Day 21: Rome Day 1 - half way point

Day 21:   Rome  Day 1,   Friday, December 31^st.

Adventures of travels in Rome

or

How having too much Scotch blood is not always a good thing!

Or

It pays to read ALL the literature!!!!

September 2010:             Booked accommodation for the night in Rome before we join the Trafalgar tour – the hotel used by Trafalgar was about 200 Euro beyond our budget, so we booked a  70 euro one close to the airport – it had transfer from the airport so seemed ideal.

7:20 pm Thursday 30^th:   Had collected luggage and were ready to catch shuttle bus to the hotel – it had just left, so we had until 7:45 to wait for the next one.

7:50                                        Still waitng for the bus, so decided to catch a taxi              15 euro

8 pm                                      Arrived at hotel – very niceroom  - very Italianate, very spacious withvery ample storage but very little else:  no tea/coffee, no breakfast, no minibar.  Informed us that the best way to get to the city tomorrow would be shuittle back to the airport and then the train into the city.   The helpful consierge looked up our hotel address on the internet and told us we needed to get into the city and then get the train out to Cipro (about 6 stations).   Our hotel would be close to that station.

Friday December 31^st”

8.45 am                                Shuttle bus back to the airport                                                   12 euro

9am                                       Train into the city central station                                               28 euro

9.40 am                                About a 600m walk to the Metro (local trains) area, pulling our 20kg suitcases plus other bags behind us.  Carried our suitcases up stairs, walked 20 or so metres further then down stairs again.  Another 20 or so metres then another flight of stairs going up – then more going down!!!  At last, thoroughly exhausted we arrived at the platform we needed.  Managed to work out how to buy an all day public transport ticket                                                                   8 euro

Around  10.30                    Arrived at Cipro.  Roger stayed with luggage while I tried to find out where the hotel was.  After asking in several shops,   one kind trader, who could speak very little English, looked it up on the internet.  Between his little English and my even less Italian, he was able to make me understand that we needed to go one more station, to Valle Aurelia and then out one stop on a different line to Appiano.

Around 11am                     Back on the train, heading for Valle Aurelia

Around 11.05 am              Alighted train at Valle Aurelia and find the way to the next line we needed.  Confronted with a non-operational escalator but were relieved to find a lift -  thank goodness it was labelled as a station suitable for the disabled!  Lift also out of action, so we had no choice but to heft the luggage up another 3 flights of steps – then lo and behold another 3 flights until finally we were on the station.

Around 11.45 am              Arrived at Appiano and asked for the street of our hotel.  We were relieved to find it just a few metres away, and then our hotel only a few paces up the hill.

Around midday:                               Staggered into the hotel, hot, exhausted and thoroughly frustrated.  We had saved about 130 euro but had spent a whole morning and 63 euro getting there!  Checked in and then were introduced to Victor, out tour guide.   We told him of our ‘’adventures’’ and he asked why we hadn’t taken advantage of the free transport that Trafalgar offered from the airport to the hotel.   There had been 3 transfer times offered during the day – the first one leaving the airpport at 9:15 – just after we had left the airport on our eventful trip!!!

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Victor told us that tomorrow being New Year’s Day, most things would be closed.  We realised that if we wanted to see the Colloseum, we had better go thisafternoon.   Victor suggested that if we caught a taxi, we might have time to get to the Sistine Chapel before it closed at 1.30, to St Peter’s Bascilica and to the Colloseum.  He called the taxi for us and instructed the taxi driver that we wanted the Sistine Chapel, but hat if the queue was too long, to take us straight to St Peter’s Bascilica.  Well, the queue for the Sistine Chapel was too long – still about 1km long and only 30 minutes before the closed down, so the taxi dropped us at St Peter’s Square.   Got there just as they were closing St Peter’s Bascilica, so didn’t see it either!    Did see St Peter;s Square though and marvelled at its size.

We knew the last entrance tickets for the Colloseum were being sold at 3.30 and decided that we had just enough time to get there if we hurried.  Decided that although we could use our all day train tickets, we would be quicker if we used the hop-hop off bus.    Got a ticket on it and sat there for 30 minutes until it started  - just as we got to it, they changed to the public holiday timetable which causes it to run every 45minutes instead of every 15 minutes!!!  Can you imagine how frustrated we were both feeling by this time???

Finally, the bus took off and we were headed for the Colloseum.  However, because the big Rome New Year’s Eve concert is being held just near the Colloseum, the streets all around it were blocked off, so we had to leave the bus quite a distance from it and walk down the rest of the way.  It wasn’t a huge distance and we didn’t really mind – until we found ourselves in the middle of a HUGE crowd and we had to fight our way through it.

Arrived at the Colloseum about 3pm, only to find a loooong queue there too.  Were immediately met by an English speaking guy who said that for 20 euro extra, we could join an English-speaking guided tour and go straight in.   Sounded a great deal so we paid up.  I won’t go into the next 30 minutes of hassles, but suffice to say that for about 20 of those 30 minutes, it looked as though we wouldn’t get in at all and at one point our guide seemed to disappear altogether and we wondered if we had been duped!  However, he eventually reappeared and we were in.  He gave us a very good tour of the Colloseum,so at last something had gone right with the day.

Travelled by train back to the hotel, through peak hour traffic.   One part of the trip involved a crush on the train such as I have never experienced before – far worse than our Metro’s worst crush.  We gripped hands firmly to make sure we weren’t separated.

Back at the hotel, there was the first of the tour meetings, then we were taken out for a complimentary dinner to compensate for all the things we won’t be able to see tomorrow. 

To end the day on a good note, the dinner was wonderful!!!   We found two Australian couples our sort of age – both couples come from Queensland – ay!    The four-course meal was delicious and from go to woe we were entertained by two superb opera singers – a soprano and a tenor.  They were a treat to listen to and really made it an enjoyable evening.

 

So now, still quite  bit before midnight here, as I am sitting up in bed listening to the fire crackers going off outside, all that is left for the day is to wish all my blog followers a very Happy New Year!!!   I will try to connect to the internet so I can post this.   It is 9am on January 1^st in Victoria.