Rick Steves in half a day

The plan today was to take a boat ride to Naples and a taxi to the station; however the wind had kicked up and suspended boat travel. So, we had to quickly get ready to catch the 9:30 bus. The buses in Italy are a mess - everyone scrambles to whatever bus pulls in and checks with the driver which way it is headed. We found our bus which apparently everyone else in Amalfi wanted because it was packed and we had to stand. The road out of Amalfi is too narrow in parts for 2 buses to get by so there were several times when our bus got jammed and the bus uphill would have to pull back. After a 2 hour winding bus ride (dramamine and fresh air from open windows helped) we made it to the Circumvesuviana station. We caught the 12:07 train and got to Naples around 1:15. We found our 1:48 train to Rome and hopped on board. We found out the train's snack car doesn't open until the train starts moving (some enterprising individuals took advantage of this fact and sold snacks baseball park style through the train aisles). We grabbed a mediocre ham and cheese sandwich and a eggplant panino and some pringles for lunch on the train. We arrived in Rome around 3:15 and walked to the hotel (about 10 minutes from the train station). We checked in, freshened up, and headed out for Rick Steves forum walk. We first walked to the Colosseum. It was so impressive in person Jadine suggested we go inside. To get inside it's 11e per person, but it's pretty cool to stroll through it and imagine its glory days and the centuries of vandalism and decay afterwards. After the colosseum, we strolled through the roman forum and saw Julius Caesar's funeral pyre spot and the ruins of ancient rome. It was just about 7 (when they actually close the forum) when we hopped on the metro for Rick Steves spanish steps walk. The metro is convenient, but the ticket system is a little odd - there are machines available to purchase the tickets but they are slow or broken or don't accept the currency you have. The tabacchi shops are where to go really - they sell all the metro tickets. In any case, we made it up to the Piazza del Poppolo where they had a band playing and some circus performers. It seemed like a nice place but full of tourists and where there's tourist in Rome, there are thieves. So, we continued the walk seeing all the shops along the Corso until we reached the Spanish Steps. The steps were less impressive in person than on the big screen and a lot more crowded, but still a very nice spot to hang out and enjoy the night. We went to the nearby Rick Steves recommended Ristornate il Gabriello. It was a little hard to find as it is below street level but it was a good find as the food was excellent. We had a very tasty bruschetta, Jadine had spaghetti with clams followed by mussels, and I had pasta with prawns followed by a steak and lettuce salad. By the time we finished, it was a little after 9:30 and we were tired from the day so we headed to the nearby metro station which as luck would have it was closed (Rome's metro stinks like that). Luckily there's a cab stop nearby and the ride back to the hotel was only a couple extra euros than taking the metro. Tomorrow sees us at the Vatican.