Maria

Great trip report Jade. It's fantastic that you are making the effort to recount all of this information. I will be in Rome in 5 days so I am particularly looking forward to the next part of your report. <BR>Thank you.

Pam

It is fun reading this report, but realize that you could have saved yourself alot of hassle and alot of money by booking ahead in an hotel you know is good and by taking a book of recommended restaurants and not get yourselves rooked into a place because it is crowded or is nearby.<BR>Also, there is only one Venice in the world so you know that it can and will be expensive for things that are not normally so.

Rob

Pam, Jade mentioned that she would have stayed in a recommended hotel if she had the choice. The same thing happened when my wife and I were there 1 year ago. We were desperate to see Venice and yet all the recommended accomodation was booked out. We also stayed in a pretty bad hotel but luckily still managed to have a nice time in Venice.<BR><BR>There is no excusing the prices in Venice, however. It is simply exorbitant, and the only reason that they get away with this highway robbery is because they know how much people want to see Venice.

Pam

Of course it is over priced, but you have to realize, for example that you are drinking chocolate on one of the famous squares in the world. So it isn't just that you are paying for the drink itself, but for the fact of where you are. So you just have to keep all of this in mind when you go there. And if you don't plan your hotels early enough you will get a stinker, and this goes for around the world travel.

Carol

Where are you Jade? Waiting for your continuation...<BR>Carol

xxx

Topping and waiting for continuation...

Jade

ROME<BR><BR>Hi guys, sorry for the lapse in time but I have been flat out in Sydney. Let’s see – Rome…<BR>Rome was a surprise to me. I was surprised at how dirty everything was. The streets were some of the most polluted that I have ever seen. After watching movies set in Rome all my life and being a trained history teacher, Rome was one of the places on my trip that I was most looking forward to seeing.<BR><BR>We stayed at the Hotel King on the Via Sistina. Advertised as three star (***) yeah right - I do not recommend it. It is another hotel that we ended up in out of desperation. Everywhere else that we had recommended to us was booked out. <BR><BR>We were due to stay there 3 nights. It was, in our opinion, a hotel that should have been demolished years ago. Really, it was the sort of hotel that suicidal people must surely have gone to, to end it.<BR><BR>We felt depressed the moment we set foot inside it. (Please remember that my hotel commentary applies only for those who travel expecting to spend a few hours every evening before dinner in their hotel room. I suppose that if you only use your hotel room to sleep in it may not matter as much) However, it was dirty, the tv was broken, (we like to be able to watch CNN on our trip to keep in touch with things/Stockmarket.) the air con was broken, the corridors to get to our room were endless. Basically, we like the hotel to have working amenities like they advertise and above all to be clean. We were really starting to feel surprised at the poor hotel standards in Italy. For three stars, we did not expect anything fancy, but this was the second 3 star hotel in Italy that was down-right grotty. <BR> <BR>The history of course, did not disappoint. Histories do not get much more interesting than Rome’s, and I had a few favourite tourist stops. Probably number one on my list (surprisingly to myself) was the Sistine Chapel. I was left in awe and possessing a greater appreciation of Michelangelo. A man who considered himself a sculptor, not a painter, and yet created this wondrous masterpiece (among many). <BR><BR>The crowds were every bit as annoying and overwhelming as many posts on this forum suggest. It took what seemed like forever to weave our way amongst the crowds through the Vatican Museum to the Sistine Chapel. It is cleverly arranged so that you cannot head straight to the Chapel through some easy to get to entrance. I imagine that for people with physical disabilities or the elderly, getting to the Chapel must seem a nightmare. <BR><BR>The crowds undoubtedly detract from the experience. Even though they are repeated ‘shushed’ by a ‘shusher’ (it’s such a comical job), they repeatedly get quite rowdy and loud. My partner and I waited patiently until we saw some empty space in the bench on the side of the inside of the Chapel, and we sat down to spend some good time gazing up at the artwork. This was a lot better than our initial attempts at craning our necks up to get a look. I even tried looking through a compact mirror for my pressed powder, but it was no good. <BR><BR>We did not hire an audio guide for the Sistine, but in retrospect we wish we had. After our pick-pocketing experience in Madrid you cannot blame us really! J<BR>I bought a book after being in Rome called ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy’ by Irving Stone, in Positano. It is the story of the life of Michelangelo, and let me just say that after having read only 150 pages, I wish I had read it before going to Rome! Enough said…moving on.<BR>

