Of all the many places we wanted to visit, this one was definitely in the top ten. WE just back from the Hungary holidays in August, so my wife was no in for another holiday this soon. But I decided to surprise her and book another trip.
Booked flights and hotel via Expedia. The hotel was very close to the Vatican city walls. just an eight-minute walk. This was a four-day visit and we departed from Dublin on a Friday morning at half four. Since we realised that security is super quick when we have a kid we took it easy.
It was a three-hour flight but we spent one hour just on the tarmac on Friday morning due to air traffic delays. Just from the window, I could count up to eleven planes lined up behind us.
Ciampino airport in Rome was 40 minutes away from the main city. We first had some coffee and carrot cake at the airport and two facts we experienced for the rest of the stay. Just latte means, just warm plain milk, second coffee served here is not as warm that you'd expect it to be. But nothing is expensive by Dublin standards. the best of coffee cost only a euro fifty and the best of carrot cake was one euro eighty-five cents.
We got ourselves a 48-hour Roma pass that allows us to use all transport and entrance to anyone museum. We took the public bus plus a metro to Termini, which is a major central station for Bus and underground metro. I am surprised in all of the 4 days we were there, we never used the metro train except for the first day. Had a good goats cheese sandwich from moocha and carried on. Bus route number 64 from termini took straight to the hotel Gravina.
The hotel was top class and the reception agent was very helpful. Gave us all tips, helped us with information as the best places to visit. Provided maps and details. We rested for few hours. Rome was much warmer than where we came, so it was comfortable to walk around. The Vatican city wall was just a short stroll away. We headed there and fact number two hit us, the old part of the city which is most of it is all cobbled street is not buggy friendly. My mate had already made me aware of this earlier. As we entered the large square in front of the Vatican the scale of monuments here hits you. Hundreds of huge pillars all around and several tourists there bore the same expression that we had. Of awe.
It was dusk and the Sun was gently setting behind the massive dome. we Stood there absorbing the ambience of the setting. We walked down the long road towards the main street where there is a castle/ fort. THere was a busker entertaining the crowds with massive soap bubbles which entertained my daughter for a good long while. AS the skies got darker we walked back to the hotel room and conveniently next to the hotel as a very good pizzeria. WE dined on some authentic bruschetta, pizzas and some good local brew of draft beer. Fact number three, pizzas anywhere in Rome is amazing. They are delicious, offers several tens of choices and very good value for money.
Saturday morning after our breakfast at the hotel, we first headed to Colosseum. Bus Route number 916 is what we used and, at the stop where we had to switch to the next bus, we decided to walk. The best thing we did. WIthin a minute of walking, we ended up in the "Altare della Patria" . A national monument in honour of the first king Victor Emmanuel who unified Italy.
Very imposing structure of the massive scale. had several flights of stairs to get to the second level. From there we headed back down and the Colosseum was a fifteen-minute straight walk from there. But it took us more than an hour to complete that walk because on either side of the road was several archaeological excavations and sites. Just having a quick glance at these ancient ruins and look at the intricate mosaic of all of the marble flooring makes me wonder, this is so unreal that thousands of years ago there was such fine craftsmanship. It's a kind of flooring that I would love in my own house. Good design and good craftsmanship are truly timeless.
AT the gates of the Colosseum tourists flocked in thousands and by no way could we have queued up there for hours to get in. THanks to the Roma pass we had, there was no wait time at all. Straight in.
As we made it into the level zero and looked into the arena we realise that true grandeur of this monument. How as such a large structure built in the first place. Some of the pillars are smoothly carved up granite pillars 3 feet wide, 20 feet tall and brought all the way from across the oceans on wooden sips. How!
Even the barbaric acts what went on in this venue for the entertainment of the crowds is also something which is an inhumane/ insane act at a different level. We made our way up the super inclined stairs to level one which offered a much wider viewing of the space. Cant help but think of the fact that these same stairs were used by the ancient Romans thousands of years ago.
