May 2004 Rome Trip Report
Jun 17th, 2004 | 08:17 PM
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May 2004 Rome Trip Report
My wife Diana and I just got back from 13 days in Italy and Austria to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary. This trip report is going to be a long one, so I will separate it into the different cities. We also went to Verona, Venice, and Vienna after Rome.
Sunday, May 23
Arrived Charles de Gaulle airport at 0630. We fly Air France from Cincinnati as a Delta Codeshare. The flight was OK, but the seats were not that comfortable. I expected more from Business Elite. The service was good as was the food. The only downside was that Diana?s personal video monitor had been removed. Had there been time in Paris, I would have complained. Big part of the benefit of flying Business Elite is that screen.
With only 45 minutes between flights and a late arrival to cut the margin further, we had a mad rush across an incredibly inefficient airport to get to our flight. Of course the security screeners wanted to examine my bag. My wife and I were stressed, but made our flight with a few minutes to spare.
Our flight departed at 0715. Luckily we flew in and out of 2C and 2B respectively. We had no inkling about the collapse in 2E. We could have been on the plane before it happened or running through the airport at the time. Our flight was not delayed leaving Paris. We only heard of the collapse after we returned to the states 2 weeks later.
We arrived in Rome about 9:30 am. Back home it was 3:30am. We got our checked luggage easily and started looking for the car service arranged by our hotel. After a few minutes I noticed the driver, and we were on our way. The transfer to the hotel in private car was E55. I decided to take the car service since I thought we would be pretty tired and not wanting to deal with finding the right bus and walking however far we might need to. The car was well worth it. The drive to the hotel was an amazing experience. Imagine two left turn lanes at an intersection. When the light turned green 4 cars side by side made that left turn with about 6 mopeds squeezing between them. Organized chaos. Glad I wasn?t driving.
We stayed at Residenza Cellini--http://www.residenzacellini.it. The hotel was a block or so from Piazza della Repubblica. It is about 3 or 4 long blocks or so from the Termini train station. The room was E185 if paying by cash.
The room was wonderful as was the service. The hotel even had a bottle of champagne brought to the room our first night to celebrate our anniversary. The breakfast was good, but I do not like cold breakfasts. There was a selection of nice sliced meats and breads. Of course coffee and tea and juice. I would describe it as a nice Continental-style breakfast. The air conditioning was controlled from each room. The weather was in the lower 70?s, but I like the room to be cool. I was very pleased with how well it worked. I mention this because it was not always the case on the trip. The bathroom was very nice as well. I would stay here again without question.
Musei Capitolini?
After we checked in and dropped off our bags, we decided to push through the jet lag and head to a museum. We picked the Musei Capitolini?the Capitoline Musuems. Since we didn?t have our bearings yet we took a cab. It was E6 or so to get there. The museum was very impressive. A lot of ancient sculptors. It is really amazing what can be done with stone. It turns out that the week we were in Rome was the Settimana di bene culturale?the week of high culture, during which all museum entrance fees were waived. Nice surprise to get in for free although there was still some small fee. It did mean that the museums were crowded.
One note on the Musei. It is actually two different museums sharing a common paved courtyard with a large tunnel connecting them. The bathroom is downstairs in this tunnel. There is also a great view of the Forum only accessible from the tunnel.
The statue of Romulus and Remus suckling at the she-wolf that you?ll see on the top of a column in the courtyard is just a copy. The real one is in the Musei.
We spent a couple of hours here and then headed back to the hotel. The return trip we took the bus. It was 1E per person. The system is very easy to figure out. All stops on each line are listed at each bus stop and the bus is clearly marked as to which line it serves. Be sure to validate your ticket once you get on the bus. We never saw anyone checking, but didn?t want to risk it by riding for free.
For dinner we wandered around and decided on a place called Gusto Sando. It is at Via Cavour 59/61. It took us a minute to figure out the menu, but you first pick a pasta type and then a sauce for it. I had spaghetti carbonara (E6) and Diana had penne ragu (E6.5). We each got a brushetta appetizer (E2 each) that was pretty good. We drank 1.5L (3E) of water and each had a dessert (E3.5 each). Diana finished of with some tea. The total was E31.00. A 10% servizio charge had been added, so we did not leave a tip. We were satisfied with the dinner, and we both decided that it would serve as a fall back location if we couldn?t find anywhere else to eat while still in Rome.
At that point we called it a night and headed back to the hotel to go to sleep. It was only 9:00pm, but we had been up for about 34 hours straight.
Monday, May 24
Luckily our 9:00am tour with Scala Reale had to be pushed back to 1:00pm, so we could sleep in. We had been called the previous day and notified of the change in schedule. I?ll get to the tour later.
We slept in until 10:00 or so and skipped breakfast. We headed out around 11:00 and walked the very short distance to the Metro stop and took the subway to the Spagna stop (Spanish Steps). We stopped at the first pizzeria and got some pizza for an early lunch. The pizza was sold by the weight, so we indicated how big of a piece we wanted: piccolo, medio, grande?small, medium, large. We spent less than E6 for the equivalent of two pieces of pizza each and a bottle of water.
