Tag: #Roman

“But Rome is a bit mainstream for you isn’t it?”

Well it’s a valid point! Rome with it’s truly outstanding historical sites and thronging crowds of tourists isn’t my usual type of travel destination but nevertheless… here’s 48 hrs in Rome, Exploring Cat style..

I totally ignored the advice in each Rome forum/blog I read…book everything one said, stay up til midnight and keep refreshing your browser to grab Colosseum tickets hinted another.

Well .. we didn’t…instead booking only flights and a hotel.

Things to do 48 hours in Rome – Saturday.

We caught the hop on hop off bus just outside the colosseum. I’d read that the buses were infrequent and there would be a bun fight with the other hoards of eager sightseers scrambling for seats on board. As it happens there were about 5 different bus companies all touting for business so we hopped on the closest one and headed off on our rome tour.

First stop was lunch on the doorstep of the Vatican city. Against all advice we picked a total tourist trap restaurant where the food was pretty decent and they did massive jugs of beer. The bill wasn’t too hefty and we went on our way.

Off to the Vatican (new country day) – it was only thanks to the white and gold flags in the street that we realised we’d left Italy and strayed on to Vatican soil.

Ambling up to St Peter’s square we could see a giant line of people – were they waiting at passport control? Thankfully not. I’d made peace with NOT visiting the Sistine Chapel on the advice of my boss who said something along the lines of if you fancy being in a massive room with a bunch of sweaty strangers bumping chins as you all gawp upwards at the ceiling together, its definitely worth it. So ‘no’.

Instead, we wandered about the square, looked at the Pope’s window, and sent a postcard from the Vatican post office.

We strolled back to the HoHo bus stop via a wee dude selling tacky Vatican souvenirs who did us a deal on a centurion helmet and some holy water. Perfect timing to catch “our” bus, sharp elbows not required as we showed our tickets and hopped on board.

The Capuchin Crypt was practically deserted, no booking required. They’ve really tried to make the most of their monk museum with lots of information about the origins and work of the Capuchins today… But really what we all wanted was a good nosey at the creepy crypt decorated entirely with human bones and crispy mummified friars! It’s not expensive to visit and of course the crypt is a cool refuge from the hot Roman sun.

The Spanish steps were “round the corner” (up a big hill) from the crypt. Much better being at the top looking down, the crowds taking selfies were mostly loitering on the bottom steps far below us.

A brief stop for a lemoncello spritz and a bit of a challenging pee-stop with an argumentative waiter who wanted to play toilet-queue god (don’t mess with a Scottish lass with a lemoncello bladder!) revived us and we continued exploring.

The rest of the HoHo bus tour was painfully slow, snailing round the train station area in heavy traffic and roadworks.

Finally it was time to reward ourselves with more alcohol and snacks so it was off to Trastevere on the tram for tea ding ding!

Two Days in Rome – Day 2

To emphasize lack of planning and research, it turned out that we were in Rome for Italian Republic Day and the first Sunday of the month – many sites and museums are free entry.

A fly past by the Italian air force (the Frecce Tricolori) would be the icing on our Roman cake this rainy morning.

I couldn’t find any information about the exact timing of the display and because of the Unity Day parades our bus took rather a convoluted route to Piazza Venezia. Just before we were due to alight, I heard a huge screech and rumble in the sky…damn, we’d missed it!

We fought our way through the crowds for a look at the Victor Emanuele II monument. Thanks to Muir who really loves his architecture and history for recommending a visit here.

Despite the roadworks for a new metro station meaning the piazza is a bit of a building site, and the roads being shut, and crowds of people watching the parades monument is still breathtaking! 

We eventually squashed past the parade-watchers in search of the Trevi Fountain. Partly thanks to the steady rain and perhaps because it was early in the morning, the crowds around the fountain were minimal. Worth enjoying “influencers in the wild” posing for perfect selfies as well as marveling at the fountain. 

The Pantheon is down a wee back street from the fountain (via a lemoncello shop which was dishing out liqueur samples – why not?)

Living up to our orderly queue- loving-Brit stereotype, we were confused at the lack of queue at the gargantuan Pantheon doors. A small sign encouraged faithful worshippers to enter for morning mass. We scuttled in, hoping that no-one would question us if we looked like we might be really up for a good mass. Turns out there was no need for pretence, a free ticket was issued to us and we were allowed in for a marvel at the Roman concrete domed roof or as he put it; ” I’ve never seen so many people fascinated by a big leaky hole in a ceiling” !! In and out in 5 mins!

Next on the the list, I really fancied a wander around the Parco degli Acquedotti (Aquaduct Park) . I’d seen pictures of sunset in the park and thought it would be a lovely stroll. But the rain was still pissing down. And Google maps took us to the wrong place. Twice.

By this point we were both soaked and took refuge in a gents clothes shop. Distracted by the helpful assistants and trying to explain a 34 inch inside leg, we missed a SECOND flypast by the Frecce Tricolori!!

Slightly dejected and more than slightly damp, our enthusiasm for touristy stuff was beginning to wane by now. We headed back to the Colosseum.

On “free entry” day it seems to be first come first served for the Colosseum. We arrived 15 mins before it was due to open and the queue was already snaking way up the street up and over a hill. As the rain had finally stopped but the sun hadn’t quite made it through, it was PERFECT QUEUING weather. Once the gates opened, the queue steadily moved, we waited about an hour and a half to get to the (free) ticket desk. I kept a hawk eye open for any would-be queue jumpers and a sharp elbow kept any interlopers out from us and our immediate queue compadres.

We didn’t explore the rest of the site because I managed to LOSE our free tickets!

By this time we were Roman ravenous and ready to call it a day. We’d chalked up 10 miles of walking. Ignoring all advice to avoid any restaurants near to the main tourist spots, (we were too hungry) we happened across La Follia. it was really quiet – I guess 5pm was late for lunch and too early for dinner. Pizza,  focaccia and huge tagliere misto, a big beer and a gin tonic and friendly service for €48!

So there you have it. What to do with a long weekend in Rome (freestyle edition!). No Sistine Chapel and sadly no visit to the Roman ruins cat sanctuary but there’s always next time…