| Cathy |
Dec 3rd, 1999 04:04 PM |
Report on Rome trip and some tips
First of all many thanks for all the advice and tips for our trip to Rome for our wedding. As promised here are some of the dos and don'ts and hidden treasures we discovered during our trip to Rome. <BR> <BR>One main point is to be very security aware in Rome - I know there has been lots of discussion in recent weeks about pick pockets. Romanian women and babies seem to be the main offenders and my father-in-law tested one young women - he left his jacket open and she tried to pick his pocket. Money belts are not option but a necessary and be extra careful on the metro and bus route 64. <BR> <BR>This site has had a lot of questions about transfers to & from the airport - Termni is under construction at the moment so if you take the express train/non-stop into the station be prepared for a long walk from the platform to the concourse. The local train is faster and cheaper than the express train. For a group of 4 I on the express after waiting 30 minutes it cost us 64,000 lira - on our return trip we used an airport shuttle service which collected us at our hotel and dropped us off at the airport - the cost for 4 and all the bags was 80,000 lira and no hassle or worry about watching bags etc. at Termni. They do special rates for groups. It is more expensive for 1 or 2 individuals - 50,000 lira. The service can contacted at Rome 0338/4180979 or 0339/1530507. Be warned that they usually do a series of hotels and so allow plenty of time for stop offs at other hotels we were due for check-in at 16.00 and were collected at 15.00 and arrived on time despite a few other stop-offs on the way. They have the lowest rates in Rome and do not charge extra for luggage. They do not however take credit cards but we were happy with the service and would use them again. <BR> <BR>OK transfers and pick pockets out of the way - Rome is a city for eating out - but service and standards often ruin a good meal. We dined at L'Eau Vive - a restaurant recommended to us by native Romans - OK a French restaurant in an Italian city ? Well the religious order which runs it serves excellent food - reasonably priced and worth a visit. The nuns and staff perform for guests at the end of the evening - singing and dancing - a once in a lifetime experience. <BR> <BR>We stayed near Termni - on P.za Victor Emanuel - our hotel - Hotel Napoleon was adequate but the staff all spoke English a consideration for travelling companions. We booked our tickets as part of package including flights and it was cheaper than reserving the rooms separately. We would not recommend eating in the restaurant - poor quality. However there are lots of good restaurants just off the square and they are patronised by the locals and are reasonably priced. Try La Cavour - just one of the ones we had good food at a reasonable price. Travellers to Rome until 5th December can avail of a special promotion - set price menus at 38,000 lira in restaurants displaying Sapore di Roma symbols - we didn't try it but it looked like an interesting promotion. Restaurants listed in the Gambero Rosso guide are included. <BR> <BR>Since we had our parents with us we decided to take one general bus tour of Rome to see the sights and then later return to the major sites - we did the Carrani tour of Rome by night with hotel pickup. It was a rip off and the guide was too busy talking in 4 different languages to be good. His language skills were excellent but if you are taking one of these tours insist on taking an English only tour - you are all lumped together and it is an exercise in how much German, French and Spanish you can learn rather than a tour of Rome. On a previous visit we took Enjoy Rome walking tour - run by the people fro Faulty Towers youth hostel. The walking tours were excellent and relatively inexpensive at about 30,000 lira per person. The ancient Rome tour lasted about 4 hours & was excellent. The Vatican tour was also very good. Free tours of St. Peters are available from the Vatican Tourist Office - sponsored by the American College in Rome. The quality is very good. We took these tours on both visits to Rome in the pat 18 months. In addition we climbed to the top of St. Peters - be warned these tours are closed during the Papal Audience as is St. Peters. The entry to the Cupola (Dome) is at the right hand side of St. Peters. Expect long queues. The main problem facing travellers will be accessing the Vatican Museums - at the moment early closing means that you have to line up early in the morning and the lines are very long. Do remember it is free on the last Sunday of every month but there are thousands of Romans and the tourists who also are aware of this fact. Most major sites in Rome are returning to normal after years of scaffolding etc. - except for the Trevi Fontana which is waterless at the moment. There is also a small unique museum in St. John Lateran's - it is only open on weekends and explains the court of Pope Pius IX. We took the Scavi tour underneath St. Peters - it is very good but the guide was very proper and correct and slightly clinical but the tour was very good. I faxed their office before leaving home and gave them my preferred days for the tour & the contact number for my hotel in Rome and of course the language - hassle free. It was about 16,000 lira per person and worth it. Free maps abound all over the place. Pop into McDonalds just to get one of their maps - they are excellent. One small church worth popping into to see is San Silvestro on Pz San Silvestro - a hidden treasure. Try the following web sites for additional information www.romeguide.it, www.scalareale.com, www.twenji.com, www.enjoyrome.com for information on the churches and religious services try www.paulist.org. So hope this helps everyone and many thanks for all the earlier help and advice - we had a wonderful wedding and a lovely holiday with our parents. |
