13 July
As I'm so far behind with this blog, I'll start with Rome and go backwards.
How can I find words to describe this amazing city? Elegant, historic, sometimes imposing and intimidating, bustling and full of life - well into the night, beautiful, creative, scary for pedestrians (more on that later) and extremely hot and humid.
Our journey to Rome on Saturday night (11th) began with a delayed flight from Geneva, leaving 1 3/4 hours later than scheduled. Upon landing, there was a further 20 minutes' delay as the passengers waited for the bus to drive them to the terminal. That was another interesting experience, as only a select few got to sit down, while the rest (including Gordon and me) had to hang onto poles while standing. Having filed our way through the passport check, we then had to guess where to get our luggage, as our flight was not listed on the board. The helpful lady at the info desk gave us directions, so off we went. After ten minutes of wandering around we asked someone where to go and she told us we were in the wrong place, so back we went to the terminal where we'd started off, and the security guards informed us that we needed to go to the terminal the first lady had sent us to. I should have mentioned that the bed and breakfast place we were to stay in had ordered a taxi to meet us, and was supposed to be in an obvious place holding up a sign with our names on it. We were hoping he'd discovered out flight had run late. Meanwhile, the search for the luggage continued, and we'd hadn't come across anyone who looked like our taxi driver. The airport was looking pretty empty by this stage, but eventually we made our way to an office out the back which looked like a place for lost luggage, and there they were - yay! By this time, I was so tired I felt like crying with relief. I think I could easily come up with a few helpful suggestions to the airport authorities on how to direct passengers to their luggage!
We trundled our four bags out to the entrance, where we came across a man holding up a sgin with our name on it, and when he saw us, he pointed meaningfully at his watch, then told us how he'd been waiting for two hours for us! It's just as well I didn't have the Italian to tell him what he could do with his complaints!
Sixty Euros and 45 minutes later, we were deposited at the corner of our street - the driver simply left his taxi parked diagonally across a corner and then proceeded to drag the two largest bags up the street, while we followed behind. I was so thankful that we had a taxi driver to show us the way, as there is no way we would have been able to find the street number on our own! We were looking for number 22, and the numbers at first seemd to progress logically to 20, then there was a church, after which all logic flew out the window. From memory, it went something like: 26, 23, 21, 22! I was beginning to sense that our stay in Rome might just contain a few challenges! Our lovely hostess Francesca was waiting out in the street for us and gave us such a nice warm welcome (we had phoned her from the airport to let her know we were running late) that we were instantly put at ease. We tumbled into bed just before midnight and slept really soundly in our spacious room just down from the Vatican City.
Sunday morning started with a breakfast of juice, muesli, muffins and cappucinos at 8am, served on the fifth floor balcony just off our room, and from which we have a great view of St Peter's Basilica dome. It was a nice change to feel we were able to go where we wanted when we wanted, though I have to admit I enjoyed not having any responsibility for the activities or the transport on the tour. Francesca gave us lots of helpful advice over breakfast, so we ammended our original plans and ditched the idea of going to the huge market in the southern part of the city. Instead, we boarded a "Hop on, hop off" bus, and headed off for the Colosseum and Palantine Hill. A glance at the queues put us off, so we walked around the outside of both and enjoyed a delicious gelato from one of the many stands. I was very grateful for my umbrella, and noticed there were lots of hawkers with parasols - 5 Euros each (that's about $12.50!. I think you can get the same thing at the $2 shops in NZ. Actually, we've decided it's not worth converting everything to NZ currency, as it stops you enjoying the Rome experience. You just have to accept that it's an expensive city and pay what you have to for whatever you need.
After a few hours of wandering around in the heat, we hopped back on a bus and returned to our B&B for a midday snooze. It's great to be in such a handy location.
Later in the afternoon there was a visit to St Peter's where we queued for about 20 minutes and got in just before the prayer service at 5 pm. Everything about St Peter's is jaw-droppingly magnificent, and we loved having the luxury of sitting down and lingering for as long as we wanted while we listened to the haunting chants echo around us.
Next came a wander around the outside of Castello San Angelo, where we came across rows of stalls selling anything from food to the usual touristy stuff to jewellery, and even a tent where people were playing on foosball tables. When our feet waid they'd had enough, we jumped back on a bus and just loved the feeling of being out in the cooler evening air on the top deck. So we got to see a lot of what we'd seen earlier, but it looked different now in the softer evening light. We alighted at Piazza Navona - a lovely rectangular 'square', with it three fountains, open air performers and many artists, some of whom were busy scetching live portraits - fascinating to watch. Dinner was a salad at one of the many restaurants, giving us the strength to continue to the Pantheon and finally the Trevi Fountain, where we didn't stay for long, as we were being pestered by guys trying to sell roses or take instant photos. We managed to find our way to the right bus stop, but by this time the 'hop on, hop off' bus had ceased to operate, so we had to wait more than 30 minutes (11.30pm!) for our no. 62 bus to arrive. It was still 25 degrees and by this time our feet were really complaining. What a relief it was to finally sit down, and be on our way 'home' again.
Gordon got up early this morning and went off alone to the Sistine Chapel, as I hadn't slept well, and I've got a couple of blisters from yesterday. Apparently the Chapel is a 'must see', so if the queues shorten a little this evening, I might feel I can face a bit more walking.
Anyway, as I said earlier, I'm going backwards, so let's head back to Switzerland, where we spent two days at a 'castle' (more like a big house) on the side of a lake in Einigen - the German-speaking side of the country - and then a day about 20 minutes from Geneva. Switzerland is just over the top gorgeous - everything you see in pictures of the country and more. Some of the roads winding up and down the mountains are a little bit scary, being very narrow with many hairpin bends and steep drops over the side. I was very glad not to be driving. I was amazed at the number of vineyards on the hill and mountainsides, and even more surprised that Switzerland doesn't export any of its superb wines.
Germany is between Holland and Switzerland in terms of both location and scenery, so the parts we saw had gentle rolling hills and lots of cute villages nestled into the hillsides. The quality of the roads is really good, as is the signage, but there were also a lot of road works, as the Germans obviously want to keep their roads in tip top condition.
No comments:
Post a Comment