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Bust on Roman wall
This picture was taken from the window at our hotel in Rome.Day 5, Saturday – Rome on our own.
After three days of tours it was finally a chance for us to just wander around Rome on our own (although we walked most of it already). While in the area of the Colosseum we did not get a chance to see the Circus Maximus, which was a sports arena that could hold 200,000 spectators. This is where major chariot races were held. So instead of walking we went to the Termini Rail Station to get our train tickets to Sorrento for tomorrow and a day pass for the metro which includes the bus lines as well. A guide from our previous tour explained that there are a couple of reasons why there are only two metro lines (A and B) underground. First of all, the Italians are slow and second, each time they start to dig, they find more artifacts which halts everything.
After negotiating the ticket kiosks and metro ticket vendors we were on the metro, nothing like our BART system and every car was covered with graffiti. Lisa was on the lookout for pickpockets like an Interpol agent looking for a fugitive. We made
it to our stop with everything we started with (thank you Lisa) and walked to the Circus Maximus. Most of the original is gone but the large open area was easy to see how large it was. Not as impressive as the other sites we have seen but now we can check it off the list.
We decided to head back to the Trastevere area to find one or two of the spots we visited during our food tour. After walking in what seemed like circles for about an hour we found Osteria Der Belli and sat at an outside table. We ordered some house wine, prosciutto and melon, fresh green beans, and veal saltimbocca for lunch. Everything was excellent but now we needed something to satisfy our sweet tooth and were going in search of the biscotteria we went to during our previous food tour.
Jim did some quick internet searching on his iPhone and our next stop was the cookie factory. As we walked in Lisa noticed some cookies that she thought were ginger or spice cookies in the shape of puppy paws so we asked the woman at the counter for 6 of
Sorrento
Looking down from the town center of Sorrento to the coast them and 2 of these large flaky crispy pastries that Jim grew up calling elephant ears. In France they are known as palmiers. They are usually made with layers of butter and flour but the pastry chef at this bakery uses only olive oil. Olive oil is much healthier so we did not feel guilty enjoying this sugary crispy treat. As we walk away ready to enjoy our treats, Jim jokes that the cookies with the paw prints might be dog treats. We take a bite and even though we do not know for sure, we are pretty convinced that they are dog cookies. Sorry Grace, we are not bringing them back for you, we tossed ‘em.
Given the crazy driving we have seen, Lisa asked Jim early on in the trip what the chances were that we would see a collision of some sort – person vs car, person vs cycle, cycle vs car (person vs person was 100%). He mulled it over for a while and then decided that we had a 70% chance of seeing some sort of collision. Well today it happened. Luckily it wasn’t anything serious. When we said person vs car,
Big dog at the pub
This is the dog that loved his ball we thought for sure if would be the car hitting the person but not so. A car stopped in the middle of the road and a person walking was looking to the right and crashed right into the stopped vehicle. We can understand how that can happen as the vehicles ride up on the bumper of the vehicle in front of them and then slam on the brakes. This is a constant cycle. Go fast, slam on the brakes. Go fast, slam on the brakes.
After leaving the Trastevere area we found ourselves across the Tiber river back in the Jewish Ghetto area which just so happened to be close to the Open Baladin beer bar, so we just had to stop for a couple of beers. This was our third time to stop for a beer and Jim was waiting for the staff to holler “Jimmy” like Norm walking into Cheers but it did not happen.
After leaving the beer place we just started walking to see where we would end up with the intent of finding another place to have a beer or glass of wine. As we approached Piazza Navona we
noticed a huge police presence all over. Not knowing what was going on we decided to head towards our hotel. We saw police vans and officers for blocks, and blocks, and blocks. There was a helicopter flying overhead which we had not seen our entire time here. Something big was going to happen but we were not going to be caught up in it.
Before we knew it we were on Via Del Corsi, which is a main artery in Rome and the streets were closed to traffic. Along the Via Del Corsi are all the popular Italian and American shops from Gucci to Prada and more. It was easy to understand this was the place see and be seen. Even the children were dressed like models.
It was time to get away from the crowds so we made our way past the Spanish Steps to the area where our hotel is located. Giuseppe from our hotel told us on our first day about a wine bar close by so we decided to go there and taste some wines. The gentleman who greeted us suggested a red wine for us to try from the
south of Italy, then he brought us a plate of bread seasoned with rosemary and olive oil. After we finished our first glass he suggested another wine from the northern part of Italy, and with that he brought us deep fried potato rings, yes rings of potato with a wonderful crispy coating, Lisa loves potatoes so Jim had to make sure he got his share. The wine was so good Jim decided to buy a bottle to enjoy later on our trip.
On our last full day in Rome it was nice to go at our own pace and take in all the city has to offer. While Rome has some things we did not care for, (crowds, graffiti, and guys trying to sell cheap trinkets to the tourists), the overall experience was much more positive than negative. The history, food, people, and architecture are the best parts of the experience. Just to make sure we come back some day we went back to the Trevi Fountain to tossed a coin over our shoulder into the fountain. We also tossed a coin for Jim’s Mom.
Tomorrow we will take a train to Sorrento.
