Hello Patrick, I so enjoyed your report of your time in Rome..and as usual the apartment you rented is fantastic!

How annoying..at Gatwick your plane has not left at depature time and you are told it will be on time! What is it about customer represenatives these days? Yes indeed, where indeed do they hire these people?

Anyway, welcome home, and I hope you and Lee can come here to SF again one of these days.

Thanks for sharing. I've noted your restaurants for our next visit to Rome.

What a fabulous apartment! So happy that you and Lee enjoyed Rome. Thank you for posting.

You went to London, Rome & Venice (so far at least) on the same trip? All of a sudden I see a raft of trip reports from June from the same trip?

Thanks for posting your trip report even if it was too busy for my taste. My sort of trip is a home exchange for 4 weeks where I more or less stay put where I can do laundry.

NeoPatrick:

Enjoyed your Rome report very much and always eager to see where you stayed because the places you pick are all so lovely.

My mother has the same cruel illness as Lee. She has good days and bad ones. I am going to visit her once again in the UK this October (my home now is in the midwest) and I anticipate the visit with a mixture of joy and sadness. You are so very patient with Lee and his slow eating. I am so glad that he is still able to enjoy travel with you.

Sandy

Golly...I sometimes find myself in the wrong place at the wrong time! How I wish I had waited! You're apartment looks wonderful. Unfortunately (or I'll hope just different but nice) we rented another over in Testaccio. My point is, I would have trusted your taste and your experience. We're flying blind on our choice. Oh Well!
Good tips about the ATM - we'll keep our two separately "banked" accounts just in case.
And thank you... you helped so much!
I cut and pasted your restaurant recommendations.
Do you cook at home? You do seem to know food.
Anyway, great read.

Patrick,

Thanks for posting.

Good stuff, as always.

Hi NeoPatrick, welcome home to you and Lee.

I greatly enjoyed your trip report and have made note of all your restaurant recommendations as DH & I will be there in January.

I am sorry about your delays out of Gatwick, quite discouraging; as well as your ATM issues. While we had no problems with our ATM, our credit card was denied because we were in Europe though I called and made our bank aware of the specific dates we were to be traveling. I am thinking this happens quite often, because our hotel in Florence actually allowed us to leave to catch our train to Venice and call back after all was cleared up. Can you imagine any US hotel allowing us to leave without paying our bill, lol???

Your report has me excited for our departure. I am thrilled that you and Lee had a fabulous week in Rome.

My best wishes to you both.

Patrick, Great trip reports you're writing.

I have always wanted to stay in that area at the nearby Hotel Minerva but it's too expensive for me.

And in the same space your apartment occupied but in a different time you would have been sleeping on the roof of the 'Porticus Argonautarum' which was part of the'Saepta Julia'.

[Models] www.maquettes-historiques.net/P35.html OR http://tinyurl.com/2w2xld

[History] http://tinyurl.com/3yoxaw

Martial in the 1C AD said of the Saepta Julia "where golden Rome vaunts her wealth".

Along with the hi-end luxury shops within the porticos this saepta was sometimes a speciality Slave Market where only exotic slaves were sold to the wealthy. Regards, Walter

NeoPatrick-
I was happy to read ( besides your trip going good for the most part!) that the Apt. in Rome worked out so well.Did you ever think you could have stayed any closer to the Pantheon??
Unbelievable to sit in the living room with the windows open and have that ancient building right there before your eyes!

ParadiseLost/Walter: you are a treasure. Thanks for sharing these historical tid-bits with us!

Slave quarters, huh? Well I did have to make my own bed and haul out my own trash.


lvitaly, did you see my Paris report and the link to my apartment there. Our two living room windows faced the north wall of St. Severin church. There are a couple pictures taken from the living room. If I had a pool cue, I could have poked out a window of the church, as the "street" between us is barely wide enough for a single car not to scrape both sides.

By the way, in Rome I asked the woman at the shop downstairs where the nearest pay phone was and she said "Meckdonya" or something very foreign sounding and waved an arm. So I went in search of a store or a street with that name. I suddenly went into hysterics when I saw the phone -- in front of MacDonald's.

NeoP: thanks for the great report. After a fabulous meal in Paris that you recommended last February, I can't wait to follow a couple of your Rome suggestions.

I am so glad that you had a good time and stayed in such a lovely looking apartment.

Thanks. Which meal in Paris?

Thanks for posting!

I will read your Paris report, landed in and out that airport last year on the way to Rome, what a tease when we flew over the city.The good news is though on our cruise last year i had a glimspe of the French Riveria and am completly sold. So i will save your Apt.recommendation for the future as this will enable me to save a lot of seaching as i know we have the same tastes in apartments:)

Faux St. Marie, we spent 10 nights in London, 10 nights in Paris, and a week each in Venice, Rome, and Amsterdam.

I'm sorry that only spending a mere 7 to 10 nights each in places we've been many times before would be too rushed for you, but I much prefer it to a full month in one place, especially places where we've already done all the "major" things. Although we did spend a full month in New York again this year-- one place where I can take that much staying put time after time.

I keep forgetting that trip reports here are the place for some to post "how awful for you, our way of travel is soooo much better." At least that seemed to be your reason for posting.

I always enjoy your trip reports and restaurant and apartment recommendations.

Patrick,

Really enjoyed the report! Somehow I missed it until now. I'm glad you and Lee had a nice trip and that traveling is still good for you both!

I, too, will keep some of your recommendations for the next Rome trip.

Ciao

First, I agree that Walter is indeed a Fodors treasure.

NeoPatrick - I have very much enjoyed all of the trip reports you have done recently. What a fantastic trip and how pleasant to be able to take your time in each location. I love your style. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. All my best to Lee.