Day 7 - 14 October - Roma, Italy
Today, we were to fly to Rome, and Han drove us to Schiphol Airport to catch the plane for around midday. After a two hour flight, we arrived in Rome, caught a shuttle bus into the city, arriving at Roma Termini railway station about 40mins later.
This self-serve check-in is not working!!
We are not in the Netherlands anymore
Outside Statione Termini
We then dragged our suitcases for about 15 minutes to the hotel where we were staying at in Via Libreiana, just across the road from the impressive Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore. Our accommodation consisted of a set of rented rooms, each with a bathroom which share a common lounge and kitchenette area. The room was quite spacious and had a very modern design with a window opening straight onto the basilica. We were quite close to the belltower, just across the street, enabling us to very clearly hear peel of the bells.
Around 4 pm after we had settled in, we decided to explore the area and have a little look at Rome. As we walked, we couldn’t help noticing the large quantity of ruins and historic buildings which are found on almost every corner. We entered the nearby Basilica Santa Maria, which from the outside looks like a ruin, but on the inside there was a spacious cathedral with a cavernous interior and decorations dating from the 1500s. Surprisingly, there was a priest was saying mass in Latin which brought back memories to both of us of attending church when we were young. As the sun set, We walked to the Trevi fountain which was packed with tourists taking selfies, as did we. Even though we were out of the main tourist season, there were still quite a lot of tourists in the city and most of them seem to be standing around the fountain.
By now we were getting quite hungry as we hadn’t had lunch and looked for a restaurant where we could sit and have a meal. We eventually settled on the Maracuja which was quite close to the Roman Forum, in fact, right next to it. It was a very lively restaurant - the waiters were a little pushy in attracting customers, but we sat down anyway. It was a balmy evening with temperatures in the mid 20s, and a slight breeze. We started with a tomato and eggplant bruschetta accompanied by a large ball of buffalo mozzarella cheese which the waiter convinced us to order as well. Frances ordered grilled swordfish while I ordered tagliatelle with a Bolognese ragu. The swordfish came with a nice simple salad, and Frances enjoyed it. My pasta came in a large frypan in which I don’t think it was cooked, but just served because it’s a trendy thing to do. The flavour was okay, and was improved by lots of Parmesan cheese and pepper.
Following dinner, we had to find our way back to our accommodation, in the darkness, using a map with minuscule writing, because the GPS in the phone seemed to have stopped working. We eventually made it and immediately went to bed, exhausted.
View of Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore from our window
Rome still uses some pretty old trams
Frances and statue of Pope Paul II
Some of the ruins of Rome
Basilica Santa Maria de gli Angeli e dei Martiri
Basilica Santa Maria de gli Angeli e dei Martiri interior
Selfies at the Fontana di Trevi
Frances at Fontana di Trevi
The crowd in the evening at Fontana di Trevi
At the Maracuja
Eggplant bruschetta with buffalo mozzarella
Grilled swordfish
Tagliatelle and ragout Bolognese in a frypan
The Roman Forum at night
Day 8 - Sunday 15 October - Roma, Italy
Our first morning in Rome, and we woke to the sound of the bells in the basilica across the street. While gazing out the widow, there was a sound of police sirens, then a parade of Lamborghinis drove along Via Libreiana below us. The excitement over, went to the nearby cafe Cottini for breakfast. We felt immersed in Roman culture as we sat streetside at the cafe with cars and motorscooters, zooming by - it was a pleasant morning and a nice breakfast.
Frances wanted to see the Spanish steps, so we set along the Via Quarrro Fontaine towards Piazza do Trinita dei Monti. however, it’s hard to walk through Rome, without being distracted by historic buildings, churches, fountains, ruins, and fashion stores. The first stop was at a traffic intersection with the four fountains, one on each corner of the the intersection, and then of course there was a cute little church adjacent to it. We didn’t get much further until we encountered Palazzo Barberrini, and Italian noble family that rose to prominence in 17th century Rome - their family crest contained bees, and stone sculptures of these were scattered throughout the building.
Will you eventually arrived at Piazza do Trinita dei Monti which was crowded with tourists, and making it almost impossible to take any decent photographs. Because it was high on the hill, it had an excellent view over Rome and down the “Spanish” steps towards the Piazza d’Espagna.
We walked down the Spanish Steps, dodging tourists taking selfies and group photos to Piazza d’Espagna, to then jostle with even more tourists to photograph the fountain. The scene had dramatically changed from when I was last here in 1976.
To save time we caught the Metro to Stazione Termini and slowly walked back towards our hotel, looking for somewhere to eat. We settled on Osteria di Luciano, a family run restaurant. We both had tagliatelle with a Bolognaise ragu and some house wine both of which were fine. They only had espresso coffee which came in the smallest cups I have ever seen, with the smallest amount of coffee I have ever seen. The coffee however was excellent, not bitter and full of flavour and surprisingly quite satisfying.
Then it was back to the hotel to rest before the second leg of the day.
