the city via the Roman forum, coliseum, bocca della verita (the mouth of truth) and more, which was fun.

We have an AirBnB for this leg of the trip just one block outside of Campo dei Fiori where we stayed ten years ago: two bedrooms with walk-in closets, two en suite bathrooms, kitchen and living space.

Quickly dropped our bags and headed to the square where we quickly ordered fried zucchini flowers and four plates of pasta. We were too hungry and longing for good pasta to pause for pictures.

That afternoon/evening I worked US business hours and Miss M had her assigned registration time to select her fall class at university. We took a brief break and walked to the nearby supermarket for groceries.

Due to the taxi strike and Paul and D not having cellular service on their phones to order an Uber, they walked an hour each way to and from Stadio Olimpico. As a Roma fan, Paul was super excited to see the old, outdated stadium, the trophy they recently won and the various locker rooms.

Late night we walked to Piazza Navona for gelato, to gaze at the fountains and people watch. It’s good to be back here. It feels familiar, and like home, yet different since it’s been ten years since being in Rome.