We wandered around the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain and headed toward our tour?s meeting point down past Piazza Navona. There are plenty of signs directing pedestrians to the major sights, so it is fairly difficult to get lost. As we were walking we came across a building?I assumed a church at the time?with some sort of dome in it. The outside was rough, loose-fitting dark brick. I had no idea what it was and realized that we were slightly off-course.. I knew roughly where we were, but couldn?t pinpoint it on the map. Diana had the brilliant idea of looking for a building on the map shaped like the building we were looking at. Then it hit me. We were standing next to the Pantheon! Boy did I feel dumb. From the outside it doesn?t look all that impressive, but the inside is immense. It?s mind-boggling how the Romans built and rebuilt it.
Scala Reale Colonna Tour?
We finally met up with our Scala Reale tour guide for the Colonna Tour. This was our first experience with Scala Reale, and we were not disappointed. Our guide had a PhD in archeology and was immensely knowledgeable about the area and it history. You can see the details about the tour at scalareale.org. The cost was E50 per person and lasted for 3 hours., but well worth it. There was one other couple on our tour. Scala Reale limits their groups to 6 people. Extremely informative and highly recommended. The three hours flew by. We didn?t really cover that much distance, so we weren?t worn out or anything. We started at Teatro Marcellus and worked out way up past the Pantheon to Piazza Navona.
After the tour we hung out in Piazza Navona and admired Bernini?s work while enjoying some gelato. It was getting on toward dinner time so we started looking for Antica Taverna. It is located at Via Monte Giordano, 12. It was down a quiet side street. The food was great. We had canneloni and seafood risotto as our first course and shared a rabbit dish for or second course. The bottle of house wince was very good. We are not wine drinkers, but it was very smooth with no detectable tanin. Very easy to drink. We also shared a chocolate torte that was swimming is slightly whipped cream. Including tip we paid 50E for the meal. I highly recommend this restaurant. The food and service were good as was the atmosphere.
After dinner we walked back by the Trevi Fountain to people watch. As we were talking a man walked over and shoved two roses at Diana. More out of self-defense that a conscious thought, she grabbed them. The man started talking and handed her another rose. We ended up paying 5E for those roses. If you are approached just say ?Non Gratzie!? and keep moving. I secretly wanted it to happen again because I planned to chuck them in the fountain. Probably for the best that it didn?t. We saw these flower muggers everywhere we went in Europe, but they were only this pushy in Rome. In the other cities we visited they simply walked up and asked if you wanted a flower.
The walk back to the hotel was uneventful. We never felt unsafe in Rome or anywhere else. Once in Verona when Diana was by herself she thought she was being marked while shopping. One time in Venice a man appeared out of no where while we were looking in a window and was just a little too close. At the time I was carrying our digital camera over my shoulder. I simply backed up so I was behind this guy and he moved on. We never saw anyone get scammed or swarmed by kids or any other of the stories you hear. The police patrols in the tourist areas were apparently increased to counter the threat.
Speaking of tourists, we could easily pick them out while we walking around. You have the power tourists that dress in convertible pants and vest jackets with lots of pockets and the large hat. Then there were the typical tourists with shopping bags galore not having a clue where they were going. Blue jeans were everywhere and did not set anyone apart as a tourist. The locals wore them too. White athletic shoes generally indicated a tourist. I wore cacky slacks with a nice shirt and Diana wore slacks or skirts with a nice top for the trip. I thought that we didn?t stand out too much. Several times we walked into stores and were greeted in Italian while other more touristy customers were greeted in English.
Tuesday, May 25
Borghese Gallery--
We got up and ate breakfast and headed to the Borghese Gallery. We had a reservation at 9:00 for which we had to arrive at 8:30, so we took a cab. We caught one at Piazza del Repubblica. It was around 6 or 7 Euros. I typically tipped one or two Euros depending on how the ride went. http://www.ticketeria.it/ is where you go to make a reservation. You can see pictures of some of the art at http://www.galleriaborghese.it. I have to be honest that this was the most impressive art that we saw on the entire trip. It rivaled the Vatican Museums in my opinion. Granted I was a little tired at the Vatican and there was so much to see. If we go back to Rome we will visit the Borghese again. We decided to take a guided tour which we added on for a small fee when we bought out tickets. An English tour typically starts at 9:05am. The tour guide was wonderful and very informative. She pointed out different things about the statues that I never would have noticed or appreciated. For instance the marble was worked so thin in some of the pieces that it is actually translucent.
On a more serious note, there was a fire in the kitchen while we were there and the place had to be evacuated. It was all very orderly and there was mainly just smoke and a burning rubber smell. Turned out to be a wiring problem. Our guide took it all in stride. She picked up a Guide book for the museum and used the pictures for the rest of the tour.
After the Borghese Tour we took a cab to back to our hotel to drop off some purchases from the museum before we headed to our Scavi Tour that afternoon. We took the bus which was very easy. No inkling of pick pockets or anything like that.
When you go to St Peter?s look at the inscription over the square. Does the name look familiar?
Scavi Tour?
We lucked out and got tickets to the Scavi Tour. We sent an email request for tickets [email protected]. If you drill down through the Vatican website at vatican.va you will find info on the Scavi Tour and the information necessary to include in the request. My first request did not get a reply. I sent a second request a week or so later that did get an automated response; but no reservation. I had only offered a small window of availability of the tour. I sent a third request with more dates and times. This one also got an automated response followed by a reservation number a few days later. I started this process about 6-8 weeks before the trip. The reservation asked for you to confirm your reservation at lest 5 days before hand via email. There are lots of details, but they are included in the email if you get a reservation. It cost E10 and we paid when we picked up the tickets. Looking at the front of St Peter?s you must take all of your belongings to the coat check on the right hand side of St Peter?s. You walk across the front of St Peter?s and down a road past a Swiss Guard (who only lets you in 15 minutes before your appointment) to the Excavations office.