After some cliche touristy pictures we made our way around the outer corridor where there were several exhibits and models on how the Colosseum would have been in its full grandeur back in those days. Soon after we exited and had a fantastic sit in Pizza. We walked back the same street we walked up observing the archaeological dig ups on the other side of the road.
Thanks to offline google map our next venue was the Pantheon. There was a long queue there as well but did not take that long to get in. The size of the dome is what takes your breath away, the on close observation the intricate and highly detailed stonework all over is equally impressive. It's now a church, but was once a Roman temple . all were asked to quieten down, but this request had to be placed every five minutes. Such was the steady flow of visitors.
One the way back did some shopping for the little one and something to snack on. Back at the hotel to our dismay we found that all the day tours that we wanted to get on were all sold out. We were able to get two seats on the "Taste of Italy" day tour. THough unintended it was just as fun as we could have expected. Headed out of the city towards Cortona in Tuscany. Beautiful countryside villages which unlike normal villages which generally lie in the valleys. These little towns are on hilltops. For obvious reasons of good visibility to detect enemies. The steep cobbled stone roads were challenging enough for us, but wonder how the folks do this every day, day in and day out. The guide explained on how grapes are cultivated and harvested. The different types of grapes etc.. There was an open weekly market fair going on which made the experience even more genuine. On the windy roads down noticed several cyclists make their way up the mountain. what an amazing location and landscape to train. The next stop was Montepulciano, another hilltop town but here there were some very old wineries. The one we went to was four hundred years old. We met the master wine taster who is still doing his duty at the age of eighty-five. We were explained how to read the barrels and how wine is actually made, stored, bottled and even labelled. Tasted several samples of wines.
Some just two years old. Some more than five. I am no expert, but if I focus hard I could tell the difference. From smell to the aftertaste, how it felt as it went down the tube, everything had a subtle difference.
We shopped for some simple wooden toys there and we made our way back to the bus. it was lunch time and we stopped at a restaurant deep in the countryside. We were in for a treat for an authentic Italian four-course lunch with ample varieties of cheese and bread thrown in.
Fact four, dishes don't have to be complicated with many different types of spices to make is delicious. Simplicity is beautiful.
heading back to Rome was a tiring experience because the traffic was super heavy. Took more than one hour just to travel 20 kilometres. It was the Sunday evening and everyone was heading back in.
A memorable day tour since the green line tours picked us up and dropped us back at the hotel which was super convenient, especially when you have a two-year-old and a buggy to lug around. A bottle of wine, while we dined, was the perfect remedy for a good night's sleep after a long day.
The final day in Rome was slightly dramatic at the end .
We had a lazy morning , headed out of the hotel after packing all of our stuff . we checked out at ten AM. My wife and to shop for some gifts. Rosary and fridge magnets and all. We walked down the awards the Vatican and continued t walk by the north side of the river. Its quite note worth that the architecture of all the buildings all around stands out. We walked towards the large park at the north side of the city which must have been just a 4 KM walk. it was a short hike up the side of the hill where we spent some time in the serene park. a very large park. SO large that there were bikes to rent to go about. My little one had good time running around freely. it was a good view of the city from there as we overlooked a square.
Headed back down and walked down the south side of the river. On the tourist map there was a landmark for a basilica. We found the place and it was as impressive as it could be. Beyond expectations. Thats the nature of the buildings there. From exterior it looks so un assuringly simple . But once you set in get ready to be blown away. it was on one of the high streets and there were plenty of high end stores. Never seen so many lingere stores lined up . Finally my mrs found a good retail shop "Mango" where I did my duty of minding the kid and she shopped for herself and my sister.
We could see that this street connected straight to the national monument from there. The mental map of the city gets so much richer the more w spend our time on foot there. We must have walked a lot that day. I would say 15 km the least. We got back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and we headed to Termini. The flight was at eight PM and leaving at five should be safe enough; God were we wrong . The notorious traffic meant that we would recutting into close. The shuttle coach runs every 30 minutes or so and but the next coach we could get was at seven six So we had to take a taxi . We got to the airport by seven . went though the routine security and some last minute airport shopping for chocolates. Got on to the plane and the three of us went out like lights. End of a fantastic trip. Truly fantastic .
