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Published: November 14th 2022
Sunday - 30 Apr 23 - Rome Now checked into the NH Collection Vittorio Veneto Hotel in Rome for three nights. Leaving Rome on Wednesday 3 May by train for Venice.
The ship docked at 6am right on schedule and we debarked at 7:30am joining Keryn and Garth for the transfer to our respective hotels in Rome. Two other couples in the van and Mario the driver did a great job of stacking the boot with the luggage - see the photo. We all had money on the fact that he would not be able to do it. The transfer took about an hour (70 Euro a couple) and worth every penny to transfer direct from ship to hotel.
Arrived at the hotel at about 9:15am and checked in but our room not ready until 3pm. Left luggage and headed for Rome city. Found a good little cafe on the way to Spagna where we had a toasted sandwich and a coffee (12 Euro). Moved on to the Spanish Steps and Spagna Metro area. Spanish Steps have been beautified by the installation of hundreds of colourful pot plants to stop people sitting on the steps - now no
longer legal to do so.
A wander through the streets to reorient and refamiliarise and we decided to take the Hop on Hop Off bus service (Euro each) and do a circuit to help chew up time until 3pm. Rome is very crowded with obvious tourists and no doubt a Sunday crowd. Traffic a nightmare - as in all the other large cities we have visited in Europe.
Back to the hotel at 2:30pm and had a glass of wine in the foyer (8 Euro a glass) - very passable Italian Pinot Grigio and a red (not sure of the variety yet).
Checked in and getting ready for dinner. Have found a nearby Lebanese restaurant that looks good and made a reservation.
Photos - As I indicated in the previous blog, I will work toward catching up with photo uploads over the next couple of days.
Very nice dinner but the rain has set in and it was a wet waddle to and from the restaurant. Good Lebanese food though and very friendly and helpful staff.
Mandaloun Lebanese Restaurant
www.mandaloun-italy.com Back to the room and basically fell into bed. Its been a
long day from departing the ship, transferring to Rome, waiting for the room and unpacking....again.
Almost flooded the bathroom. It is a shower/tub set up and the sealing on the tub edge and glass is not what it ought to be. By the time I noticed the water from the shower was escaping, the bathroom floor was awash !! And no drain hole !! Fortunately, enough towels to clean up but ......
We were due to catch up with Den and Jim somewhere in Rome tomorrow for a coffee or a light meal but we have mutually agreed to call it off. They have along drive down from Pienza to the airport, the news is saying there is likely to be a train strike here on Monday (we were going to take the train from Roma Termini to the airport to meet them), it is Labor Day - so movement around the place cannot be guaranteed.
13,560 steps today
Monday 1 May 23 - Rome The body clock said it was 5am - so got up and made a cup of tea.
The news seems to confirm there is a day of train strike
right across Italy - how appropriate - the workers striking on Labor day !! Looks like Brisbane got the same treatment from Albo and Madam Arrogance prancing through Brisbane today - all about the Workers, was it ?? !!
Will see how the weather develops but it might be a quiet rest day to catch up after the last 9 days on the trot with a port visit everyday.
Overcast but not raining so went for a gentle walk late morning and ended up at Roma Termini where we will depart for Venice on Wednesday. Checked the
location of platforms and entry points so that we have minimal delays when we do depart.
It really is a Roman holiday here today - virtually no shops open except cafes and souvenir shops. Even the public museums seem to be closed. That plus the train strike has made the CBD very light on for crowds, compared to yesterday. I guess the city will come back to life tomorrow when the workers return.
Also had to go on the hunt for a suitable travel plug. I am so out of practice packing for Europe that I forgot the
UK plug is different to the European plug and did not bring the latter. UK to European plug found (5 Euro - at a souvenir shop - no chance of finding a Australian to European version). So now I have the double conversion AU/UK/EU plug sticking out of the wall !! Not a good electrical solution but it works.
Started to rain again and looks like settling in with a forecast of storms this evening (might be a hotel dining experience tonight) so made the dash for home and Roz is getting her feet up for a rest.
