Roma , does it meet your expectations

  Rome, Italy
Friday, July 11, 2008

We arrived in Rome after a relatively easy train journey. When we got off the train we decided to walk to the hotel as it was on the same street as the station. Big mistake. The street was HUGE, we were number 413. Our first impressions were not very good as the area was very grotty, smelly and dirty. I dont want to offend anyone, but I have to be honest and this was really a taste of things to come.Maybe we were unlucky enough to only see the run down parts of the city. Maybe we were unlucky enough to only meet the unfriendly Romans. Maybe there is some other part of the city away from the wonderful historical monuments that is not the way we judged it to be. If so, then I apologise unreservedly. However, our impressions were such that having seen the three things we wanted to in 24 hours, i.e. the colosseum, the vatican city et al. and the Trevi Fountain, we just could not wait to get out of the place.

Our hotel room was okay, it was in a block of unfinished rooms and lobby, it was being serviced by the reception of the next door hotel. Not a problem in itself. The room was clean and well looked after. It was, however very noisy due to the screeching of constant trams. The girl on reception and the lady who did breakfast were very nice. However, there was the Italian equivalent of Basil Fawlty at reception on the first day we went to breakfast. You had to be buzzed in to the breakfast room and he obviously wanted the door left open but he did not say good morning, rather shouted NO NO NO NO, OPEN  OPEN to us. Not quite the welcome we had expected. When we handed our keys in 2 days early, he never batted an eyelid. Probably still waiting for us to come down to breakfast! Do not get me wrong we were blown away by the things we saw and we have great photos.

On the first night we arrived we walked to the colosseum but (murphys law) it was shut! We walked around the outside and fought off the gladiators. You know its hellish when you are in a foreign country and you get an attack of the gladiators.

The Colosseum

The next day after a really bad sleep, because of the tram stop in our room, we decided to go for it. Maybe subconsciously we knew we would not be here long. Anyway we went to the Vatican on the metro which was nice and quick and found ourselves queuing to get into St Peters Square.

A view of the grandeur of St Peters

It was not bad queueing at this point and we were blown away with what we saw inside.

We soon realised that to see the Sistine Chapel we would need to queue again to get into the museums. Again, not as bad as we thought, about 30 minutes to get in. Wow!! it was amazing. The only place we couldnt take photos was the Sistine Chapel so we have some great shots. This is only a tiny sample.

Gallery of maps, leading to Sistine Chapel

The Trevi Fountain

On the way back from the Vatican, we stopped off at the Trevi Fountain. We had been warned that it was not that impressive but I have to disagree.Again, the only problem was the street hawkers thrusting various bits of tat at you. You get a bit tired of saying no all the time. Likewise when you are eating.

That evening, we ate al fresco just around from the hotel and we were bothered four times with people selling rubbish.

It was when we went for a walk and I called my husband that I had the brainwave. Why should we stick to a plan that is not living up to expectations. We should change it! We deserve a wee break after all of this walking and sight seeing so, I googled a hotel on Lake Garda (Posh eh?). I paid for it and we hopped on a train and are spending 3 days here. Not much else to tell about Rome. Will fill you in on Lake Garda next time.