We headed to Rome around noon and made excellent time. That should be a hint of what happened next! Yes, we could not, for the life of us, find the Hotel Lodi, near Piazza Lodi, near Via L'Aquila and Via Gallarte!!! Ahhh!!! We drove around and around for over an hour, asking every Roman we saw. The true Romans spoke no English but knew exactly where we wanted to go, and hand gestured in a million ways possible. The people who spoke English were from other countries and had no idea where we needed to go. Eventually, we stopped at another hotel, got great directions, and drove the additional 5 minutes we needed to find our hotel, ahh!!

The garden was gorgeous, shaded by the canopies of five different kinds of fruit trees; and the welcome was one of the warmest we've yet received (no pun intended - it was 42 degrees outside!). When we walked in, a young man (named Ali, who is Persian - not Roman - and thus, of course, spoke perfect English) greeted us by telling us to drop off our bags, take a cool shower, and enjoy a cold drink (which he then proceeded to bring to us) before getting us checked in. At check-in, he described the best way to see Rome in a couple of days, gave us advice on the neighbourhood, and explained the transit system in detail. Despite the unbelievable heat, we were happy to settle in.