thirtyseventhousand
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Where is La Dolce Vita?
Up early, we dragged our suitcases once again through the cobblestoned streets of Florence. We are looking forward to something new.
We hopped the 10:53 Eurostar - clean and fast - to Roma Termini. We emerged into the zoo known as Roma Termini station just a mere 90 minutes later, on guard for taxi hucksters, bands of gypsy children, and pickpockets. We encountered none of the above. We caught a taxi and marvelled at the drivers death-defying navigation through the streets of Rome, quickly learning that Rome traffic lives up to its reputation, and then some. 20 minutes and 30 Euros later, we were deposited at the edge of the Campo de Fiori, which was a short walk from our apartment located on Via del Pellegrino.
Finding the address at last, I called the owner of the apartment, Adele, on her cell phone. Thanks to me speaking just enough Italian and her speaking just enough English, she guided us up the stairs to what would be our home for the next four nights. Did I mention it was up 4 flights of very steep stairs - 57 steps to be exact? This steep climb was made extra fun by our souvenir-laden suitcases.
Michael followed Adele to a Bancomat so we could pay her the balance on the apartment and stopped for some basic groceries while I took a much-needed shower. Thankfully, M made it back in one piece and brought with him a delicious assortment of meats, cheeses, bread, fruit, and water. Whie M showered, I set about making some grilled paninis and we soon enjoyed our first meal in Rome.
Since the sun was shining and we had some daylight to spare, we decided to hop on a city bus to the Colosseum. After walking around for what seemed like an eternity we sat down at a bar for a couple of overpriced beers, feet completely shot. Since it was a Sunday, the busses didn't run as frequently and so we decided to walk home from the Colosseum - a walk which would be doable on fresh legs and nerves, but a complete disaster in our current physical and emotional states.
As we wound back through a dirty, overcrowded, loud, and rude-person laden section of Rome, I began to wonder what we had gotten ourselves into. I was hating every step and the filthy air and pushy people were doing nothing to help my disposition.
Where was La Dolce Vita? Were we going to be stuck in hell for four days ... ?
Next: Pantheon, cats, more cats, bus tour, and getting scammed at Trevi Fountain ΒΆ 5:56 AM 1 comments
We hopped the 10:53 Eurostar - clean and fast - to Roma Termini. We emerged into the zoo known as Roma Termini station just a mere 90 minutes later, on guard for taxi hucksters, bands of gypsy children, and pickpockets. We encountered none of the above. We caught a taxi and marvelled at the drivers death-defying navigation through the streets of Rome, quickly learning that Rome traffic lives up to its reputation, and then some. 20 minutes and 30 Euros later, we were deposited at the edge of the Campo de Fiori, which was a short walk from our apartment located on Via del Pellegrino.
Finding the address at last, I called the owner of the apartment, Adele, on her cell phone. Thanks to me speaking just enough Italian and her speaking just enough English, she guided us up the stairs to what would be our home for the next four nights. Did I mention it was up 4 flights of very steep stairs - 57 steps to be exact? This steep climb was made extra fun by our souvenir-laden suitcases.
Michael followed Adele to a Bancomat so we could pay her the balance on the apartment and stopped for some basic groceries while I took a much-needed shower. Thankfully, M made it back in one piece and brought with him a delicious assortment of meats, cheeses, bread, fruit, and water. Whie M showered, I set about making some grilled paninis and we soon enjoyed our first meal in Rome.
Since the sun was shining and we had some daylight to spare, we decided to hop on a city bus to the Colosseum. After walking around for what seemed like an eternity we sat down at a bar for a couple of overpriced beers, feet completely shot. Since it was a Sunday, the busses didn't run as frequently and so we decided to walk home from the Colosseum - a walk which would be doable on fresh legs and nerves, but a complete disaster in our current physical and emotional states.
As we wound back through a dirty, overcrowded, loud, and rude-person laden section of Rome, I began to wonder what we had gotten ourselves into. I was hating every step and the filthy air and pushy people were doing nothing to help my disposition.
Where was La Dolce Vita? Were we going to be stuck in hell for four days ... ?
Next: Pantheon, cats, more cats, bus tour, and getting scammed at Trevi Fountain ΒΆ 5:56 AM 1 comments
