Finding a holiday that suits all members of your family is not easy, especially when you have teenager in tow who loves white knuckle rides. You would think that perhaps Rome is not the best holiday for them.
I have been to Rome before but this was as newly weds who love historical buildings and great art.
The morning got off to a bad start, with the boarding passes failing to land in my inbox. I held my breath in the hope that we were all getting on the plane. I couldn’t believe I was forced to pay a further £165.00 on top of the amount I paid already.
I paid the money reluctantly, and we managed to get on our flight. The hotel was miles outside of Rome, a place called Trionfale. You’ve probably never heard of it (neither had I) it was in a run-down part of town with airb&b style. The rooms were clean, but the breakfast was lousy.
I digress, let’s get back to beautiful Rome. We went to the Metro Republica and walked towards the Colloseum. There seemed to lots of roadwork and building repairs taking place. Brightly covered hoardings or artistic screens to hide the serious work necessary. None of that takes away from the beauty of the city. The ancient and the modern side by side with no conflict.
The first thing my 13 year old wanted was gelato mango and strawberry, just as delicious as promised. Revived by the hid of sugar and deliciousness, we were ready to move on. The journey to the Colloseum was littered with street artists, illegal sellers, and tour bus touts.
There was a tourist office, and the sensible thing to do would be to get a map of the Metro. Remember we chose Last Minute.Com and every day felt like last-minute decisions. Anyway, our first day in beautiful sunshine was the beginning of a relaxing, refreshing, and rejuvenating holiday.
On our return journey, we stopped at a supermarket, and it was easy to see the difference between Italian supermarkets and the UK. A very small crisps and sweets section was an obvious difference and a limited range of fizzy drinks. Peaches and lemons in most desserts and favoured iced tea (yes, you guessed it peach).
Day 2 Serious Sightseeing
Before the day started I warned my family don’t make eye contact with the street sellers they are keen to make you part with your hard earned euros. That advice was ignored, and before we knew itvwe were adorned with cheap bracelets and a hard luck story. I gave him 5 euros (was it too much? Yes! but we wore them boldly to tell the rest to stay away.
The Big Bus Company was recommended by Trip Advisor, so we went in search of them. The Green line had a persistent tout who held up our time, almost pleading. He wanted cash we didn’t have any, or for the second time, my advice was ignored. The Tour Bus was expensive, but it helped my teenager to fall asleep and stop complaining for two minutes. We toured the whole city and saw a few places we would visit later.
The Mouth of the Republic was our first stop, an impressive white building with steps leading to the sky. Once inside the gate, there was no turning back, only the dizzying climb to the top. More and more of the city was revealed at each level. It was worth the climb.
Next, the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. This was a little disappointing as you couldn’t see the steps as they were covered with tourists and an underwhelming fountain. The teenager with a face saying is that it? only brightened up when she saw the sweet shop with row upon row of coloured confectionery.
Day 3 Last full day in Rome
The plan was to visit the Vatican for the whole day. From the moment we stepped off the train, we knew this wasn’t an ordinary day. Heaving crowds leaving the snaking queues at the ticket office and flags and umbrellas to guide the many tourists. Outside the station,’tour guides’ stopped tourists to ‘offer advice’.
We were taken in again ‘tour guide’. ‘I’ll show you way,’ she said. Then she started walking in the opposite direction to the crowd. She brought us to a small shop – ‘she’ll get you tickets,’ she reassured us. But surprise, surprise, only extremely expensive guided tours available. The Vatican package had to be abandoned – never try to go on a Wednesday if you haven’t pre booked. We went to the Vatican at 4pm, and the queues were still ridiculously long.
We went to the Pantheon instead. It was crowded in that square, but we didn’t have to wait long, and the temperature was just right. Inside was impressive, beautifully preserved.
The tour bus doesn’t really give you a feel of the real Rome, so the choice of using the Metro and walking gave a real sense of freedom: walking down the narrow streets, the brightly coloured buildings and the neat shop fronts and the stylish Italians in the bright sunshine gave everything a holiday feel.
Final stop St. Angelo’s Castle managed to take some beautiful photographs.
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