The threat of ongoing rain did continue and by 6pm, it was raining heavily. Our plan was to visit a Thai restaurant we had found in nearby streets but it was not worth getting wet in the process. So the hotel dining room option was taken - certainly not the gastronomic reward we were hoping for. Very ordinary pasta dishes resulted - but the wine was good ! Will revisit the Thai option for tomorrow night.
Not much TV in English - the usual BBC News and a French programme also in English but the rest is in Italian.
Bed at 10 pm
10,200 steps today.
Tuesday 2 May 23 - Rome Today is Sophie's 17th birthday !!!!!! Happy birthday Sophie.
I thought the USA was ahead of us and sent her a "Happy Birthday" last night our time - got the reply "It's not until tomorrow !!"
The US is 6 hours behind Rome - Australia is 8 hours ahead. Hard to keep track sometimes.
Up at 6am and though still looking wet outside, it is not raining. The forecast is 13-20 degrees and partly sunny - so it might be a reasonable day.
We have hit a bit of a wall in terms of our energy. I guess it is the result of the cumulative 5 weeks on the road so far.
On the way to breakfast this morning, we had a corridor "stoush" with the room cleaning lady on our floor. She could only speak Italian, we could only speak English.
All Roz was after was a face washer (we had two of them on Day 1 but they disappeared in the first cleaning). She obviously thought we were trying to get her to hurry up
and clean our room. We tried to say no and I had to resort to using the "Translate" app on my phone to ask for a facewasher. She didn't have any - but we think we were in her bad books. The room was clean by the time we got back from breakfast - no facewasher though.
The day looked good so we embarked on a 10km walk of the city from Villa Borghese to Trastavere, passing through a number of neighborhoods. Again, the tourist numbers were huge in all areas.
First stop was the Trevi Fountain - as we have not seen it before. No water as they were obviously cleaning it. Interesting how deep the water would have been - must have been to keep all those coins safe until they do a clean !! Wonder who gets the cash !!??
Then threading through the back streets to the Tiber River crossing at Isola Tiber - a small island in the middle of the Tiber River which has a hospital on it. Interestingly, Roz was just reading a book that mentioned this very hospital and the role it played in keeping Jewish people safe during
WWII. Apparently, the doctors told the Germans the patients had a very infectious disease but they were welcome to check them, if they wished !! The Germans passed on that and the Jewish "patients" were able to escape.
Then into the area of Trastavere which had many restaurants and cafes spread throughout the streets and laneways. Cafes were packed.
Situated across the river from Rome’s historic centre, Trastevere was once the city’s working-class artisan district, a warren of narrow streets and cloistered piazzas that was home to Rome’s tradesmen, fishermen, and foreign communities from the east of the empire. Trastevere is still known as a foreigners’ district today. It is home to three American universities, draws thousands of international tourists every day, and is a popular haunt among Rome’s students.
As Rome has Seven Hills, Trastevere now has seven bridges connecting it to the east bank of the city. Some Romans claim that Trastevere is the true heart of Rome, it is popular with the locals on a Saturday night for eating and drinking thanks to its numerous bars and restaurants.
As we were making our way along one of the streets, Roz noticed a doorway
with a particularly nice garden inside. A gent was at the door and aid it was OK to go in and take photos. On the way out, we stopped and spoke to him - Jess, from the Philippines, who had lived in Rome for 34 years. We think he may have been the manager of the apartments.
He said that Elizabeth Taylor had occupied the ground floor apartment (you can see the door in the photo I took) when she was in Rome filming Cleopatra - who knows ? But it was a good story anyway. We stayed and chatted for about half an hour. One of those pleasant chance meetings you get from time to time.
More backstreets and north of the Tiber again and came upon the Pantheon - with it's almost half kilometre long queue of people trying to get in - unbelievable !
Found the cafe we went to on Day 1 hand had a panini, coffee and a homemade chocolate cake for a late lunch.
All this time, the skies were darkening and the forecast had changed to indicate it would rain at 2:30pm. You could feel the rain coming and
the temperature dropping. Sure enough, 200 metres from the hotel, large drops of rain started falling. A mad dash home and we got there a little damp but not soaked.
Finally made contact by phone with the lady in Venice we need to meet to get the keys to the apartment tomorrow. Fortunately, she could speak English.
5 pm now - sun is shining. So our plan to walk to dinner to the Thai place should survive - anything but the pasta disaster at the hotel again.