The tour itself was wonderful. We had an American lay student as our guide. We learned that the excavations are often incorrectly called catacombs. It is actually a necropolis and not a catacomb since the entire burial area was built above ground with many vaults. When St Peter?s was built the above ground buildings were filled with dirt to level a hillside. Catacombs are dug underground. Necropoli are built above ground. Anyway the excavations were a blast. The paths were solid, dry, and flat. There are a few archways where you may have to duck your head if you are around 6ft and where you might brush a wall if you have broad shoulders. It is very well lit, but it is somewhat humid. There are stairs and slopes but everything is fairly level. I never knew that St Peter?s is where it is because it is believed to be the site of Peter?s grave. Well worth it if you can go.
After the tour we went to the Vatican Post Office to purchase some stamps. It is on the left side of St Peter?s Square. A word of warning. We sent post cards from the Vatican, Rome, Verona, Venice, and Vienna. It?s been almost 3 weeks, and we still haven?t received the ones from Verona or Venice. We got the Vienna and Vatican post cards within a week. Rome took another week. I?d suggest mailing them from the Vatican. We then hopped in a cab to the Church of Santa Susanna near Piazza della Repubblica to pick up our Papal Audience Tickets for Wednesday. For lunch that day we grabbed a sandwich and a slice or two of pizza at a shop. That plus water and 4 bus tickets was only E11.
Getting Papal Audience Tickets was fairly easy. Go to http://www.santasusanna.org for all of the information. I sent the request over 2 months ahead of time and got an email confirmation of the request within a few hours. The tickets were confirmed 3 days later.
For dinner that night we ate at the Trattoria Otello on Via della Croce 81. It is near the Spanish Steps. I read on Fodor?s that Tuesday is Osso Bucco night, so we went. For an appetizer we had white bacon bruschetta. I had never heard of white bacon. It tasted like bacon, but the texture was not like bacon. Then I realized that white bacon is actually bacon fat. Fetticini Bolognese and Veal Canneloni with a creamy white sauce were our first course. Our second course was Osso Bucco and Veal Primavera (Springtime). The food was good. Didn?t seem to be a lot of tourists there. I would recommend this place if you are looking for good food near the Spanish Steps. The total dinner with two glasses of wine and some water was E57/ I left a 10E tip.
We walked back to the Spanish Steps after dinner and people watched while enjoying some gelatto finally walking back to the hotel later that night.
Wednesday, May 26
Papal Audience?
We got up early and took a bus to the Vatican for the Papal Audience. The seats are arranged in the square in two main sections. One section closest to the podium and one farther back. Try to be at the front of the rear section. The Pope will drive by directly in front of you before he goes to the podium. We decided not to sit in the sun and stayed farther back in the shade of the columns around St Peter?s. there was lots of talking in many different languages and the Pope spoke 3 or 4 himself. He sounded old, but still very coherent. We left early to make sure we got to our Scala Reale Arte Vaticana Tour.
Vatican Museum?
We took a cab from St Peter?s to the museum entrance instead of walking around the Vatican. Only cost E5 or so and was well worth it. We had some time to kill so we walked a couple of blocks away from the museum and window shopped. Picked up some pizza in a small bakery. After that we decided to sit in a restaurant directly across from the museum entrance to take advantage of the air conditioning called Da Paolo. We ordered a plate of french fries, and fruit plate consisting of an apple, a banana, and something else, and 2 bottles of water. The bill was E16! Avoid this place. I knew it would be a rip off when we went in, but was still surprised.
Books can be written on the Vatican Museum, so I won?t really talk about the art that much. I will say that you should see the Pinotecca first. We were lucky since it was the settimana bene culturale the Vatican was deserted. This was the only museum in metro Rome that was not free. It?s in the Vatican, so it doesn?t do as the Romans do. The Scala Reale tour guide was fascinating. He told us so much about what we were seeing that I can?t pass it all on. This tour cost E60 per person and lasted 4 hours. There were 3 other people in our group. We covered a lot of ground and took advantage of the many benches. Our guide did say that on a normal day there is no room to move much less sit down.
Ripped Off?
After the tour we took a cab back to the hotel. Our Scala Reale guide said to take the cabs on the left when walking away from St Peter?s. The ones on the right can not go into the city center. So we went to the taxi stand on the left. Once I got in the cab I had a bad feeling about the ride. The guy was very friendly, too friendly. I noticed after a few minutes that the meter was not running. It had a small blinking light on it but no numbers. When we got to the Piazza della Repubblica he pushed a button and said 25 Euros was the total. Sure enough the meter said 25 Euros. I was dumbfounded. Practically the same ride the day before was only less than 10 Euros. Not really having any other option I paid the fare. I could have made a scene and attracted the cops but my Italian isn?t good enough for that. Oh well. I could have avoided this by asking the cab driver before we got in how much it would be to our destination. I would suggest you do that when getting into any cabs. Since this was the last cab we took in Rome I didn?t have any more issues.