Jade

Rome cont’d…<BR><BR>Rome’s metro system (if you can call it that) left us flabbergasted. It was one of the worst we have ever used. After the amazing metro systems we used in Madrid, Bilbao or Paris, we could not believe what we were seeing in Rome. <BR><BR>It was dirty, the trains were absolutely covered in graffiti (windows included) and felt generally unsafe. Planing on going to the Vatican, we walked down to the Barberini train station (metro), and using our map, figured out that we needed to go to the Vatican station. Well, it turns out that the machines that are supposed to dispense tickets were not working, and there was only one woman working there, monitoring the people putting the tickets in the turnstiles. I tried to explain to her that the machines were not accepting anyone’s coins (we were 2 of about 50 people trying to work the faulty machines) and she finally, angrily agreed to help us. It gave me great satisfaction when even though she insisted the machines were fine, she could not get them to work either. <BR><BR>Anyway – this became the last time we were to use the Roman metro. We decided that with our limited amount of time in Rome, we would rather get taxis when necessary and that from the taxi we could see a lot of Rome as a bonus.<BR><BR>We did not have the energy for much else after our schlep to get to the Sistine Chapel. It was quite hot. After leaving the Sistine Chapel we made our way to the front right hand side of St Peters Basilica. We stood in an endless queue outside the front, stupidly thinking (and this bit is embarrassing) that it was a line to get into the Basilica (like in Venice or something). <BR><BR>Of course, it was actually the queue to go up to the dome. In reality it was about an hour that we waited, but it seemed like an eternity and I’m not known for my patience. So we saw that at the speed the queue was moving we had about another hour to wait to go up to the top, and we just didn’t have the energy left to wait for it. <BR><BR>We walked into the Basilica, and I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I was so exhausted and hot that I probably didn’t appreciate the art of the place as much as I should have. We spent a while looking at Michelangelo’s ‘Pieta’, but the crowd around it was almost as bad as the Mona Lisa, and I felt that it was harder to see it through the glass. Still, it was pretty amazing.<BR><BR>TBC…<BR>

Jade

We had dinner in a Japanese restaurant that night. We were quite tired of pasta and pizza at this point and were really craving a bit of sushi. I cannot remember the name of the place, but there are billboards advertising it all over the place. It was really quite good, but not cheap by any means. <BR><BR>We then walked from the Japanese restaurant (which was on the left hand side of the Spanish steps when walking down) to the Trevi Fountain. It was an experience if nothing else. It was ruined for me by some Indian/Pakistani men selling roses there. There must have been 10 of them. They were really very aggressive in trying to palm off their roses onto people, us included. I must have had to yell at them to leave us alone 10 times that night! It really doesn’t make for a nice experience.<BR><BR> It was after all a beautiful fountain, and these men really ruined it for everyone. I am surprised that policemen can’t tone down the level of aggression of these 'Rose men'. I guess they don’t care because they figure that tourists deserve it or something. I saw one tourist get pick-pocketed here. Before I could do anything however, the offender disappeared into the crush of people. It left me feeling terrible, having witnessed that.<BR><BR>The next day, we actually stopped by the Hotel Eden. For those of you who don’t know it, it is a very nice 5 star hotel. My boyfriend had stayed here with his parents some years back, and he wanted me to see what it looked like. He also wanted to enquire as to what the most basic room would cost us to stay in for one night. Jordan was even more depressed at our hotel than I was, after having stayed in such a beautiful hotel last time he was there. <BR><BR>We were told that the most basic room for one night would cost us 500 euros. Jordan asked the concierge to book us in for the following night. Our last in Rome. I kept telling Jordan that this wouldn’t be necessary. That we would only have to spend one more night in the Hotel King and it wouldn’t kill us. But Jordan insisted that he wanted to spoil us for one night. After all, we had stayed in an absolute dump in Venice, and our room in Rome hadn’t improved matters any. So after twisting my arm I agreed. <BR>

Jade

ROME cont'd...<BR><BR>It was fantastic! The room was beautifully appointed and we felt like a million bucks. I had my first decent wash since our hotel in Bilbao, in a beautiful big bath with Hermes products none the less! The rich really do live in a different world! <BR><BR>We were going downstairs in the lift to get the concierge to book us into a restaurant that he recommended. On the way down, the lift stopped to let someone in. It was Calvin Klein. <BR><BR>Dressed in a black turtleneck and a pair of blue jeans with black shoes, he looked quite good, if not a bit wizened. He seemed very keen on not being recognised. An hour later, we went up to the restaurant in the Eden to see what the menu was like. It had one Michellin star after all and I love my food! <BR>Well, the prices were ridiculous. Something like 50 euros for a truffle risotto. Again, Calvin Klein walked past us with a friend and we heard him say, ‘Let’s book here tonight, the food is so good here, and cheap!’ We thought that was very funny. Cheap.<BR><BR>TBC...

