May 25, 2018
Arrivederci Napoli, Ciao Roma
This is a typical parking job. One can only wonder how they manage to get out.
So we were off walking with our luggage to the train station, about 4 long blocks. Because the sidewalk/road were cobble stone for the most part, it was a bit of a job to pull my heavy suitcase ( I was slow because of my tumble ) but I was managing although about halfway I slowed down. Then this fellow came by and offered to help and wanted to pull my bag. Of course we said no but he continued to walk next to us and then just took the suitcase away from me as he could see that I was struggling. Once we got into the terminal we said thank you and that we were good on our own. It was then that he asked for a tip, not for him of course but for his kids 🙂
Busy train station.
Complete with security patrolling by Segway.
Our train to Rome. Miss Hop a Long, thats me 🙂
By the time the car was full there was no open space for luggage. We were fortunate to board early and place our bags in the luggage rack which we just happened to be sitting next to. There was no way that we would be able to lift our bags into the overhead bins. You guessed it, they are heavy.
Colin got this neat shot of these trains as we left the station.
As we started off there was lots to see.
But once we reached speeds of 300km/h everything was a blur.
We got to Rome on time, found a tobacco shop in the airport and bought a weekly transit pass for each of us. Next we figured out how to get down a few levels below the train station to the Metro. We figured out which line and which direction and we were good to go. The only hiccup was once we arrived at our station near the airbnb we discovered that there were no escalators nor lifts so Colin had to carry each bag up one at a time on each set of stairs we encountered. We did it in stages so that one of us was with the bags. We had no problem getting to our place and our host and his son in law were both waiting for us.
Fernando had his son in law along as he thought his English was not good enough. Turns out that it was just fine and there were no communication problems. It is a lovely place to stay, the best we have seen, large, bright and extremely clean. Truly the perfect huge apartment in the perfect location.
We unpacked and settled in. Then we headed out to buy a few essentials like water, wine and fruit. We had a free walking tour of historic Rome planned for 5PM so headed back in on the Metro. We were perfectly located as we only had a few short blocks to walk to the subway and we were only 7 – 10 stops away from the major sites.
First stop, the Spanish Steps.
A busy tourist area.
Teaming with energy and likely pickpockets. The entire trip we have been very careful, always with our bag in front of us as well as a hand over the top of the opening which of course is zipped shut.
We waited a long while for our tour guide who was about 20 minutes late. I am in this photo somewhere….
Finally he arrived as did heavy grey sky. We started the tour along with off and on showers. As we walked and listened we started to get wet. He said not to leave as it would pass as it always did. Looking back now we should have left despite it being rude but we stayed. Sadly the two hour tour dragged on to three hours and every five minutes we thought it was the end. By the time it was over I was damp and exhausted and my Naples cold had reappeared. We skipped dinner and went straight back, well, once we figured out where the metro was. I went to bed around 9:15PM and slept until the next morning. Colin meanwhile went out and got some dinner for himself.
Monday morning brought continued rain. I lay around under blankets trying to get rid of my chill. I napped, read a bit, planned touristy things to do and did a blog post. Finally in the afternoon Colin went out for 4 -5 hours despite the weather just to do something. I was not ready to go out as we had a major event planned for Tuesday so I had to stay and rest. As the day went on I felt a bit better. Colin brought us some dinner from a local restaurant.
So no photos from a rainy Monday but we were very cozy here in our rental other then me being so chilled.
Fortunately I was in good enough shape to tackle our major undertaking on Tuesday. Stay tuned for that post, first we have to go through several hundred, maybe a thousand photos.
Ciaco!
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I watched a lot of cars park and unpark themselves like that I was in Spain. Kissing bumpers gently is perfectly acceptable!
I’ve had the help with heavy luggage for a tip thing happen to me in a few cities and I think it’s a fair deal, although, of course, I’m sometimes leery about letting go of my bags!
You’re doing so well with the public transport!
Really enjoying your photos!
Feeling poopy while on holidays is such a bummer. It’s nice you’re in a relationship where the one feeling fine does not feel pressured into staying with the one feeling off. Hope you’ll be better soon. Enjoy Rome despite the rain. Great pictures, North America should learn a thing or two about train travel…
Nice rest up while you can then enjoy some more
I’m loving my European vacation! Thanks for taking the time to post. I’m with you on the sulk after your fall…I felt just the same when I fell in Maz this winter. Rest when you have to and you’ll feel better the next day. Good for Colin that he ventures out on his own that way you don’t feel bad about staying in. I wish you sunny days.
So glad you’re enjoying your trip…I’m enjoying it too! We decided to stay longer in mexico. We’ll be in Copala till July 17th.
Having a great time…glad you are too.
Love the pix…sorry about your fall…cobble stones are the worst.
Wasn’t it amazing how many cars had scrapes in Italy? I don’t recall seeing a single one that didn’t. It must be difficult for them to drive when they come over here. I hope everything went smoother after that – no more falls!
I’m getting a little worried, I know you are on holidays and you shouldn’t have to blog every day but we haven’t heard anything since the 25th… Just a “hello” to let us know you are fine.
Worry Wort Catheline
Ditto, Catherine.
Catheline – sorry to have mis-read your name…..or could it have been auto-correct?