From what I could gather there is a fare for the ride and then the cab driver will mash a button or two to add on the proper surcharges for time of day and the like. Usually these surcharges amounts to a couple of Euros. There should be a sheet in the back of the cab that lists all of the charges.
For our last night in Rome we just started wandering around looking for a small quiet place to eat dinner. We happened across a small trattoria on a side street called da Tito. Looking over the receipt there are two addresses: Via Carlo Alberto 16 and Via Venezia 21. I believe it was on Via Venezia which is on your left heading away from Piazza Della Repubblica on Via Nazionale. Via Carlo Alberto is farther away and a much larger street. The prices were great and so was the food. 1 antipasta, 2 primi piatti, 3 secondi piatti, two desserts, 2 glasses of wine, and a bottle of water cost only 56E. I thought this was a great meal. The atmosphere sitting at an outside table was wonderful. When we go back to Rome to see the Borghese Gallery again, this is the one restaurant I will visit again.
Thursday, May 27.
Scala Reale Rome Antica Tour?
We got up and made our way to meet our tour guide for the Roma Antica Scala Reale Tour. We took the subway to Colloseum and walked the 1/8 a mile to the meeting point. Another 4 hour tour that cost E60 per person. We had one other couple in our group?actually the same couple who did the Arte Vaticana tour with us the day before. It covered the Colloseum, Roman Forum, Trajans column, etc . . . Admission to the entire complex was free for the week. Our guide was equally wonderful as the other Scala Reale guides. Very knowledgeable and informative. We actually ran over the tour length by about 40 minutes. His background was as an historical architect, so he was full of wonderful information about the buildings and different types of construction.
Train to Verona?
After the tour we took a cab to the hotel to get our bags and walk to the train station. We got to the station about 20 minutes before the train was supposed to leave. After walking 4 or 5 blocks with our luggage I was a little hot and grumpy. I was also irritated that there wasn?t a big sign that pointed to our train to Verona.
When you want in you will see a couple of big boards that have trains and departure times. Find the smaller LED one that only has a few colors. Below that sign there is a chart that has the train schedule by city. Find your city for the day of the week and time you are leaving. You will also see the train number listed on the ticket. There will be a name in that square on the chart. That is the name you will see on the overhead signs for your train. I don?t know if that was the name of the train or the final stop on the line. It was very annoying that the overhead board did not have train numbers. We were told that there is no point to being at the train station very early since the train most likely won?t arrive more than 20 minutes before departure anyway.
Since this was a 4.5 hour train ride, we decided to splurge on First Class. We thought it would be relaxing. Finding our seats was anything but relaxing. We had no idea which car to get on. Eventually we figured it out. Our train ticket had small picture of what is supposed to be a train car. The number under that was the car number where you are supposed to sit. The number is printed on each train car next to the door.
I would suggest buying train tickets when you are in Rome. The price was significantly less than available in the States though Trenitalia?s website. Two first class tickets from Rome to Verona only cost E118.26.
We decided to eat dinner on the train since we didn?t have time to pick up anything before we left. The dinner was pretty good, but slightly expensive. Two pasta dishes and one secondi piatti of roasted chicken with artichokes plus 2 antipasto and water were around E50. The food was flavorful and filling. It was very relaxing to sit in the dinning car and eat dinner watching the scenery go by. I would suggest eating dinner on the train for the convenience rather than the pure value.
The trip to Verona was uneventful and very smooth.
I?ll cover Verona and the other cities in separate trip reports. If you search for the word dubyuhnell you should find all my Trip Reports for Italy or Austria.
Sunday, May 23
Arrived Charles de Gaulle airport at 0630. We fly Air France from Cincinnati as a Delta Codeshare. The flight was OK, but the seats were not that comfortable. I expected more from Business Elite. The service was good as was the food. The only downside was that Diana?s personal video monitor had been removed. Had there been time in Paris, I would have complained. Big part of the benefit of flying Business Elite is that screen.
With only 45 minutes between flights and a late arrival to cut the margin further, we had a mad rush across an incredibly inefficient airport to get to our flight. Of course the security screeners wanted to examine my bag. My wife and I were stressed, but made our flight with a few minutes to spare.
Our flight departed at 0715. Luckily we flew in and out of 2C and 2B respectively. We had no inkling about the collapse in 2E. We could have been on the plane before it happened or running through the airport at the time. Our flight was not delayed leaving Paris. We only heard of the collapse after we returned to the states 2 weeks later.
We arrived in Rome about 9:30 am. Back home it was 3:30am. We got our checked luggage easily and started looking for the car service arranged by our hotel. After a few minutes I noticed the driver, and we were on our way. The transfer to the hotel in private car was E55. I decided to take the car service since I thought we would be pretty tired and not wanting to deal with finding the right bus and walking however far we might need to. The car was well worth it. The drive to the hotel was an amazing experience. Imagine two left turn lanes at an intersection. When the light turned green 4 cars side by side made that left turn with about 6 mopeds squeezing between them. Organized chaos. Glad I wasn?t driving.
We stayed at Residenza Cellini--http://www.residenzacellini.it. The hotel was a block or so from Piazza della Repubblica. It is about 3 or 4 long blocks or so from the Termini train station. The room was E185 if paying by cash.