Breakfast at cafe Cottini
French clean drinking water from the hills is available everywhere in Rome
One of the four fountain statues in Via Delle Quattro Fontane
Palazzo Barberini
Inside Palazzo Barberini
A sculpted bee detail in Palazzo Barberini
Arrival at Piazza do Trinita dei Monti
Looking down the Spanish Steps to Plaza Di Spagna and its fountain
The fountain in Plaza Di Spagna today
The fountain in Plaza Di Spagna when I was there in 1976
What we could aspire to
What we could afford
Osteria Di Luciano
Tagliatelle alla ragu Bolognaise
The coffee before I even took a sip!
Day 8 - Sunday 15 October - Roma, Italy
Frances had booked us into a “free” walking tour of historic Rome which started at 6pm at Campo dei Fiori, about a 30mins walk towards the river.
On our way, we encountered a parade of Fiat 500s - the originals, not the modern much bigger cars. The contrast between the them and the Lamborghini owners was dramatic. Lambo owners show off their original cars while the Fiat owners seemed to be more interested in showing what they could do to personalise their cars - many heavily customised and hotted-up, although there were some originals as well.
Wa arrived at Campo dei Fiori, had a light snack and then were ready to go . We met our guide, Italo, and commenced the tour. He was very knowledgable and took is through the narrow winding streets and piazzas for the “Highlights of Rome” which included Campo dei Fiori, Palazzo Farnese, Jewish Quarter, Pantheon and Piazza Navona and many other interesting sites along the way. It was informative and interesting, with lots of details about the formation and development of Rome. He also included some decent criticism of the cardinals and politicians whom he saw as parasites living extravagantly off the backs of the general population. The tour was supposed to take approximately 2 hours, but took almost 3 hours. Our feet were beginning to protest, and we dreaded the 30 minute walk back to the hotel.
On the way back, at almost 10 pm we stopped at the osteria La Mucca Biricchina for some food. Frances had the Bucatini all'Amatriciana con muscoli (a typically Roman style fat spaghetti with a tomato ragu and mussels) which she really enjoyed. I ordered futticini con zucchini e funghi (porcini mushrooms), which sounded great, but was almost tasteless and too oily - Frances was definitely the winner on this occasion. Fortunately I found the first genuine “cassata” gelato (vanilla ice cream with diced fruit pieces) in Rome on the way back to the hotel as a compensation.
Frances enjoys an Aperol Spritz before the walking tour
Roman ruins at night
Area Sacra Di Largo Argentina which is a large open space of ruins with four Roman Republican temples and the remains of Pompey the Great's Theatre.
Osteria La Mucca Biricchina
Bucatini all'Amatriciana con muscoli (a fat spaghetti with a tomato ragu and mussels)
Futticini con zucchini e funghi (porcini mushrooms) - very disappointing
I finally find cassata gelato
Day 9 - Monday 16 October - Roma, Italy
We were up before dawn to catch a taxi to the Vatican for a tour Frances had booked. We were told that the taxi drivers would try to rip us off, but the first driver we approached quoted us less than we expected for the trip. We arrived at the appointed place a little early and everything was closed, so we went to a local cafe for coffee and croissants.
At the appointed time our guide, Rosella, arrived and we headed off, just around the corner to the entry point to the Vatican. It was very useful having a guide, because we could skip queues, go into special areas, and generally have a more priority. After passing x-ray security, and seeing some of the outer parts of the Vatican, we passed through many collections of Greek and Roman statues. The interior of the Vatican Museum was pretty impressive, and is also designed to impress. The ante-rooms to the Sistine Chapel are designed to impress and to some extent intimidate visitors by emphasising the power of the church. We finally entered the Sistine Chapel (photos forbidden) which is pretty amazing, although visitors are herded through like sheep - we were only allowed an entire seven minutes by the guide to enjoy the interior.
After exiting the chapel into Piazza San Pietro, and after hours of walking yesterday, the thought of spending more time walking through the rest of the Vatican, viewing the grotto and climbing the tower, had lost its attraction. Instead we left, looking for somewhere to have lunch.
Even though we had promised ourselves that we would not eat any pizza until we arrived in Naples, we saw a nice bakery which had quite a large variety of Roman style pizzas, baked large rectangular trays and cut into slices, and we succumbed.
We had one piece with prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella and basil, and another slice with anchovies, zucchini flowers and of course more but buffalo mozzarella on top. We just sat outside at the tables on the footpath, and enjoyed it… sitting down.
We are getting more used to moving around Rome, so we just caught the Metro back to Termini and the hotel so we could have a rest before heading out for the next adventure to the Colosseum.
The queue waiting to enter
Entrance to the Vatican Museums
Our guide Rosella
Model of the Vatican City
Part of the interior gardens
A modern bronze sculpture mirroring the bronze dome above the Basilica of San Pietro
Sample of halls of statuary
View of Rome from the Vatican
Some papal icons, pine cone for life and peacocks signifying rebirth
The Belvedere Torso, a marble torso of a male nude, signed by "Apollonios, son of Nestor, Athenian" which provided inspiration to both Michealangelo and Rodin.
