I'm still recovering from the busy weekend spent trekking from one end of Rome to the other. Anya and I caught the 8am bus, somewhat bemused by the typical Italian bunfight which results from their inability to queue in an orderly manner. However, we made it safely on board and then had the disconcerting realisation that we had not bought tickets yet. Having been earlier in the week to the ticket office to be told that you buy them on board, it seemed a little strange that the bus departed without any purchases being made. It all turned out in the end though when the bus pulled in at a blink-and-you-miss-it stop to collect the ticket seller, and finally the tickets were acquired.
Two and a half hours later we pulled into the spectacle that is the Stazione Tiburtina. It's not exactly the most elegant place in Rome, but I suppose bus terminals rarely are known for this. Our next mission was to use the Metropolitana to get to Termini, which was quickly accomplished. Our hotel was conveniently located in Via Napoli: the people were nice and it was clean but it felt like being stuck in a 60s timewarp ie dodgy decor. And the breakfast the next day was awful - very much on the cheap side. For future reference, the Hotel Corona will not be the first choice for a visit to Rome.
The sun was shining and the air was balmy, so off we set for a walk around the city - along the Via delle Quattro Fontane to the Trinità dei Monti, onwards to the Pincio, back to the Vittoriano on the way to the Fontana di Trevi and a lunch stop of pizza con broccoli from Pizza Planet, then on to the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, the Campo dei Fiori and the statue with the turtles in the Jewish Quarter. All of this walking obviously necessitated stops for gelati and coffee which reinvigorated us for the walk to Piazza del Campidoglio, the Foro Romano and the Colosseum, complete with the usual guys dressed as gladiatori hassling the tourists for photos. Then it was time for a quick rest back in the hotel before dining on pasta and a visit to the Irish pub on Via Nazionale, packed with British ex-pats cheering on the Rugby 6 Nations competition - to their noisy delight, England beat France. Returning to the hotel to test out the hot water for a shower situation, I was pleasantly surprised, except that we had been allocated the room with the disabled bathroom which meant it was spacious, but there was also no shower screen to stop the water from going everywhere. Hmmm.....still, the water pressure was good.
Sunday dawned just as mild and sunny as Saturday had been, so much so that the coats were left behind along with the day packs. After the poor excuse of breakfast (hard bread, watered down orange juice, coffee in an urn!!!) we set off again in search of something tastier. Our first official stop was St Peter's, where the queue for the security check seemed ridiculously long but
in the end was deceptively quick. As we walked around the hushed interior we discovered that a sung Latin mass was about to begin in the chapel behind the main altar so we decided to join in. It was quite an experience, complete with about 40 cardinals, monsignors etc helping to officiate, incense burning, ushers telling us to hurry up to Communion etc. By this stage we felt that we had seen enough of the interior but as we went outside, we discovered that the Papal Address was about to start. With a huge crowd packing the square, there was no point trying to leave in any event, so we stayed and listened to the various addresses in Italian, German, Spanish, French and English, met with cheers from the crowd which included a group of enthusiastic sbandieratori. As the people dispersed I was able to complete one of my missions by buying rosary beads so at least that's one thing off my list to do.
We then strolled along the Tevere towards the Trastevere district - I'd never been there before and it's gorgeous!!! Arty little shops, cute cafes, winding narrow streets, and in the middle, the oldest Christian church in Rome, complete with glittering mosaics. We wandered at leisure and finally wound our way back to the hotel to collect the bags for our return to the bus station, and ultimately Perugia. What a perfect weekend!!!!
Two and a half hours later we pulled into the spectacle that is the Stazione Tiburtina. It's not exactly the most elegant place in Rome, but I suppose bus terminals rarely are known for this. Our next mission was to use the Metropolitana to get to Termini, which was quickly accomplished. Our hotel was conveniently located in Via Napoli: the people were nice and it was clean but it felt like being stuck in a 60s timewarp ie dodgy decor. And the breakfast the next day was awful - very much on the cheap side. For future reference, the Hotel Corona will not be the first choice for a visit to Rome.
The sun was shining and the air was balmy, so off we set for a walk around the city - along the Via delle Quattro Fontane to the Trinità dei Monti, onwards to the Pincio, back to the Vittoriano on the way to the Fontana di Trevi and a lunch stop of pizza con broccoli from Pizza Planet, then on to the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, the Campo dei Fiori and the statue with the turtles in the Jewish Quarter. All of this walking obviously necessitated stops for gelati and coffee which reinvigorated us for the walk to Piazza del Campidoglio, the Foro Romano and the Colosseum, complete with the usual guys dressed as gladiatori hassling the tourists for photos. Then it was time for a quick rest back in the hotel before dining on pasta and a visit to the Irish pub on Via Nazionale, packed with British ex-pats cheering on the Rugby 6 Nations competition - to their noisy delight, England beat France. Returning to the hotel to test out the hot water for a shower situation, I was pleasantly surprised, except that we had been allocated the room with the disabled bathroom which meant it was spacious, but there was also no shower screen to stop the water from going everywhere. Hmmm.....still, the water pressure was good.
Sunday dawned just as mild and sunny as Saturday had been, so much so that the coats were left behind along with the day packs. After the poor excuse of breakfast (hard bread, watered down orange juice, coffee in an urn!!!) we set off again in search of something tastier. Our first official stop was St Peter's, where the queue for the security check seemed ridiculously long but
in the end was deceptively quick. As we walked around the hushed interior we discovered that a sung Latin mass was about to begin in the chapel behind the main altar so we decided to join in. It was quite an experience, complete with about 40 cardinals, monsignors etc helping to officiate, incense burning, ushers telling us to hurry up to Communion etc. By this stage we felt that we had seen enough of the interior but as we went outside, we discovered that the Papal Address was about to start. With a huge crowd packing the square, there was no point trying to leave in any event, so we stayed and listened to the various addresses in Italian, German, Spanish, French and English, met with cheers from the crowd which included a group of enthusiastic sbandieratori. As the people dispersed I was able to complete one of my missions by buying rosary beads so at least that's one thing off my list to do.We then strolled along the Tevere towards the Trastevere district - I'd never been there before and it's gorgeous!!! Arty little shops, cute cafes, winding narrow streets, and in the middle, the oldest Christian church in Rome, complete with glittering mosaics. We wandered at leisure and finally wound our way back to the hotel to collect the bags for our return to the bus station, and ultimately Perugia. What a perfect weekend!!!!
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