The room was wonderful as was the service. The hotel even had a bottle of champagne brought to the room our first night to celebrate our anniversary. The breakfast was good, but I do not like cold breakfasts. There was a selection of nice sliced meats and breads. Of course coffee and tea and juice. I would describe it as a nice Continental-style breakfast. The air conditioning was controlled from each room. The weather was in the lower 70?s, but I like the room to be cool. I was very pleased with how well it worked. I mention this because it was not always the case on the trip. The bathroom was very nice as well. I would stay here again without question.
Musei Capitolini?
After we checked in and dropped off our bags, we decided to push through the jet lag and head to a museum. We picked the Musei Capitolini?the Capitoline Musuems. Since we didn?t have our bearings yet we took a cab. It was E6 or so to get there. The museum was very impressive. A lot of ancient sculptors. It is really amazing what can be done with stone. It turns out that the week we were in Rome was the Settimana di bene culturale?the week of high culture, during which all museum entrance fees were waived. Nice surprise to get in for free although there was still some small fee. It did mean that the museums were crowded.
One note on the Musei. It is actually two different museums sharing a common paved courtyard with a large tunnel connecting them. The bathroom is downstairs in this tunnel. There is also a great view of the Forum only accessible from the tunnel.
The statue of Romulus and Remus suckling at the she-wolf that you?ll see on the top of a column in the courtyard is just a copy. The real one is in the Musei.
We spent a couple of hours here and then headed back to the hotel. The return trip we took the bus. It was 1E per person. The system is very easy to figure out. All stops on each line are listed at each bus stop and the bus is clearly marked as to which line it serves. Be sure to validate your ticket once you get on the bus. We never saw anyone checking, but didn?t want to risk it by riding for free.
For dinner we wandered around and decided on a place called Gusto Sando. It is at Via Cavour 59/61. It took us a minute to figure out the menu, but you first pick a pasta type and then a sauce for it. I had spaghetti carbonara (E6) and Diana had penne ragu (E6.5). We each got a brushetta appetizer (E2 each) that was pretty good. We drank 1.5L (3E) of water and each had a dessert (E3.5 each). Diana finished of with some tea. The total was E31.00. A 10% servizio charge had been added, so we did not leave a tip. We were satisfied with the dinner, and we both decided that it would serve as a fall back location if we couldn?t find anywhere else to eat while still in Rome.
At that point we called it a night and headed back to the hotel to go to sleep. It was only 9:00pm, but we had been up for about 34 hours straight.
Monday, May 24
Luckily our 9:00am tour with Scala Reale had to be pushed back to 1:00pm, so we could sleep in. We had been called the previous day and notified of the change in schedule. I?ll get to the tour later.
We slept in until 10:00 or so and skipped breakfast. We headed out around 11:00 and walked the very short distance to the Metro stop and took the subway to the Spagna stop (Spanish Steps). We stopped at the first pizzeria and got some pizza for an early lunch. The pizza was sold by the weight, so we indicated how big of a piece we wanted: piccolo, medio, grande?small, medium, large. We spent less than E6 for the equivalent of two pieces of pizza each and a bottle of water.
We wandered around the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain and headed toward our tour?s meeting point down past Piazza Navona. There are plenty of signs directing pedestrians to the major sights, so it is fairly difficult to get lost. As we were walking we came across a building?I assumed a church at the time?with some sort of dome in it. The outside was rough, loose-fitting dark brick. I had no idea what it was and realized that we were slightly off-course.. I knew roughly where we were, but couldn?t pinpoint it on the map. Diana had the brilliant idea of looking for a building on the map shaped like the building we were looking at. Then it hit me. We were standing next to the Pantheon! Boy did I feel dumb. From the outside it doesn?t look all that impressive, but the inside is immense. It?s mind-boggling how the Romans built and rebuilt it.
Scala Reale Colonna Tour?
We finally met up with our Scala Reale tour guide for the Colonna Tour. This was our first experience with Scala Reale, and we were not disappointed. Our guide had a PhD in archeology and was immensely knowledgeable about the area and it history. You can see the details about the tour at scalareale.org. The cost was E50 per person and lasted for 3 hours., but well worth it. There was one other couple on our tour. Scala Reale limits their groups to 6 people. Extremely informative and highly recommended. The three hours flew by. We didn?t really cover that much distance, so we weren?t worn out or anything. We started at Teatro Marcellus and worked out way up past the Pantheon to Piazza Navona.
After the tour we hung out in Piazza Navona and admired Bernini?s work while enjoying some gelato. It was getting on toward dinner time so we started looking for Antica Taverna. It is located at Via Monte Giordano, 12. It was down a quiet side street. The food was great. We had canneloni and seafood risotto as our first course and shared a rabbit dish for or second course. The bottle of house wince was very good. We are not wine drinkers, but it was very smooth with no detectable tanin. Very easy to drink. We also shared a chocolate torte that was swimming is slightly whipped cream. Including tip we paid 50E for the meal. I highly recommend this restaurant. The food and service were good as was the atmosphere.
After dinner we walked back by the Trevi Fountain to people watch. As we were talking a man walked over and shoved two roses at Diana. More out of self-defense that a conscious thought, she grabbed them. The man started talking and handed her another rose. We ended up paying 5E for those roses. If you are approached just say ?Non Gratzie!? and keep moving. I secretly wanted it to happen again because I planned to chuck them in the fountain. Probably for the best that it didn?t. We saw these flower muggers everywhere we went in Europe, but they were only this pushy in Rome. In the other cities we visited they simply walked up and asked if you wanted a flower.
