With a tinge of sadness we parted
our little villa in Tuscany for Roma.
To break the trip we stopped in pretty little Orvieto for lunch. Orvieto is a pretty medieval village
that sits on a volcanic tufa rock., with underground tunnels and an amazing
Duomo. First stop was the
Cathedral, of course, which was just as impressive and
beautiful as all the others. We
were fortunate enough to be there when a wedding started. It was a little strange as there were
the wedding guests seated and the rest of the Cathedral was filled with
tourists. We waited and waited for
the bride to appear and thought she must have changed her mind. When she walked
through the door she looked so beautiful but as she got closer, she shocked us
all with her large bump in front. A radiant bride indeed!!!
We arrived in Rome mid afternoon
and despite the stories we have heard about driving in Rome, was no worse than
Sydney. Found our accommodation
with little trouble. It was a bit
of surprise with bars and rolla door over the only the window (see pictures),
but nicely fitted out inside, though a bit small for four. Found the location was actually perfect
for what we did and lots of cafes, bars and restaurants. As it was early
evening by the time we settled in, we headed down to the Trevi Fountain. We spent most of the night there, took
too many pictures and just sat people watching.
First day in Rome and we had
prebooked a private tour guide for an Ancient Rome Tour. We visited the usual spots, Colosseum,
the Roman Forum, Pantheon and ended in the Piazza Navona. Federica turned out
to be the best find of the holiday so far, we loved her. For anyone visiting Rome, she comes
highly recommended from us (www.touristinrome.com )
That night we had dinner at a
Trattoria that was close by. Dinner
is only mentioned because two of our party decided to try ‘Scamorza alla Piastra’ . Sounds great
but ended up being a plate of melted cheese (refer to picture). A memorable meal for the wrong
reasons. We are still walking the
fat off our butts. The bored waiter that hustles diners out the front also
provided a little entertainment with his blatant ogling and drooling of every
young female that walked past.
He caught us laughing at him and then decided that we were his new best
friends and then wanted to share his ‘ogling’ with Paul. After dinner – off to the Trevi
where two pairs of undercover cops provided amusement trying to pick girls
up. Easy to see where the Italian
men get their reputation from.
Next morning we headed off to the
Spanish Steps. Couple of minutes
there and we were in search of coffee.
Didn’t take us long to track down Café Greco, that has the reputation as
one of the oldest Cafes in Rome.
The Café was gorgeous and Jo wanted to sit down. One look at the menu, and the more thrifty
of us decided that no coffee could be that good to warrant the price (7 euro
for cappuccino). After greatly
embarrassing Jo, up we got and ordered at the bar (1.30 euro!). The coffee was the best we had
tasted, not to mention the cannoli’s.
We spent to rest of the morning shopping. We found a Fendi store and Jo was in heaven. The only problem was getting her out of
there – Bags, sunglasses, shoes, jewellery, watches everything Fendi was in
that store. Jo nearly convinced
Sharon that she could not live without a Fendi wallet but common sense
prevailed. After hunting down a
birthday present, we headed, yet again, to the Trevi fountain for lunch. Didn’t have the same appeal as it does
in the night.
We headed back to our little ‘I
am Legend’ hole and dropped off ‘the Edna’. We then headed down to another Church, because we hadn’t
seen enough, the San Maria Maggiore, one of the four papal churches in
Rome. It was spectacular and
contains Bernini’s tomb. We then
headed back to the ruins and visited Circus Maximus, very disappointing and a
shadow of its former self. Looked
like an abandoned cow paddock, but we noted that they appear to be doing more
excavations there. We hung around
and waited for the sunset and took far too many pictures of the Colosseum at
dusk. Finally made it home in time
for dinner. We got sucked in by
Franco, who was waiting for us to hustle us into a nearby trattoria. Promised
us home cooking with ‘no Bangladeshi’. Warning to anyone if they are near Via
Palermo, Rome and come across a character named Franco, promising home cooking
… run! Jo is still recovering. We got the usual basket of bread on the table
but didn’t eat it all. No problem,
they just recycle and give to the next customer. After dinner, Jo and Sharon headed, you guessed it, back to
the Trevi. We had read about a
Gelateria called San Crispino and as it was not opened on Tuesdays, it had to
be tonight or never We made a wish
in the fountain before indulging in the best gelato ever. The taste of the gelato made it hard to
believe that we were even eating gelato.
The flavours were so intense.
Needless to say, the fig gelato has bumped Florence off the top spot,
followed closely by the Zabiolone.
The next day we had to meet
Federica again for a tour of the Vatican and wouldn’t have done it any other
way. This was one of the
main reasons for the trip, to fulfil Mothers dream of seeing the Sistine
Chapel. We started off in
the Museums, went through the Raphael rooms, and the Sistine Chapel before
finishing in St Peter’s. Did
the Sistine Chapel live up to expectations?? For some yes but others maybe not. The Raphael rooms were the most stunning for some of us.
Another great tip for lunch from Federica, was followed by gelato from ‘Old
Bridge’, in Via Michelangelo. A must for anyone visiting the Vatican. We all got three scoops, which was then
topped with whipped cream as high as the gelati for 2 euros!
With a belly full of panini and
gelato, we headed back to St Peters.
We left Mother at the Basilica, while the rest of us decided to climb
the Dome. Thought we were back in
Manarola, but reminded the others, it takes hard work to reach heaven. As we got higher, the stairs became
more windy and narrow. Right at
the top, the curve of the walls of the dome meant that we were walking with a lean. It was well worth the effort, as the
views were spectacular, over Roma, not to mention the cool breeze. Had to fight our way to get to the
railing, as there we so many people up there. The close up view of the mosaics of the inside of the Dome,
made us realise how remarkable it was.
It did our head in when you think of the time and brilliance to do
this. We ended up in the souvenir
shop on the roof top. Sharon
bought a cross from a nun. Had a chuckle as one of the nun’s offered Jo a
ticket to the Pope’s blessing in the square the next morning. Had to decline as we were heading to
Naples the next morning. Jo was a
bit worried and thought she must have looked like a sinner and in need of a
blessing! Finally met up with Edna
and walked through the tombs before making our way home. We were a bit taken back by all the
young girls that were all sobbing in front of Pope John Paul 11’s tomb. They were quite distressed.
Got the train back and got a
quick coffee and a pastry at the Illy Café near our ‘I am Legend’ hole. Nothing like an Illy coffee in Roma,
and not like the Illy in Sydney at all. By the time we got home, quick change
and needed to find somewhere for dinner.
We lost Jo in the Furla store on the way, and after a bit of heated
discussion about where to go, convinced them to try a Pizza shop across the
road from our apartment. What a
find, the Café has been there since 1885, and the pizza was up there with the
best. The Edna, talked Jo into a
‘fungi’ pizza while the Lowe’s shared a pumpkin flower and anchovies. Feeling quite sorry for Jo, Sharon
shared hers with her. Jo hasn’t offered to share with Mother ever again. Oh…
and just to end our stay in Roma, Jo and Sharon headed back to the Trevi, yet again,
where we threw more coins and made more wishes. We only threw two coins into the fountain, as the third coin
means you will come back, fall in love and marry an Italian. We decided we didn’t want to marry an
Italian, just a fling will do! And
then it was off to San Crispino, decisions decision decisions. It took us a
while but we basically ended up with what we got the night before. Jo boldly tried the plum but at the end
of the day the fig and zabalione reign supreme.