One thing was decided as we touched down at Dublin Airport, got togo back for more.. Pompeii, Scilly, Florence, Milan... there is so much more Italy has to offer.
Booked flights and hotel via Expedia. The hotel was very close to the Vatican city walls. just an eight-minute walk. This was a four-day visit and we departed from Dublin on a Friday morning at half four. Since we realised that security is super quick when we have a kid we took it easy.
It was a three-hour flight but we spent one hour just on the tarmac on Friday morning due to air traffic delays. Just from the window, I could count up to eleven planes lined up behind us.
Ciampino airport in Rome was 40 minutes away from the main city. We first had some coffee and carrot cake at the airport and two facts we experienced for the rest of the stay. Just latte means, just warm plain milk, second coffee served here is not as warm that you'd expect it to be. But nothing is expensive by Dublin standards. the best of coffee cost only a euro fifty and the best of carrot cake was one euro eighty-five cents.
The hotel was top class and the reception agent was very helpful. Gave us all tips, helped us with information as the best places to visit. Provided maps and details. We rested for few hours. Rome was much warmer than where we came, so it was comfortable to walk around. The Vatican city wall was just a short stroll away. We headed there and fact number two hit us, the old part of the city which is most of it is all cobbled street is not buggy friendly. My mate had already made me aware of this earlier. As we entered the large square in front of the Vatican the scale of monuments here hits you. Hundreds of huge pillars all around and several tourists there bore the same expression that we had. Of awe.
Saturday morning after our breakfast at the hotel, we first headed to Colosseum. Bus Route number 916 is what we used and, at the stop where we had to switch to the next bus, we decided to walk. The best thing we did. WIthin a minute of walking, we ended up in the "Altare della Patria" . A national monument in honour of the first king Victor Emmanuel who unified Italy.
AT the gates of the Colosseum tourists flocked in thousands and by no way could we have queued up there for hours to get in. THanks to the Roma pass we had, there was no wait time at all. Straight in.
As we made it into the level zero and looked into the arena we realise that true grandeur of this monument. How as such a large structure built in the first place. Some of the pillars are smoothly carved up granite pillars 3 feet wide, 20 feet tall and brought all the way from across the oceans on wooden sips. How!
Even the barbaric acts what went on in this venue for the entertainment of the crowds is also something which is an inhumane/ insane act at a different level. We made our way up the super inclined stairs to level one which offered a much wider viewing of the space. Cant help but think of the fact that these same stairs were used by the ancient Romans thousands of years ago.
Thanks to offline google map our next venue was the Pantheon. There was a long queue there as well but did not take that long to get in. The size of the dome is what takes your breath away, the on close observation the intricate and highly detailed stonework all over is equally impressive. It's now a church, but was once a Roman temple . all were asked to quieten down, but this request had to be placed every five minutes. Such was the steady flow of visitors.
Fact four, dishes don't have to be complicated with many different types of spices to make is delicious. Simplicity is beautiful.
heading back to Rome was a tiring experience because the traffic was super heavy. Took more than one hour just to travel 20 kilometres. It was the Sunday evening and everyone was heading back in.
A memorable day tour since the green line tours picked us up and dropped us back at the hotel which was super convenient, especially when you have a two-year-old and a buggy to lug around. A bottle of wine, while we dined, was the perfect remedy for a good night's sleep after a long day.
The final day in Rome was slightly dramatic at the end .
Headed back down and walked down the south side of the river. On the tourist map there was a landmark for a basilica. We found the place and it was as impressive as it could be. Beyond expectations. Thats the nature of the buildings there. From exterior it looks so un assuringly simple . But once you set in get ready to be blown away. it was on one of the high streets and there were plenty of high end stores. Never seen so many lingere stores lined up . Finally my mrs found a good retail shop "Mango" where I did my duty of minding the kid and she shopped for herself and my sister.
One thing was decided as we touched down at Dublin Airport, got togo back for more.. Pompeii, Scilly, Florence, Milan... there is so much more Italy has to offer.
