Rome Day 1
Well the 14 hour overnight train trip was pretty much as expected – runs on schedule, not much decent to eat, beds ok but a lot of noise. What was not expected though was the AC in our sleeper being on the fritz and only blowing hot air all night – most unpleasant. The supplied breakfast was pretty good and arrived on time at 0900 and then we had a 30 minute walk to our VRBO apartment on top of Hotel Medici. Niccolo met us on schedule but was had to fill in 90 minutes while the cleaning was done. A quick coffee at a recommended cafe and then onto the Spanish steps which were a brisk 20 minute walk away. Then settled in to our very comfortable apartment with some grocery supplies . Two things have stood out with the Italian people to date – they are much less friendly in the shops than our previous stops and as opposed to Prague it is the men who stand out here in their tailored suits. There has been a fair amount of work with the ugly stick on the ladies I am sorry to say which may explain why the happy gene appears to be missing. Hopefully this impression will prove wrong in coming days. What will not change though are the crazy drivers and even crazier parking – I have never seen anything like it. Plenty of small cars and scooters.
After lunch we headed to the the Trevi Fountain and The Pantheon – both very crowded but both very impressive. Then we had the almost impossible task of finding some washing powder – cheeses and meats were easy, household essentials not so. So now while the third wash is on must be time for some wine and cheese methinks on our private balcony. Rome ain’t so crowded from 4 floors up
flashman181 