A Day in Rome

Sunday 24th January.
We went to Rome
We had a quick blast on the bikes in the morning around the old port of Fiumicino where there was a curious mix of boatyards full of very smart yachts, and abject poverty in the surrounding houses.
We arranged with the hotel to lock our bikes and luggage into a downstairs loo and caught their ‘shuttle bus’ into the centre of Rome. It drops one right outside the coliseum; you can’t get much more central than that. We had booked into a B&B which is a converted ‘Torre’ and overlooked ‘the Typewriter’ and is a short walk to the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and just about everywhere you would want to be. We dropped our bags at the house and set off for a ‘tourists’ wander. I hadn’t been to Rome since Tor’s birthday celebrations, and Vivi not since Granny’s 80th when she and Harry, Granny and Pat had done the Coliseum, the Forum and an open top bus tour so Vivi was full on in tour guide mode.
Our B&B was sensational – the Residenza Torre Colonna which was converted from 6 flats in a medieval tower into an amazing house, and now by the same owners into a very top quality B&B. We couldn’t do justice to all on offer for breakfast. The olive oil, meats and jams were all from the family’s country estates. We were tempted by the Jacuzzi which was piping hot, on the roof and overlooked the whole of Rome but to our eternal shame we funked it – no trunks you see!) If you thinking of coming to Rome you must stay here, it is very special.
We had a lovely dinner in the Jewish quarter and ate amongst other things, deep fried artichoke (a Rome speciality) which was sensational too. (for my own notes so I remember how to do this at home) Drop the globe artichoke in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain very well and then pop in to a deep fat fryer for 5 minutes the right way up. The leaves were almost like eating scrunchy crisps and the stalk and heart were positively gooey. We had 25 years of catching up with our old friend Sarah so talked a LOT. IT was very exciting to have someone else to listen! We came back to the Torre the long way via the Trevi fountain which was looking stunning in the night sky and there were very few tourists. We met a couple of very friendly policemen who actually got out of their car to shake our hands when they heard about our biking exploits. Like everyone else here told us not to get the bikes nicked in Naples. Apparently they will vanish in seconds.
We were full of plans for Monday morning as we had some churches to visit and places to see, but –you’ve guessed it, a lot of the churches are closed on Mondays which was a shame. Rosie had recommended we visit St Ivo alla Sapienza and we love the French church with the Caravaggio painting in it and they were both locked. We did manage to wander around the Forum, the Pantheon and the church of Santa Maria Sopre Minerva which had some beautiful ceiling paintings. By the time we had circumnavigated the Coliseum it was pouring so we retired to a cafe and ate Pizza. It is such a wonderful city as around every corner is yet another piece of history and most places are within walking distance. What one really needs is a Guide to the whole of Rome so that you can walk in any direction you chose and the Guide would keep up a constant commentary. (Rose and Antonia take note) We still haven’t scratched the surface of the city.
We came back to earth with a bump when we caught the Fiumicino Airport express train full of stressed people in a rush to catch their planes, and then on to the hotel by shuttle bus. We found crossing the roads a scary experience as they only seem to give you about 20 seconds even if there are 4 lanes of traffic. We wondered how elderly people manage and then noticed that we hadn’t really seen any old people so perhaps they don’t!