Jade

Anyway, the front desk booked us into a restaurant that they recommended. It was called ‘Al Cipro’. I cannot remember the address but I am sure that most concierges could help you with this. We got dressed up for this. It was amazing food! It was quite expensive, but one of our best meals of the trip. The clientele was quite mature and it was definitely a posh environment. We should have realised that the Hotel Eden was not going to recommend somewhere that wasn’t. It was more money than we had wanted to spend on dinner, (the bill came to approx. 200 Euros with one of the cheapest bottles of red on the wine list). Jordan had a scampi and truffle pasta to start and a delicious beef main. It really was delicious! <BR>I will have to stop here. Will write more soon.<BR>Regards,Jade.

Heather

Jade, I've really enjoyed reading your posts about Venice and Rome. I will be there in late November. Everyone always raves about how wonderful Venice is and I'm glad to hear another side of it. It still sounds wonderful and I know that you enjoyed it, but it's good to hear the downside which you almost never do. I've booked a room for 130 euros/night and now I'm worried that it might not be acceptable. It's the Al Gambero, and it was recommended on this site. (I'm staying at the Albergo del Senato in Rome, so that should be good.) Now I'm thinking I need to spend more money for a hotel in Venice. And I had no idea it was so hard and expensive to get around. And the gondola rides -- again, no idea you could get ripped off so easily. Would you ever return to either Venice or Rome?

Coreen

Jade, I love reading your overview, it is like reading a good book, I can't stop. I guess I like the honesty and realism of your critique. I especially like the humorous comments made by Calvin Klein (ie: &quot;cheap&quot.

Dori

Wow, Jade. I recently used Disneyland and Venice in the same sentence and people JUMPED all over me like I was an ignorant two headed freak for not thinking Venice was the greatest place on earth. I'm glad to see people are being much more respectful to you for your opinion.

Pam

Jade, Jade, jade, you will have to wisen up if you are going to travel the globe. If you don't like an hotel, leave right away, don't suffer it out, why should you? If you don't like crowds and lines, go off season. If you don't want hot weather, go on a shoulder season when it is cooler. It seems all of your problems are created by yourself. <BR>

susy

Fantastic trip report Jade. It's nice to hear someone write honestly about their experiences. You don't try and make out that every city is just perfect and you point out both the good and the bad. I look forward to the rest.<BR>Susy

Hah

If you book a hotel in Rome called &quot;King&quot; you get what you deserve, no matter how many stars. Why didn't you take the advice of Fodorites, there are so many nice places to stay. But then you wouldnt have an hotel to gripe about, and have people rave about your honest writing.

can't you read?

Hah: if you had read her report you would know she tried to reserve rooms at recommended hotels but they were booked out. Thanks Jade I loved reading your balanced report.

Hah Hah

Then it is poor planning on her part that is to be blamed. How can every hotel that is good or even decent be booked? She must have waited until the last minute or wanted some place really cheap, or lacks the skills to find a place by phone, fax, internet.<BR>I don't buy into her &quot;poor me&quot; thread. <BR><BR>Your trip is what you make it, Jade.

Jade

Hi guys, I’m back after a long/hard week at work.<BR><BR>Geez, after reading a few of the last posts I see that a certain someone had her knickers in a knot over my report. I don’t understand why people have reactions like this. <BR><BR>I have never felt an impulse to get stuck into someone on this forum when I read things that I don’t agree with. If what some people want to read is that everything went hunky-dory and how sophisticated I was in arranging the whole trip, then they’re missing the whole point of reading about the results of going about the trip the way that we did. <BR><BR>I believe I already mentioned that our recommended hotels were already booked out, and that we arranged our trip with not that much time to spare. I suggest certain people on this forum lighten up. <BR><BR>And anyhow, for those that are interested I will continue…<BR>Rome cont’d.<BR><BR>We visited the Pantheon one day. I was not particularly blown away by it. I don’t know if I missed the whole point, but I was not particularly intrigued by it. <BR><BR>We saw the colosseum on the same day. This I was more interested in. I was also particularly surprised that admission was free. It was a pleasant change for once in Rome. We personally felt that it might have been more interesting if we had seen it with a tour guide. It wasn’t until I got home and looked some info up on the net that I realised exactly where the gladiators fought. When you are looking at it and standing over it, all you see is a maze. It was covered with a platform on which they fought. <BR><BR>Piazza Navona was quite nice. We sat in a rather touristy restaurant caf&eacute; and ordered a big salad and some gnocchi, I found a hair in mine, but I’m still alive to tell the tale. It was a great spot to watch people from, so it was worth it.<BR><BR>We walked, and walked and walked around Rome. The Via del Corso was rather disappointing for me. It was such a dirty street, and I felt the shops were really sub-standard. I had heard that this street had great shopping. This was not my experience. During all of our walking we noted the severe pollution problem in Rome. There were few places in Europe where we noted this as evidently as in Rome. <BR><BR>The Via Condotti of course had some wonderful shops, none of which I could afford to buy anything from however, so this made it a bit less interesting to walk down. <BR>