The sight of a ‘no rain’ forecast on my weather app was a welcome news!
The previous day had been very wet, but Paris still delivered. For our 11th day, we’d be visiting Sacré-Cœur at Montmartre.
Compared to Rome where I already lost count the number of churches we have visited, Sacré-Cœur was our first in Paris.
First glimpse of Sacré-Cœur after a long walk
On our second full day in Paris, the weather started acting up. I’ve checked the forecast of the day and it said 90% of rain.
I’ve looked out the window and saw that the sky was cloudy. It may not look like it from the photo below but it was surely going to rain that day.
I looked at the itinerary we planned and we had done some of those listed the day before. It really was a suggestion.
It didn’t look like it, but it felt like it was about to rain
The following morning, we woke up quite late. It was safe to say I no longer had any jet lag.
It was our first full day in Paris after a wonderful preview the night before. We were all looking forward to getting up close to the Eiffel Tower from the Place du Trocadéro.
I even used my Trocadéro just for that. LOL
Day 8, and it was our travel day from Rome to Paris!
We woke up at around 6:45 am, ate our breakfast, and packed the last few things we needed to pack before we zipped closed all of our bags.
I already pre-booked a 6-seater FreeNow car from our AirBnB to Fiumicino Airport, and it was due to arrive at exactly 10:00 am. We were not to check-out until 11:00 am, but we thought it would be better to have considerable lead time.
It was raining a bit, and I was hoping it would stop raining by the time we go down the AirBnB.
Unfortunately, it did not.
We’d miss this cork board
Day 7 and it was our last full day in Rome. By this day, we had nothing major planned, except to go around the Eternal City one last time.
But for the last full day, we did not leave until around lunch time as we expected to be out until late in the evening, We also had to pack our bags and not rush the following morning.
Our flight to Paris won’t be until mid-afternoon, but we’d be checking out early of the AirBnB for Fiumicino much earlier.
Thankfully, the weather forecast had no rain indicated whatsoever, making it easier for us to move around.
Walking the streets of Esquilino on our last full day in Rome
While we spent most of our time in Rome, we decided to dedicate just one day trip for Florence.
Nothing against those spend one day trying to cover as many cities in a week in one country let alone across Europe, but I am personally not a fan of doing it. Heck we already spent 4 full days in Rome and still missed out on a lot of things.
Also, that would be impossible to do with my parents, and the many bags we’d have to carry around.
Thus, in our minds, Florence was the most feasible day trip from Rome given it won’t take us more than 2 hours to reach this Tuscan city.
Mama checking the sights outside the train
Halfway from Roma to Firenze
Day 5 and I was beginning to think there was already a pattern to the weather.😅 Much to our chagrin, it was raining even before I woke up.
It was unfortunate as we’d be spending most of morning at St. Peter’s Square for the Papal Audience.
I dressed appropriately, not only because we are to enter St. Peter’s Basilica, but also we’d have to possibly stand in the rain for hours.
It was quite early in the day, and raining – St. Peter’s Square
Day 4 in Rome, and I woke up at exactly 6:00 am without an alarm clock. That was a big improvement compared to the last 2 mornings. It meant I was already recovering from the jet lag.
We had another long day ahead of us, visiting the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum and Castel Sant’Angelo. We also needed to drop by the Vatican City to get our tickets for the Papal Audience the next day.
Looking at my phone, there was no forecast of rain at all. The highest temperature we’d have for the day was 24 degrees Celsius, which was around the same temperature we had at Piazza del Popolo.
Andiamo al Colosseo!
On our third day in Rome, I still woke up quite early at 5:30 am. I still felt a bit tired, yet excited. I also immediately checked the weather app on my phone to see the temperature and the forecast for the day. There was a small chance of rain, which we had to learn to adapt with.
I also heard Papa and Mama having their usual morning call with our family at home, who had been checking in on them.
Compared the the day before, we left a little late at 9:30 pm. The first thing we planned to visit was the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
At Via Ratazzi
Despite us being tired from the flight the day before and sleeping at around 11:30 pm, I still woke up at 4:00 am.
Jet lag has hit me, and I found it difficult to sleep until everyone started waking up at 5:30 am. It was still dark outside, but I could tell that Papa was already in the kitchen preparing his coffee and getting ready to eat his cornetto.
Then at 6:00 am, it was obvious that I could no longer sleep so I finally got up. Over breakfast, we just had a debriefing of the our flight, and shared our excitement when we finally arrived in Rome. I also briefed everyone what to expect for the day, and at what time we should be leaving the AirBnB for Termini.
Good morning, Rome!