Yes, I stole the title of this blog post from Rick Steve but it fits Rome and, anyway, we’ve been supporting Rick’s products to good effect on this trip.
Trenitalia’s intercity trains certainly run on time, no fascism required, and it’s a breeze getting into Roma Termini from Firenze, but less of a breeze getting out as the surroundings are jammed up with street protests complaining about Roma’s infrastructure problems like poor garbage pickup and potholed roads. It’s a bit of a mess but still seems to work for the most part, litter, graffiti, cranky taxi drivers and crazy paving road surfaces aside.
First time for either of us to Rome and even this is going to be a smash and grab visit for only 3 nights. The heavy weather that has been chasing us down through Italy finally caught up and made it difficult to get around. Even so, we did a lot of walking as we stayed in Travastere where the Metro wasn’t much use, we didn’t get the hang of the bus/tram system (we were lame) and the taxi apps, even the local ones, just didn’t work. We had some fun when a severe thunderstorm hit central Rome and they had to shut down the Colosseum, Forum etc. We were on Palantine Hill during the emergency shutdown, trees were being felled by the wind, and they did a good job of getting the tourists to safety. Similar thing at the Spanish Steps when a nasty thundershower cleared the place of people in a minute flat.
Another Airbnb place, right in the middle of the action of Travastere, not great for sleep but wonderful for atmosphere and immediate access to having a good time. The renovated apartment, had a bedroom and bathroom on the ground floor and a large kitchen and dining room in the basement, accessed by a long, steep and tightly wound metal staircase. There was a second way out of the basement through a mediaeval door and stone staircase mainly used for taking out the recycling. The place was a piece of history and I wondered what nefarious and exciting events had occurred within those walls. Actually, I didn’t, but it was still rather cool. In reality, there were exciting and nefarious deeds going on in the alleyway outside our bedroom window at 4am on a Saturday morning. Earplugs and strong nerves a prerequisite.
Vatican City was only a 20 minute walk away so we wandered over to see what Francis was up to but, unfortunately, he wasn’t at home. We did see the longest line in the world, which we were scoffing at, until we realized that, yes, this is actually the line to get into St Peter’s Basilica. Apparently, it’s always this long and, in most cases, your best bet is to pony up for a guided tour. Maybe next time as this was just a reconnaissance visit.
Dodging showers, we did make it into the Colosseum after navigating the serpentine mechanics involved in buying a ticket. The Italians love this stuff, multiple lines with no signs distinguishing them, strict time windows to enter, a queue to begin queueing. Lovely, but it did work in the end. Of course, the Colosseum is impressive, but less so when the wind is howling through it at 40 MPH and the residue of 2,500 years of wicked deeds is being imbedded in your eyeballs. Still worth a visit but you knew that already, right? I do have to complain about the complete lack of Emperial deliciacies such as badgers’ spleens and ocelots’ noses.
Travastere is a kick with a vast number of establishments to keep you busy. It took us, literally, 2 minutes to walk, dodging bolting scooters, to get to any number of restaurants and bars. It’s not all overrun by tourists either as many Romans come to this district to have fun. Recommended.
Rome is big and bad but not evil. There’s a heck of a lot going on and we’d be up for coming back sometime to see the catacombs and cats, catch up with the Pope, shop at Campo de ‘ Fiori and such. A sunny spell in May would be good.
Nearly forgot – The Hot Young Priests of 2019 calendar was a brisk seller near the Vatican.
Luckily, we set out early to the airport as we spent a long time in inexplicable traffic jams on the way there. Streets were cordoned off and a host of police stood around looking confused. We think it was something to do with the severe weather but our taxi driver had no idea and tried, in vain, to re-route to no effect. Bella Chaos.
For your moment of zen here’s nuns having fun, with part of the line to get into St Peter’s in the background.
Sicilia is our next stop and we’ll likely see some more chaos, here’s hoping it will still be Bella.
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