The walk back to the hotel was uneventful. We never felt unsafe in Rome or anywhere else. Once in Verona when Diana was by herself she thought she was being marked while shopping. One time in Venice a man appeared out of no where while we were looking in a window and was just a little too close. At the time I was carrying our digital camera over my shoulder. I simply backed up so I was behind this guy and he moved on. We never saw anyone get scammed or swarmed by kids or any other of the stories you hear. The police patrols in the tourist areas were apparently increased to counter the threat.
Speaking of tourists, we could easily pick them out while we walking around. You have the power tourists that dress in convertible pants and vest jackets with lots of pockets and the large hat. Then there were the typical tourists with shopping bags galore not having a clue where they were going. Blue jeans were everywhere and did not set anyone apart as a tourist. The locals wore them too. White athletic shoes generally indicated a tourist. I wore cacky slacks with a nice shirt and Diana wore slacks or skirts with a nice top for the trip. I thought that we didn?t stand out too much. Several times we walked into stores and were greeted in Italian while other more touristy customers were greeted in English.
Tuesday, May 25
Borghese Gallery--
We got up and ate breakfast and headed to the Borghese Gallery. We had a reservation at 9:00 for which we had to arrive at 8:30, so we took a cab. We caught one at Piazza del Repubblica. It was around 6 or 7 Euros. I typically tipped one or two Euros depending on how the ride went. http://www.ticketeria.it/ is where you go to make a reservation. You can see pictures of some of the art at http://www.galleriaborghese.it. I have to be honest that this was the most impressive art that we saw on the entire trip. It rivaled the Vatican Museums in my opinion. Granted I was a little tired at the Vatican and there was so much to see. If we go back to Rome we will visit the Borghese again. We decided to take a guided tour which we added on for a small fee when we bought out tickets. An English tour typically starts at 9:05am. The tour guide was wonderful and very informative. She pointed out different things about the statues that I never would have noticed or appreciated. For instance the marble was worked so thin in some of the pieces that it is actually translucent.
On a more serious note, there was a fire in the kitchen while we were there and the place had to be evacuated. It was all very orderly and there was mainly just smoke and a burning rubber smell. Turned out to be a wiring problem. Our guide took it all in stride. She picked up a Guide book for the museum and used the pictures for the rest of the tour.
After the Borghese Tour we took a cab to back to our hotel to drop off some purchases from the museum before we headed to our Scavi Tour that afternoon. We took the bus which was very easy. No inkling of pick pockets or anything like that.
When you go to St Peter?s look at the inscription over the square. Does the name look familiar?
Scavi Tour?
We lucked out and got tickets to the Scavi Tour. We sent an email request for tickets [email protected]. If you drill down through the Vatican website at vatican.va you will find info on the Scavi Tour and the information necessary to include in the request. My first request did not get a reply. I sent a second request a week or so later that did get an automated response; but no reservation. I had only offered a small window of availability of the tour. I sent a third request with more dates and times. This one also got an automated response followed by a reservation number a few days later. I started this process about 6-8 weeks before the trip. The reservation asked for you to confirm your reservation at lest 5 days before hand via email. There are lots of details, but they are included in the email if you get a reservation. It cost E10 and we paid when we picked up the tickets. Looking at the front of St Peter?s you must take all of your belongings to the coat check on the right hand side of St Peter?s. You walk across the front of St Peter?s and down a road past a Swiss Guard (who only lets you in 15 minutes before your appointment) to the Excavations office.
The tour itself was wonderful. We had an American lay student as our guide. We learned that the excavations are often incorrectly called catacombs. It is actually a necropolis and not a catacomb since the entire burial area was built above ground with many vaults. When St Peter?s was built the above ground buildings were filled with dirt to level a hillside. Catacombs are dug underground. Necropoli are built above ground. Anyway the excavations were a blast. The paths were solid, dry, and flat. There are a few archways where you may have to duck your head if you are around 6ft and where you might brush a wall if you have broad shoulders. It is very well lit, but it is somewhat humid. There are stairs and slopes but everything is fairly level. I never knew that St Peter?s is where it is because it is believed to be the site of Peter?s grave. Well worth it if you can go.
After the tour we went to the Vatican Post Office to purchase some stamps. It is on the left side of St Peter?s Square. A word of warning. We sent post cards from the Vatican, Rome, Verona, Venice, and Vienna. It?s been almost 3 weeks, and we still haven?t received the ones from Verona or Venice. We got the Vienna and Vatican post cards within a week. Rome took another week. I?d suggest mailing them from the Vatican. We then hopped in a cab to the Church of Santa Susanna near Piazza della Repubblica to pick up our Papal Audience Tickets for Wednesday. For lunch that day we grabbed a sandwich and a slice or two of pizza at a shop. That plus water and 4 bus tickets was only E11.
Getting Papal Audience Tickets was fairly easy. Go to http://www.santasusanna.org for all of the information. I sent the request over 2 months ahead of time and got an email confirmation of the request within a few hours. The tickets were confirmed 3 days later.