Ceiling of the hall of painted maps of Italy
A Swiss guard at the Vatican
Piazza San Pietro
Two types of pizza slices: prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella and basil, sardines, buffalo mozzarella and zucchini flowers
Day 9 - Monday 16 October - Roma, Italy
In the afternoon we walked to the Colosseum, about 15 minutes away, for a self guided tour. After gaining entry and passing x-ray security, we wandered around the almost 2,000 your old building, absorbing the atmosphere, dodging other tourists and reading the interpretive panels.
By now, we were suffering from an overload of the historical information which we had absorbed over just two days and needed a break. We departed the Colosseum, walked up the hill and sat down at a small cafe where we enjoyed a couple of glasses of chilled Prosecco and some quiet time.
We took the rest of the afternoon off, and only ventured out when it was time for dinner. The central area of Rome is inundated with eateries, restaurants and trattorias, not to mention gelaterias and bars, so finding somewhere to eat is not a problem. Most restaurants however serve pretty much the same menu, although the ambience, service, quality and price can very considerably.
We settled on Il Secchio which was not far away: Frances ordered tonnarelli con funghi in white wine sauce while I ordered grilled lamb, and we shared a garden salad. The salad arrived first, undressed, but with bottles of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, pepper and salt so we could dress it ourselves to our taste - a nice touch.
Frances’ pasta dish was quite dry, maybe they forgot the white wine in the sauce, and was a bit disappointing. My lamb dish came with lots of lamb and chips, nothing else - the salad saved the meal. The lamb was a little rare and quite chewy, not like the lamb we are used to, and the cuts were quite unusual. Nevertheless it was nice not to have pasta again. As a treat, we stopped to have a coffee, a hot chocolate and some very delicious , but expensive, cakes.
Frances enjoys an espresso on the way to the Colosseum
The Colosseum from the outside
A couple of tourists
The Colosseum below ground section
A panorama of the Colosseum interior
Constantine’s triumphal arch viewed from the Colosseum
Garden salad - add your own dressing
Tonnarelli con funghi in white wine sauce - disappointing
Grilled lamb and chips - interesting
Cannoli
Berry ricotta slice
Day 10 - Tuesday 17 October - Roma, Italy
This morning we visited the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Magiore, the huge church which is just across the road from our accommodation. It is apparently the most important sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the western world. It is the oldest of Rome’s, Marion churches and one of the four Papal basilicas. Last night there was a major ceremony there indicated by the many official cars parked outside and the high security. It is one of the few churches we visited with x-ray inspections.
The interior is just amazing, and in fact it made a greater impression on me than being in the Vatican Museum and seeing the Sistine chapel. Surprisingly the main roof is flat, rather than arched, without a cuppola, with a has a huge span across the open space above the centre of the church. It has many side chapels with relics of former popes, and they are highly decorated. It is more impressive than the Vatican Museum because all of the artefacts are in context: sarcophagi containing the bodies of dead popes in the chapels dedicated to former popes, cardinals and the aristocracy. They are important religious relics relating to the saints and the foundation of the Christian faith.
It is virtually impossible to show what it’s like in photographs, the amount and quality of the detail is just stunning - overall and awe-inspiring experience, even after having visited many churches already. It leaves a different impression compared with some of the smaller churches which also have their own unique characters, but not on the same scale.
We spent the rest of the morning exploring a little south-east of where we were staying, arriving at the ruins of the Terme di Traiano (Baths of Trajan) which were a massive a bathing and leisure complex, built and dedicated under Trajan around 100AD. We then walked to the nearby Piazza Vittorio Emanuel II, which is a park containing even more ruins. It was nice to find ourselves in a tree-filled park, with locals out and about, enjoying themselves and in an area with very few tourists. We bought some panini for lunch and the prices were about half of what we had been paying so far.
From there we headed back to the hotel , checked out and dragged our suitcases to Roma Termini to catch the train to Napoli.
Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Magiore
Santa Maria Magiore interior with ceiling
Priest saying mass
Santa Maria Magiore looking south towards the entrance
Santa Maria Magiore - stained class window catching the sunlight
A priest catches up on any messages during a quiet moment between confessions
Golden statue in one side chapel
Another chapel, another sculpture
Buying panini in a cafe
Part of the at the ruins of the Terre di Traiano (Baths of Trajan), a massive a bathing and leisure complex, built and dedicated under Trajan around 100AD.
Typical Rome - two thousand old ruins jutting out of a 19th century building
The fast train from Roma to Napoli
Speed indicator in the overhead display in the train carriage
Small Cars
I have always had an interest in small cars, and expected to see quite a few in the Netherlands, but there were very few, and even Smart cars were rare.
After arriving Rome I think I know why - there are all in Italy. Rome is full of Smart cars and I can only presume it’s because of the dire parking situation - they can fit in almost anywhere. I addition to them, there are also a number brands of other small cars, some by Renault and Citroen, but also by other more obscure brands such as Yoyo.
Anyway, here is a selection of photos taken in Rome.
