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Published: June 25th 2008
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Sunday 22nd June Average temperature in Rome is supposed to be around 27 degrees at this time of year. The coach clock is registering 36/37 degrees! Everyone’s wilting a bit, but we keep reminding each other that it was only last week that we were all complaining that it was too cold! We stop at a truckers stop which seems to fit in with Freddie’s hours - actually quite impressed - some good snacks to buy, toilets clean, and some large sandwiches and even larger jars of Nutella (5kg) available! See the countryside look increasingly ‘Roman’, with a number of towns perched on hillsides, and arrive at the campsite only a bit later than expected! The ‘Directeur’ is requested - that’s me and I’m on the back of a moped without a helmet, and thankfully have been pre-warned that I need my passport and a list of guest names, so that’s straightforward enough. Come down to the site, we’re soon up, have dinner, clarify questions that the group has and head up to reception to fetch maps/ask questions before we have meeting, discuss tomorrow’s plans! We’re next to about 6 Contiki buses, so this site is not going to be quiet,
and the toilets are not very nice either!
Monday 23rd June Early-ish start to try and beat some of the heat of the day, but it’s already 30-something by the time we have our tickets and get to the Vatican! We try and work out how to get tickets for the Pope’s speech on Wednesday, but we have to queue/go through security and no one’s that bothered (we later find out that the last tickets went at 9.10am this morning to people who queued early, so just as well we didn’t wait!). We don’t visit the Vatican today as people can come back and do that, but just look round the area and check out the information for later in the week. We next head to Castello San Angelo for a quick photo stop and nearly lose 3 people as we change the plans for meeting plans - no panic, go back and fetch (just trying to stop people having to walk too far in the heat)… and a quick look around the local market before we head across the next bridge, through the Piazza Novona for another 10 minutes to look around (and buy headscarves to stop heads
burning), buy ice creams, etc. before we find the Pantheon. 45 minutes here to look around and have a lunch-stop in the shade - beautiful building, although I left before some others who heard a travelling choir give an acapella rendition - best thing ever says Fiona! Ah well!
Continuing to change the plans that I’d mapped out, we head past the Parliamentary Buildings, through Piazza Colonna with a great Colonnade, and onto the Trevi Fountain - chance for ice cream and more daft photos. At the Spanish Steps we dip our feet in the pool at the bottom - beautiful - icy cold - then we’re whistled out. Decide at that point I don’t want water from this fountain!! We manage to find someone to take a group shot of us all, before we head into the Metro - fun to work out. We get the Metro back to the Coliseum, then walk up to Monumento Vittorio Emmanuelle II where we’ve been told we can get a good view over the Coliseum and the city. Some of it is scaffolded off, and there’s now a lift costing about 7 Euro to get to the highest point - no
one was that bothered, but a good chance for the toilet!! Headed back down towards the Coliseum. Wikipedia advised that Coliseum was 11 Euro, but that if you buy tickets from the Roman Forum or the Palatino, costs the same, minus the queues - good tip!! Also, any EU citizens under 24 are half-price, with those under 18 for free. Gave group their tickets, said everything shut at 6.15pm (later was told 7pm, summer 3.30pm), and sent them off to see whichever they liked on the ticket. Closer look at ticket, is valid for one-time entry to each of the 3 over “48 hours” - i.e. the next day also.
Met back at the Metro station at 6.30pm, all wanted to go home (although we had double packed lunches so people could stay out for the evening), so we headed off. Halfway back, about 7 people decided to stay on. The rest of us experienced the unpunctual Roman train system, but got back in plenty of time for the shuttle bus. The others had a good time, and fortunately checked the times of the last trains as surprisingly the Metro stops running at 10pm, and the last train from
Valle Aurelia to La Giustina is at 10.20pm - no wonder a couple of them got left behind last time! Nice relaxed evening!
Tuesday 24th June Woke up with a sore throat, this is not good. Had pretty much decided that wouldn’t go into Rome today as am back in September and have the option to see the same places then, and this group is very self-sufficient - the next group might not be! They’re off to a mixture of things - the Vatican Museum, St Peter’s Basilica, the Catacombes, etc. but I’m staying at the campsite with a number of people. Doze for 2 hours, sleep for 1 (and slept for 10 hours last night), do some hand-washing and generally just take it slowly! Start this blog (haven’t done any on it before now, although have been keeping all my notes for Oak Hall, which I need to turn into something useful for next year’s tour), and sort out a few things before dinner. Thankfully John is already pencilled in to do the worship section of the meeting tonight so no need for me to really use my voice - which has almost gone! Meeting finishes quite late,
so no great plans for afterwards… but the Contiki group has gone so a quiet night tonight and the showers are still clean!
Wednesday 25th June Slept another 9 hours. Throat still sore and when head up to get the bread feel quite light-headed and people have a bit of a mirage around them. This is not good for the tour leader who needs to be on top of things and talk to people a lot! However, I have an amazing group here who are pretty strong on things themselves, so they all agree to pitch in for the next couple of days and make me a hot drink. They will do the worship for the next couple of days, leaving me free to rest a bit and prepare the information on Pisa, Tuscany, Florence and Lucca! After that we have Lake Maggiore (Italy), Luzerne (Switzerland) and Paris (France) to come. Been sat in the shade all day (too hot to lie in the tent) writing up this blog… at some point the photos will also come! Going to judge the extreme brochure reading competition today (so some photos uploaded onto computer, which is good, as too busy chasing
people to take too many pictures!), and back to the head & neckwear competiton! The group who went to the Catacombes came back - said it was worth the extra trek in. Anne, who's a nurse, said she wondered if I have laryngitus - which won't get fixed til seen by the Dr. Tried to get payphone number for Oak Hall to call me back - not possible, so had to buy a payphone card - finally 40 minutes after I first try I get through! Then try to go on the internet - it keeps crashing and then they tell me they can't refund my time, only give me a receipt for next time I'm here, which is, um, never! Then another computer comes free - won't have time to use all my credit I don't think though! Never mind - had worse problems to deal with!! Couple of boys took scooters out for the day and had great fun. In the evening we had meal and meeting, did some preparation for an early start in the morning, and then went to the restaurant to try 'real Italian pizza' - we could see him making it. Nice enough, rude
staff (as per usual), but nice way to finish the evening as we lay there til 2am hearing the disco blast out!
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Daniel
non-member comment
wow
how much does this cost?