Where's Papa???

Let me begin by saying that our ritual of detouring from Google has begun to wear us a little raw. Getting into Rome was hairy and trying to find our very tiny, obscure car rental return was all but almost impossible! Up until this point of our trip I had almost kicked my smoking habit, but this trek required a strong dose of nicotine once we arrived. Our brains and nerves were fried. I guess that's why we were not thinking very clearly and allowed Papa to walk a block or so to hail us a cab unescorted. You know that little voice inside your head that says " Ya know....this is probably not such a good idea.".  And yet you still ignore it for whatever reason be it stupidity, arrogance, carelessness, or in this case ... mental exhaustion. As Meg and I sat in the narrow alley keeping a watchful eye on our suitcases, the realization of what we had just done began to sink in. The minutes began to pass by and slowly, panic began to set in. Time for another cigarette. We had just allowed our 79 year old father, who's hearing isn't quite what it use to be and who's Italian is even weaker, to wander away without a map or even the name of our hotel! Visions of Papa clenching his jaw in frustration while trying to explain to a non-English speaking cab driver that he just wants to go around the block to pick up his girls flash in my mind. At this point I can't help but chuckle at the thought of explaining to everyone back home how we have no clue where Dad is and neither does he! Poor Papa must have been gone for almost 30 minutes before they finally turned down our street. The look on his face was priceless, and so was the cab fare! LOL

We arrived at our hotel Villa San Pio and had had just about all of Rome we could take. We were greeted by the "can-do man" Aga, the hotel butler. Another angel who took wonderful care of us while on our travels. Meg and I soon mustered the courage to explore just a little. One can't come to Rome and stay put. We had to at least check out the hood! To our amazement, our hotel was really very close to quite a lot and we were able to take it all in in a pretty respectful amount of time. 3 hours to be exact! Here is our quick tour.....