Catching the 10:35am train to Venice Santa Lucia station tomorrow from Roma Termini. Will have to cab it there as it is about 2 km - bit far to push the suitcases. the journey takes about 3 hours. On arrival, I have booked a water taxi (one of those spiffy looking wooden decked speedboats - we hope) to get us to the area of the Rialto bridge and then to our apartment in Campo San Luca.
We will have to have an early "make and mend" day there to catch up with washing - running out of underdungas !!
Excellent Thai dinner at Siam Cuisine in Via Toscana,
34, 00187 Roma. Great staff and really good thai food. Even better - wine at 4 Euro a glass !! (paying 8 Euro a glass at the hotel and it was rubbish).
Home by 8:30pm.
16,780 steps today.
Wednesday 3 May 23 - Venice Up at 6am for the departure from Rome. Clearer skies and a little warmer.
Checked out at 9:30am (36 Euro in City taxes - 3 nights x 2 people x 6 Euro a night) and took a taxi to Roma Termini (9 Euro for a 10 minute ride). Busy as usual at the station with many waiting, as we were for the platform announcement for their respective trains. Platform 3 finally announced about 15 minutes before departure to Venice Santa Lucia station (Frecciarossa 9416 at 10:35am).
Had booked business seats for this 4 hour journey. Seat configuration in the carriage is two singles facing each other across a table on one side of the aisle and 2x 2 facing each other across a table on the other side. Reserved the singles as you don't know who is going to sit opposite you in the doubles. Softer seat, reserved seat, free
soft drink and a bag of chips the bonuses for the business booking.
Pleasant journey north via Florence, Bologna and Padua to Venice with the Italian train system running on time. It was a high speed service with the train reaching speeds of up to 250kph during the journey. Very smooth and comfortable travel.
Arrived right on time in Venice at 2:34pm and found the water taxi booking office without any problems. I had previously booked the service from Australia - AUD$80 for two people with two large and two small bags. There is the much cheaper public transport option but one look at the overcrowded ferries convinced me the water taxi option was the best one. It is important to include the baggage when booking as it can add surprise extra cost and a heated discussion with the driver, if you don't. Plenty of porters available at the station to assist with baggage, if required.
Water taxi was one of those good looking speedboats with the wooden decks and we shared the service with one other couple. 10 minute ride along the Grand Canal to the Rialto area. I had printed out a Google map before
leaving showing the optimum place for us to be dropped and the driver was able to do so, within 150 metres of our apartment.
We are located in Campo San Luca in a second floor apartment with B&C Apartments - run by a mother and daughter team Betty and Camilla (daughter). Communication with Camilla great by text, phone call and Whatsapp. Could not be more helpful. Building even includes a lift - very rare for Venice !! But the lift is small - two people at a time but saved carting heavy bags up two flights of stairs.
www.bc-apartments.com Cost 150 Euro per night which was very competitive at the time of booking in June last year compared to straight one bedroom or other apartments in Venice. As with all holiday apartments, there are a few minor niggles with cleanliness and space but overall, it meets our needs in a convenient location.
Happy with the apartment - basic kitchen facilities (gas benchtop, dishwasher, fridge, microwave), one Queen bedroom, one single bedroom, lounge / dining and bathroom the apartment by about 9pm.. Shower is very small but functional. Very good wifi. Very good hot water.
Quick
trip to the Coop (mini market) 100 metres away to top up with basic breakfast and coffee supplies, unpack and then out to dinner.
A bit disoriented to start with but eventually found Trattoria da Gigi in Salizada San Lio where we have dined on previous visits. Enjoyed the meal and wine and found our way back to the apartment by about 9pm.
There has obviously been a lot of renovation since our last visit and we think that the pause in travel from Covid and recent floodings has allowed repairs and renovation to happen. Many new shopfronts and much more modern fitouts have happened. It has taken a bit of the "old world" look out of the laneways - but inevitable, I guess. A lot of renovation work still in progress.
Bed by 10:30pm
Thursday 4 May 23 - Venice 5am wake up (as usual). First light around 5:30am and sunrise about 6:30am. Looks like blue skies and a forecast of 11-21 degrees.
