Thank you all for your kind remarks.<BR><BR>Lyb, yes, Rome IMO, is extremely safe. In the Metro stations &amp; especially at Termini, one must think about pickpockets, but I wore a trench coats &amp; had empty pockets, and a very good hold on my purse. Please savor every moment of your trip! It would take years to explore Rome, but I personally hope to make the investment in doing so! :-)<BR><BR>Howard, it was sheer luck! I am now also doing editing/translation of this gentleman's web pages!!<BR><BR>BC

BC, I think you are too modest! Sheer luck would be that you got upgraded once or twice:) But you are talented and it shows in your report.<BR>I agree with Howard, some reports are too tedius, although that might be a talent also-to make a trip to Rome or Paris boring to read about :LOL !

Dear Bookchick,<BR>Thanks for your wonderful insight into Rome! It was a good read. I think you could teach Bill Bryson a thing or two!<BR><BR>Now that your have experienced the Hotel San Carlo at first hand, would you still recommend it for my wife's surprise Birthday trip to Rome?<BR><BR>Thanks again Bookchick. Archie

Hi bookchick,<BR> I'd appreciate any help you can give on the following:<BR> My wife and I will have about 4 hrs in Rome on Oct 6. We arrive at Rome TE at 3:15 PM.<BR> I have plotted a quick tour from the Spanish steps to the Trevi Fountain, to the Piazza Venezia, a walk through the Forum to the Colesium and back to the train station.<BR><BR> Am I going uphill or downhill?<BR><BR> Should I reverse my itinerary?<BR><BR> Thanks.

Archie, yes, I would still recommend it &amp; as a matter of fact, I am staying there again, when I return to Rome a week from Friday. The location of the hotel can't be beat, it's clean as a whistle, and I found the staff friendly &amp; helpful. Despite the gaffe with the phone message, which was luckily merely a minor inconvenience (and the caller was more upset that I didn't get the message than I was), I can say without hestitation, I give this the Hotel San Carlo a high recommendation.<BR><BR>Ira, aren't you the ambitious one! This is do-able, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it--you will have to &quot;step lively&quot;. My recommendation is that you take the Metro to the &quot;Spanga&quot; stop, and walk through the Metro to via Veneto. It's the easiest way to get there without experiencing chest pains, because you'll be riding an escalator. After a walk around, come back through the Metro, do not get on it, but proceed through the Piazza di Spagna exit. You'll have a VERY brief walk to the Spanish steps. Getting to the Trevi from the Spanish Steps shouldn't take long, provided you've a decent map. If you'd like to savor the Colloseum and Forum (and why go if not?), I'd recommend getting back onto the Metro at Spagna, and taking it out to the Colloseum stop. When you've finished, you can hop back onto the Metro to get back to Termini.<BR><BR>My friend, you really need to visit Rome for longer than that! It is gorgeous!<BR><BR>Buon Viaggio A Tutti,<BR>BC

BC, maybe I will just chuck my plans that have been made and tag along with you back to Rome :) You are sooo knowledgable and what fun to go with someone who knows there way around so well! If you write this well, you must be quite an interesting person, I think we would get along just fine:)<BR>I promise to keep up!

Oh, Scarlett, fiddle-dee-dee, you'd be welcome to join me anytime, just don't get your hoop skirt caught in the Metro doors!!!<BR><BR>BC

Great report Bookchick and happy St Patrick's Day to you!<BR>Let's all hope we are able to travel.

Grazie, BC...very nice! Glad you also got to visit Florence for a day on this trip. So you went back to the Enoteca Antica a second time, eh? I love that place, especially their great antipasto plates you can order at the bar. <BR><BR>Ah, to be in Rome again...<BR>

LOL ~ BC<BR>I leave the hoop skirts at home when traveling:)<BR>

Welcome home, Bookie! Great report and thank you for taking the time to put it together &amp; share it with us. Makes me want to hop on a plane right now and go, go, go!

Hi Bookchick,<BR> Thanks for your response. I'll revise my itinerary.

BC thanks for the most enjoyable trip report I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I am also staying at the San Carlo on my first trip to Italy starting May 16th. it seems as time is in a stand still mode due to our excitement. We will surely drink a toast to you and all of your awesome info you have shared.Thanks<BR>Happy Travels<BR>Gary

Thanks soooo much for your notes. I am planning my first trip to Italy for the end of April (hopefully) and this will be very helpful!!!

Bookchick, you're awesome! Each time I consider cancelling our upcoming trip, I read, and reread your posts. You obviously travel well and write well too! Thank you so much for sharing. But how do you remaimn so calm and steadfast about your upcoming travel?

Thanks again, everyone for your comments.<BR><BR>I am an Irish-American fatalist. When it's your time to go, you're going to go. You could be sitting at home watching TV &amp; a plane lands on your house. I'd rather do what I want to do than let some group of hoodlums believe they can scare me into abandoning my freedom and kowtow to their threats. Business is business, and I'm a writer and editor in addition to a professional book buyer. My client is in Rome, and I'll gladly go there on business and take in the Borghese, etc. any day. And it's hard to write about a place or different people if you don't travel! I hope all of you who have planned trips take them and enjoy them very much. I love Rome a lot!<BR><BR>BC

Bookchick, finally got a chance to sit and read your report. Definitely rethinking putting Rome back in my itinerary (I had cut it out because of time, but I just extended my time here by another two months). <BR><BR>I am glad you had such a good time. I agree with your fatalistic philosophy. Am in Italy now, and it's hard to believe (though I understand completely) that people are nervous to travel. It just seems like another day, enjoying the clear skies, italian cookin' and gelato. Things sure don't seem too crowded around here though..better for me I suppose.<BR><BR>Have a good time on your return as well! I may be in Rome the same time as you, and will call out &quot;Bookchick!&quot; and see if anyone responds!<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>< BR><BR><BR>

For those recently returning/in Italy, what is the weather like this time of year in the Venice-Rome-Florence triangle?<BR><BR>&quot;Off-season&quot; travel is better for me but I don't want cold wind/wet/snow, as I certainly get enough of that here!<BR><BR>Grazie. Klondike.

Excuse my poor form, BC on above post; I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your colorful style. Made me nostalgic enough to consider spending some time again in Italy instead of so much in France (my first love).<BR><BR>Thanks for sharing! <BR>Klondike.

Hello BC,<BR>Wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your fabulous trip report. <BR>Dovrei tornare in Italia, anch'io, vero?<BR>But then, I am heading for Paris in May and July...<BR>You won't blame me, will you? ;o)<BR><BR>Oh, BTW, the place you went for dinner off Via della Scala in Florence, can you remember its name? <BR>Was it 'La Sostanza' or '13 Gobbi' on Via Porcellana? Two of my favourites. <BR>Just wondering, because I used to live on Via della Scala and still remember the area and the trattorie ;o) pretty well.