For dinner that night we ate at the Trattoria Otello on Via della Croce 81. It is near the Spanish Steps. I read on Fodor?s that Tuesday is Osso Bucco night, so we went. For an appetizer we had white bacon bruschetta. I had never heard of white bacon. It tasted like bacon, but the texture was not like bacon. Then I realized that white bacon is actually bacon fat. Fetticini Bolognese and Veal Canneloni with a creamy white sauce were our first course. Our second course was Osso Bucco and Veal Primavera (Springtime). The food was good. Didn?t seem to be a lot of tourists there. I would recommend this place if you are looking for good food near the Spanish Steps. The total dinner with two glasses of wine and some water was E57/ I left a 10E tip.
We walked back to the Spanish Steps after dinner and people watched while enjoying some gelatto finally walking back to the hotel later that night.
Wednesday, May 26
Papal Audience?
We got up early and took a bus to the Vatican for the Papal Audience. The seats are arranged in the square in two main sections. One section closest to the podium and one farther back. Try to be at the front of the rear section. The Pope will drive by directly in front of you before he goes to the podium. We decided not to sit in the sun and stayed farther back in the shade of the columns around St Peter?s. there was lots of talking in many different languages and the Pope spoke 3 or 4 himself. He sounded old, but still very coherent. We left early to make sure we got to our Scala Reale Arte Vaticana Tour.
Vatican Museum?
We took a cab from St Peter?s to the museum entrance instead of walking around the Vatican. Only cost E5 or so and was well worth it. We had some time to kill so we walked a couple of blocks away from the museum and window shopped. Picked up some pizza in a small bakery. After that we decided to sit in a restaurant directly across from the museum entrance to take advantage of the air conditioning called Da Paolo. We ordered a plate of french fries, and fruit plate consisting of an apple, a banana, and something else, and 2 bottles of water. The bill was E16! Avoid this place. I knew it would be a rip off when we went in, but was still surprised.
Books can be written on the Vatican Museum, so I won?t really talk about the art that much. I will say that you should see the Pinotecca first. We were lucky since it was the settimana bene culturale the Vatican was deserted. This was the only museum in metro Rome that was not free. It?s in the Vatican, so it doesn?t do as the Romans do. The Scala Reale tour guide was fascinating. He told us so much about what we were seeing that I can?t pass it all on. This tour cost E60 per person and lasted 4 hours. There were 3 other people in our group. We covered a lot of ground and took advantage of the many benches. Our guide did say that on a normal day there is no room to move much less sit down.
Ripped Off?
After the tour we took a cab back to the hotel. Our Scala Reale guide said to take the cabs on the left when walking away from St Peter?s. The ones on the right can not go into the city center. So we went to the taxi stand on the left. Once I got in the cab I had a bad feeling about the ride. The guy was very friendly, too friendly. I noticed after a few minutes that the meter was not running. It had a small blinking light on it but no numbers. When we got to the Piazza della Repubblica he pushed a button and said 25 Euros was the total. Sure enough the meter said 25 Euros. I was dumbfounded. Practically the same ride the day before was only less than 10 Euros. Not really having any other option I paid the fare. I could have made a scene and attracted the cops but my Italian isn?t good enough for that. Oh well. I could have avoided this by asking the cab driver before we got in how much it would be to our destination. I would suggest you do that when getting into any cabs. Since this was the last cab we took in Rome I didn?t have any more issues.
From what I could gather there is a fare for the ride and then the cab driver will mash a button or two to add on the proper surcharges for time of day and the like. Usually these surcharges amounts to a couple of Euros. There should be a sheet in the back of the cab that lists all of the charges.
For our last night in Rome we just started wandering around looking for a small quiet place to eat dinner. We happened across a small trattoria on a side street called da Tito. Looking over the receipt there are two addresses: Via Carlo Alberto 16 and Via Venezia 21. I believe it was on Via Venezia which is on your left heading away from Piazza Della Repubblica on Via Nazionale. Via Carlo Alberto is farther away and a much larger street. The prices were great and so was the food. 1 antipasta, 2 primi piatti, 3 secondi piatti, two desserts, 2 glasses of wine, and a bottle of water cost only 56E. I thought this was a great meal. The atmosphere sitting at an outside table was wonderful. When we go back to Rome to see the Borghese Gallery again, this is the one restaurant I will visit again.
Thursday, May 27.
Scala Reale Rome Antica Tour?
We got up and made our way to meet our tour guide for the Roma Antica Scala Reale Tour. We took the subway to Colloseum and walked the 1/8 a mile to the meeting point. Another 4 hour tour that cost E60 per person. We had one other couple in our group?actually the same couple who did the Arte Vaticana tour with us the day before. It covered the Colloseum, Roman Forum, Trajans column, etc . . . Admission to the entire complex was free for the week. Our guide was equally wonderful as the other Scala Reale guides. Very knowledgeable and informative. We actually ran over the tour length by about 40 minutes. His background was as an historical architect, so he was full of wonderful information about the buildings and different types of construction.
Train to Verona?
After the tour we took a cab to the hotel to get our bags and walk to the train station. We got to the station about 20 minutes before the train was supposed to leave. After walking 4 or 5 blocks with our luggage I was a little hot and grumpy. I was also irritated that there wasn?t a big sign that pointed to our train to Verona.