Got to find a laundrette today to get ahead of the mounting pile of worn clothing.
Scrambled eggs and toast on the menu this morning - great to be
able to cater for ourselves in the apartment.
Given we had been on the move early yesterday from Rome, today was an easy start with no rushing. Took to the streets at 10am in search of the laundrette. It was in fact located in an area reasonably familiar to us but took about half an hour of walking to get there.
Having found the place, we continued on and had morning tea at a cafe serving Cichetti - a small snack or side dish in Venice typically costing around 2.50 Euro. While there, got into conversation with a Danish couple on their first visit to Venice and chatted for about half an hour. They and their children had visited Australia.
Continued the walk along the waterfront of the Lagoon back through St Mark's Square and then did a long loop toward Accademia and back to our apartment. Unfortunately, the walk took us past another Falconeri shop and Roz found another indispensable item to be packed for the journey home !! Bought a panini and a cannoli to share for lunch.
After a short rest, on the road again back to the Laundrette - this time armed
with two bags of washing. 6 Euro per machine for the washing, 8 Euro for 30 minutes in the dryer. Half an hour for washing and half an hour for drying - well spent at a bar next door having Aperol Spritz to ease the pain of waiting.
Back to the apartment to unload and hang out some of the items that were not quite dry. The apartment looks like a Chinese joss house with stuff hanging everywhere.
Decided to have dinner on the Grand Canal on the other side of the Rialto Bridge and a smooth talking tout out front of one of the places offered a prosecco on the house to entice us. We accepted the challenge and had a nice meal of Sea Bass and a Greek salad, including a glass of red and white and the free prosecco.
Took a long walk on that side of the Grand Canal to shake down dinner and returned to the apartment by 9pm. We went via St Marks Square to listen to the 4 piece orchestras - which were great as usual. but there was virtually no one there to listen to them. It was a
ghost town. My cousin Denise was here 2 weeks ago and said you could not move for the crowds !! We have actually noticed how sparce the numbers are in Venice at the moment - very easy to move around without having to shoulder our way through. School holidays must be over and everyone is back to work !!??
Bed at 10pm
18,324 steps today - 14km. Has to be doing us good !
Friday 5 May 23 - VeniceAnother blue sky start to the day with a forecast of 14 - 22 degrees and so it proved to be. 4pm now and there is a nice breeze blowing through our 2nd floor windows, taking what heat there is away.
Activities for the day were - visit Peggy Gugenheim Collection, catch up with landlord Camilla and find a nice place for our 51st wedding anniversary dinner tomorrow night. All done and dusted !!
The Peggy Gugenheim Collection is said to be among the most important for European and North American art for the first half of the 20th century in Italy. The Collection is located in her former home on the Grand Canal in Venice.
We booked online and for Seniors over 65, the price was about AUD$25 each.
The grounds are very picturesque and peaceful (except for all the tourists) and are interspersed with pieces of sculpture in stone and iron. There are two main exhibition areas - the first being the items collected by PG and the other by whoever is the current contemporary guest artist (in this case it was Edmondo Bacci). Its location on the Grand Canal is superb.
www.guggenheim-venice.it In our opinion, the Collection is very eclectic, and, call us philistines, but our perception of the art presented makes you wonder what the artists were thinking. Most of it is abstract in style. There are many panels describing the art presented by the various artists and the themes of progression and thought processes can be followed and considered, but some of the offerings were off the wall. See the photos I took and have a look at the pieces titled "Red and Green" and "Red and Blue" - and try to spot the difference.... (said with tongue firmly in cheek). I only hope this bloke was not paid for his "efforts".
Saw a piece by Jackson
Pollock - much smaller than the Australian Parliament House version but worth a penny or three, you would think.
Still, worth the visit and no doubt others will see the artists interpretations more clearly than we did.
Lunch back in Campo San Luca and met with Camilla at the apartment. It transpires that the first night deposit I paid back in June last year through PayPal was cancelled - apparently by PayPal - and neither we nor Camilla were advised of the cancellation. Very strange. Anyway we paid the balance in cash and no harm done - but it could have been that we arrived and did not have a place to stay !.