Miles walked – another 10 miles even though we took the metro for one trip
Day 6 – Sunday
This morning was so very interesting. We went to breakfast as usual and went back to pack. Our train is supposed to leave at 11:26 so we are going to get a taxi to pick us up at 10:30. The night before Giuseppe’s brother told us that all we need to do is let Giuseppe know when we are ready, he pushes a button, and in 2 minutes a taxi is there. With everything packed we go to the front desk and Giuseppe and the young woman that had been working in the breakfast room was there (can’t remember her name but she is extremely friendly and happy). As we tell them how much we enjoyed the stay, we get the Italian double cheek / air kiss goodbye. She says we cannot go yet because Mama Theresa will want to say bon voyage to us. She gets mama and we get our blessing for good travels from mama too, and a double kiss. They are all wonderful people and we felt like we were a part of the family during our stay.
After making the short trip on the small elevator to the ground floor Giuseppe comes down to make sure the taxi gets there. The building the hotel is located in is 5 stories high. The ground floor is pretty much the entrance. The floor we stayed on was the second floor where most of the hotel rooms are located. There are two larger family rooms on the third floor and we assume this is where the family lives. Lisa asked Giuseppe about the rest of the building occupants and he said the second and third floors are owned by his family, and the fourth and fifth floors are owned by another family. The ground floor is a common area.
The hotel is located on Via Marche, which is a street just inside the original walls of Rome. Giuseppe explains that those responsible for the walls are considering opening the walls to the public. In all his years here he had only been in there once. We just saw it as a wall of bricks with a big sculpture of a man that Jim said stared at us every morning when we looked out the window. However, there are rooms inside this wall that people used to live in. Before we could hear more about this, the taxi came.
Lisa is white-knuckled as we take Mr Toad’s wild ride to the train station. One of the things on our to-do list is to look up whether auto insurance is a requirement and if so, how much it much cost. These drivers are crazy! We have been in some crazy taxi rides in Mexico and Greece but the drivers in Rome all think they are formula one-race car drivers. In fact texting and driving in Rome is an art.
Once at the Termini Station in Rome we watched the departure sign to see what platform our train would be leaving from. Once we knew the platform now we had to figure out where to stand on the platform for our car. With no information available on the platform Jim showed our ticket to one of the workers at the station and he motioned to go to the other end of the platform. As the train approached we found our car and searched for our seats. The other trains we have been on in Europe had a spot on each car for luggage but this train only had overhead storage. Since our bags were not carry on size we put one in the overhead storage and the other between us on the floor. During the two-hour ride we were both nervous it would fall down on top of us or the people sitting next to us, luckily it did not. Once we arrived at the Napoli station we saw our driver waiting for us to take us to Sorrento. Our other option was to take the local commuter train from Napoli to Sorrento but all of our research said it was not a safe train so we opted for a personal driver. Antonio was our driver and he was very engaging and informative. He is like a tour guide all the way to Sorrento, telling us about Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii, Capri, Amalfi Coast, and how proud he is to live in Sorrento, which is about an hours drive.
He said the Italians are very proud of the high-speed trains. They are clean, on time, and safe. However, the rest of the trains – eh. We were not on a high-speed train from Rome to Naples. It was 20 minutes late.
About 2-3 minutes away from the hotel, Antonio calls the hotel to let them know we are there so they can prepare for our reception. We drive into the piazza and a young man from the hotel greets us there. He takes our luggage (which weighed more than he did) and walked us to the hotel through two small alleys. Our hotel is in a great spot and very quaint. We have a dram of whiskey as we unpack. Then it is off to see the city.
This is a small town with 20,000 residents. There are 2 small cruise ships in town today. It does kind of remind us of some of the ports we had visited before. The weather is beautiful and we are on the bay of Napoli. People were out sunbathing today. We decided to find a pub our driver recommended for good beer. After a 15 minute walk we were sitting at a table on the side of the road with a couple of Fuller’s ESB beers and watching the traffic go by. The rules in Italy are much more relaxed than the U.S., we saw young children standing in front of their parents on Vespas, babies on laps of mothers in cars, and many people texting and driving. Somehow the locals make it work; Jim was starting to get nervous about driving from Sorrento to Tuscany. At the pub there was a yellow lab that had to be a least 120 pounds and very friendly. He walked around the tables with a ball in his mouth but since the pub is next to a busy road we had no idea where his owner would throw it. Just so happened the ball came out of his mouth and rolled onto the street and for some reason traffic came to a halt. It seemed everyone know it was either a child’s or dog’s ball and waited until a passerby grabbed the ball and tossed it back to the dog.
That evening we went out for a nice dinner at a café in a back alley then walked with the locals through the streets before heading back to the hotel. A much more relaxing day and city than Rome and we needed it.
Miles walked: Only 5
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Max
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Tour Guides
I am having such a great time looking over your shoulder as you travel! An extended trip to France and then Italy is on our agenda---next year since our travel funds went into studio renovation---so please remember to take down all the hotel, tour guides, tours info as you go along, please? We will be in your debt---and that means you will have to visit and let us wine and dine you!