When you want in you will see a couple of big boards that have trains and departure times. Find the smaller LED one that only has a few colors. Below that sign there is a chart that has the train schedule by city. Find your city for the day of the week and time you are leaving. You will also see the train number listed on the ticket. There will be a name in that square on the chart. That is the name you will see on the overhead signs for your train. I don?t know if that was the name of the train or the final stop on the line. It was very annoying that the overhead board did not have train numbers. We were told that there is no point to being at the train station very early since the train most likely won?t arrive more than 20 minutes before departure anyway.
Since this was a 4.5 hour train ride, we decided to splurge on First Class. We thought it would be relaxing. Finding our seats was anything but relaxing. We had no idea which car to get on. Eventually we figured it out. Our train ticket had small picture of what is supposed to be a train car. The number under that was the car number where you are supposed to sit. The number is printed on each train car next to the door.
I would suggest buying train tickets when you are in Rome. The price was significantly less than available in the States though Trenitalia?s website. Two first class tickets from Rome to Verona only cost E118.26.
We decided to eat dinner on the train since we didn?t have time to pick up anything before we left. The dinner was pretty good, but slightly expensive. Two pasta dishes and one secondi piatti of roasted chicken with artichokes plus 2 antipasto and water were around E50. The food was flavorful and filling. It was very relaxing to sit in the dinning car and eat dinner watching the scenery go by. I would suggest eating dinner on the train for the convenience rather than the pure value.
The trip to Verona was uneventful and very smooth.
I?ll cover Verona and the other cities in separate trip reports. If you search for the word dubyuhnell you should find all my Trip Reports for Italy or Austria.
Jun 19th, 2004 | 10:55 PM
#5
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
..another reccomendation..At this rate (200 $) it is possible reserve at Hotel Piccolo on Top of spanish steps http://www.wineacademyroma.com/it-palazzetto-rates.htm
Jun 19th, 2004 | 11:17 PM
#6
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,321
Likes: 0
AveryB. Really enjoyed your report. Sorry to hear you got ripped off by one of those city taxi's. Don't be too hard on yourself. The same thing happend to me last year at the Vatican and I was travelling with three Italians who should have been savy enough to know the difference. We paid the same price to go from Vatican to Pzza. Della Rotunda where the Panteon is. We just got back from Rome last night again. This year when we arrived at the Termini station, a Taxi cab driver "offerd" to take us to Pza. Della Rotunda for Euro $35.00! The driver took one look and me and the kids and mistook my husband for an American tourist. His hair stood on end when my husband started to question this high charge in Italian. They exchanged some words and then we waited in line for another cab. Total cost for three ppl plus six bags was Euro $10.00. Live and learn. Now we both know how to play the game.
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Jun 20th, 2004 | 09:47 AM
#8
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 657
Likes: 0
Avery,
Thanks for your report and appreciate the links you included.
I was in Rome this May and was able to go to the Borghese Gallery also but stupid me did not do the audio tour - won't make that mistake again. I'll be going back to Rome this Oct., only for a week so I really want to make use of my time.
Will be interested to visit Musei Capitolini this next time. I didn't know that the real statue of Romulus and Remus was inside.
I have friends who live in Rome and they will be married this July 3rd right there at the Campidogilo. Reception to follow close by somewhere... I wish I was able to be there, it'll be a great party and celebration!
Anyway, I took the Scala Reale Vatican St. Peters while I was there and I want to know more about St. Peters because this is the place that moved me the most.
So might do the Scavi tour but I think I'm more interested in the actual Basilica rather than the "necropolis". So much to see so little time!
Bummer about the taxi fee - do you know if it was an official taxi? I am really impressed with how inexpensive the taxi's are. We walked much and took public transopt too but at times being able to hop in a taxi was great!
Thanks again for your report & the links are very useful.
ciao ciao, Eileen
Thanks for your report and appreciate the links you included.
I was in Rome this May and was able to go to the Borghese Gallery also but stupid me did not do the audio tour - won't make that mistake again. I'll be going back to Rome this Oct., only for a week so I really want to make use of my time.
Will be interested to visit Musei Capitolini this next time. I didn't know that the real statue of Romulus and Remus was inside.
I have friends who live in Rome and they will be married this July 3rd right there at the Campidogilo. Reception to follow close by somewhere... I wish I was able to be there, it'll be a great party and celebration!
Anyway, I took the Scala Reale Vatican St. Peters while I was there and I want to know more about St. Peters because this is the place that moved me the most.
So might do the Scavi tour but I think I'm more interested in the actual Basilica rather than the "necropolis". So much to see so little time!
Bummer about the taxi fee - do you know if it was an official taxi? I am really impressed with how inexpensive the taxi's are. We walked much and took public transopt too but at times being able to hop in a taxi was great!
Thanks again for your report & the links are very useful.
ciao ciao, Eileen
Jun 20th, 2004 | 12:00 PM
#10
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
Regarding taxi ripoffs in Rome, it is unfortunately still an all-too-common problem. Having a vague idea of what to pay (10-15 euros around town) and watching the meter helps you know when you are being "taken for a ride" but trying to defend your rights without perfect Italian is harder. Politely indicating that you think there is a mistake and writing down the taxi's number, may resolve the problem. Even if you don't get your money back reporting the number to your hotel (or police, or email me--i keep a list) might protect future passengers.
Glad you liked the Scala Reale itineraries!
Glad you liked the Scala Reale itineraries!