Camilla and her mother Betty have been very helpful with restaurant suggestions for day to day dinners and came good with three suggestions for our anniversary dinner tomorrow, Saturday 6 May. The winner was a Starwood Hotel (Splendid Hotel) nearby with a very pleasant and elegant dining room and a rooftop bar. The plan is to arrive for drinks at 6pm and go to dinner at 7pm. Hopefully the occasion will be well celebrated. We did consider selecting a place on the Grand
Canal but the foot traffic and noise in all of those restaurants is too much for us.
collezione.starhotels.com/en/our-hotels/splendid-venice-venice/ Depending on the weather, we are planning to visit the island of Lido tomorrow as well and have a light lunch over there. It is a public transport Alilaguna ride to the island.
So far, we have been blessed with great Venetian weather with blue skies and comfortable temperatures. We have done a lot of walking, as is required in Venice, but have paused from time to time for coffee, sticky buns or an Aperol Spritz to keep fuel in the engine.
One week left on the road from tomorrow. We fly to Dubai with Emirates on Monday, arriving there at midnight and leaving mid-afternoon on Friday, arriving back in Brisbane at 06:30am on next Saturday morning.
Dinner just around the corner in Calle del Fabbri - Ostaria Al Fabbri.
A walk around the Venice block and through St Mark's Square again to listen to the orchestras in the late evening light. So pleasant. Each orchestra plays about 3 pieces and then has a rest while the other one takes up the task. The sax/clarinet player
at one of the orchestras was marvelous - a real character as well as an obviously very accomplished player. He kept us coming back when he was playing. Again, though, virtually no one in the Square.
Home and bed by 10:30pm
Saturday 6 May 23 - Venice 51 years ago today at 5:30pm, Roz and I tied the knot at the Sherwood Road, Toowong Presbyterian Church, officiated by the Rev John Park. We remember he insisted that we attend a few Sunday services before he would do the deed - an opinionated and fire and brimstone brand of Minister. He must have put the fear of the Good Lord into us because we seem to have lasted this distance, anyway !!
A slightly cloudy start to the day in contrast to the blue skies we have been having. Forecast is 15-21 degrees - and we are preparing to head to Lido Island for lunch. Some rain is forecast for tomorrow (40%!c(MISSING)hance apparently) - sure when but we will make up our minds tomorrow morning whether to make the trip to Padua (about 30 minutes away) by train.
We have been to Murano and Burano
a number of times so did not feel the need to do so on this occasion.
Walked to San Marco and caught the Alilaguna Vaporetto to Lido Island. Prices have gone up considerably !! Our recollection for a one way trip in the past was that it was in the order of 5-6 Euro. Now it is 9.40 Euro.
The 24 hour pass is 25 Euro and we are only doing one return trip on the vaporetto so single tickets were the cheapest (19 Euro each return). No problems buying tickets - there are machines at every stop, select English, select your ticket (one journey valid for 75 minutes, 24, 48 or 72 hour) , select how many tickets and use a credit card (paywave) or cash to pay for it.
Journey took about half an hour and it is a different world just across the lagoon. No narrow alleyways, no stone structures, low tourist numbers, there are cars and bicycles, modern buildings, trees and a relaxed Gold Coast like atmosphere. A very pleasant change from the mayhem in Venice itself - but, there is not much to see.
Most of the island appears to be
holiday and hotel accommodation - although we have no doubt a lot of people choose to live there in preference to Venice. Lido residents get a special rate to use the vapgoing to the stop you want to go to (of course).oretto which is nowhere near what we paid so it would be economical for them to live on Lido and commute to work in Venice. Most of the commercial area close to the vaporetto stop is in one long street and there are many sidewalk cafes and restaurants where a pleasant lunch or dinner could be had.
We found a lunch spot and spent the rest of the time walking the commercial and some of the residential area. Conveniently located was the Blue Drop bar near the departure point so a cooling Aperol was had before we took the vaporetto back to Venice, taking the longer journey past San Marco, into the Grand Canal and getting off near our apartment at Rialto. All of the ferries have all of the stops on their route advertised somewhere on the walls and it is easy to see where to go to or get off. You just have to select the
right ferry !!
Back to the apartment at about 3pm, just in time to see the last bit of the Coronation - Troops on parade giving the salute to the newly crowned King and the Buckingham Palace Balcony appearance. I have no doubt all of the Coronation elements in the Abbey will be replayed time and again, so we won't miss out in the long run.
Getting tarted up for our anniversary dinner.
Dinner done and dusted - back home - 9:30pm.
We have been to the Splendid Hotel just around the corner and have had a very nice dinner. Started with drinks at the rooftop bar of the hotel - and it pays to advertise your anniversary. The lads asked how our day was going, we said fantastic - 51st wedding anniversary today and ordered a prosecco and a glass of red. On departure, the young men took pity on the old married folks and told us the 30 Euro of drinks were on them !! Love these generous, romantic young Italian men (they will learn .....)!.
Down to the dining room and seated in an indoor/outdoor area with a sliding/open roof. We had
very good service and lovely dinner (ate far too much - but we enjoyed what we did have !). Complimentary glass of prosecco each to start the meal and a complimentary Limoncello to finish - not just for old married folks. It appears that is the standard practice.
A good night our and very satisfactory (belated) celebration of our marriage.
Home at 9:30pm and then the Micks have disturbed our peace and quiet with some sort of religious procession. Carabinieri everywhere turfing the tourists and making way for the priests, the faithful and the Virgin Mary. Hundreds of candle carrying faithful parading, chanting and singing in the streets and the statue of the Virgin being held aloft by strong young lads. Quite a spectacle - but no idea what it is all about.
Bed at 10:30pm.
A measly 6,700 steps today.
Sunday 7 May 23 - Venice Bright sunny morning - 16-21 degrees forecast but there is a warning for thunderstorms late morning in the area - no evidence of that yet though.
things don't always work out the way you planned. On waking this morning, Roz was not feeling flash - perhaps
due to the enjoyment of the last evening - and did not feel like sitting on the train and walking around. So the Padua visit was not on.
Have played a game of cat and mouse with the company I booked our transfer from Venice to the airport. Bucintoro Viaggi does the transfers and, as I found our, does scheduled trips to the airport, not pick up on demand. Our flight leaves at 3:35pm so we need to be at the airport no later than 12:30pm. It is a pleasant 30-40 minutes water taxi ride across the Lagoon to the airport and is an idyllic way to leave Venice - we have done it on three other occasions.
10:55am was the nominated time to be picked up on the Grand Canal at Rialto. Then 2 hours later, I got another message saying the new time was 12:25pm from another location on the Canal. I questioned that - and was told "d
on't worry about the second message" - mistake - go back to the first timing !! Our host, Camilla, said that was a pretty normal Italian thing - just go with the flow !!
The late morning
rain and storms have not materialised and it has been a pleasant day in Venice, although a little clouded over.
Lunch in a cafe in Calle San Lio which we have used on previous visits - although, again, it has been the subject of refurbishment. New management but good food. One of the Italian waiters has obviously met Aussies before. Something came up and I said "No worries, mate" - and he was straight onto it, coming back to me with the same "No worries, mate" in his best ItaloAussie. Well done, that man !
Afternoon spent doing the tiring repack .....again. On this occasion, not so many concerns about the weight of the bags as Emirates gives us a 30kg bag and we are both sitting down around the 23kg mark. Had to transfer some from the carryon bags as they are limited to 7kg.
Decision made to eat at home tonight and have a light meal - particularly after last night's efforts. Went to the supermarket and picked up the makings for a hamburger each. Good decision - a light meal and able to relax and get an early night.
Not sure what is
happening in Campo San Luca tonight. A flagpole has mysteriously appeared through the day with a crown on to p and is flying the large red and yellow Venezia Flag which has the logo of a Winged Lion holding a Sword in its Paw. We'll see what the evening brings.
Well.......nothing happened !! So a quiet night at the ranch
That's a wrap on Venice for our 5th time. We have had a good visit - just ran out of gas at the end ! Next, and final, chapter is Dubai.
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Denise
non-member comment
Rome
Welcome to Rome. We also did a circuit on Hop on Hop Off bus which does familiarise you. We did a golf buggy tour also which got us up close and personal to everything without the crush of people. This weekend is a bank holiday so huge crowds everywhere. We are in love with Venice again. Den