When one travels by plane during a European winter, one must be prepared for delays … on pretty much every single flight. Amsterdam to Rome was to be no different and after an early start (out of the hostel at 7am), we finally got underway just after 12pm. How do you kill time at the airport with two tired kids who would rather be in bed? Tickles of course – always guaranteed to get a smile.
Arriving at Rome Airport (Fiumicino) we caught the train in to Rome which other than a long walk from the terminal to the train was very easy. Melbourne are you getting the hint yet?
We walked from the central station which took about 20 minutes (probably 15 without a few unscheduled detours – one never gets lost while travelling). We would later realise that there was a Metro station within a 1 minute walk of our apartment but the Metro was still a mystery to us, and besides the walk did us good after sitting around Amsterdam airport, the plane and the train.
Our apartment, Wake @ Rome, was one of Megan’s special finds as she pulled together the trip. Our host Simone (Simon) had graciously waited for us (yet another weather related flying delay). He was most helpful and had stocked the apartment with all of the basic necessities. This was going to be a great place to stay.
Keen to get out and explore and also needing to recce the meeting point for our Pompeii trip the next day we headed out to tackle the Metro. Let it be said now – I have been pretty critical of Melbourne’s Myki ticketing system in the past. Having now tackled the Rome Metro I can assure all Melbournians that Myki is brilliant.
Don’t get me wrong. The Metro is easy to use, the stations are distributed well, signage is great and the trains come at frequent intervals … if only you can manage to buy a ticket. We managed to work out what tickets we should have for our stay and even worked out how to pick the best value for money combo, but trying with several machines they just did not want to take our money. Notes – no good; Credit card – no good! No problems, we’ll ask the staff member hiding in the glass booth. We walk over to initially be ignored only to see a sign on the ticketing booth window saying “No Ticket Sales”.
Undaunted, we purchased 100-minute tickets which got us on the train from Vittorio Emanuele to Flaminio. This was the calm before the storm. An easy stroll over to the Piazza Del Popolo, notable for having the original gate to Rome and an Egyptian Obelisk that had been is Rome since before the birth of Christ. The crowds weren’t too bad and we actually got a chance to check out the sites including magnificent statues.
It is important to note here that Megan has spent literally hundreds of hours researching, planning and discussing this trip with the kids an I, and yet at no point did any of us figure out that in Rome, the home of Catholicism, one might like to factor Catholic celebrations into the planning. You know something like checking to see if we would be arriving right on time to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception with all of Rome!
Before we knew it the crowd began to grow. At first slowly and then in earnest, people began arriving from all quarters. The (slightly blurry) photo at the top of the post was taken hastily as we began to be jostled – stark contrast to the few people in the picture immediately above.
Thinking that this was just a regular Friday crowd and deciding that we should make an exit to check out the Spanish steps, we found ourselves amongst 10000 of our new best friends. Working our way through the ever-growing crowd it should be said that not once did we feel threatened or in danger. Arriving at the Spanish Steps, it became pretty clear that something was going on and this was confirmed with the arrival of various law enforcement groups (we counted at least 4 different services) who began to clear the steps.
We still didn’t know why it was so busy, but regardless it was time to make a strategic withdrawal. Re-entering the Metro was another world. The tunnels were seething with people and yet everyone moved patiently and calmly. Bravo to Megan who assisted a lady up the stairs with a pram while I kept an eye on Amelia and Hamish who were a little skittish in the crowd. We got to the entry gates only to find that our tickets did not work – turns out that our 100-minute tickets were only for a single trip – rookie error. Back to the ticketing machines (we’d learned our lesson about getting human assistance) we tried again to use notes or the credit card to buy a longer-term ticket to cover our stay. No good, they still didn’t work so it was single trip tickets for us again.
Escaping the clutches of central Rome the crowd on the train was full but not manic (see a future post to find out about catching the Metro during weekday peak hour!).
We found a small restaurant for some dinner – not great fare (but ok), and not really following the rules outlined by Hamish and Amelia in an upcoming post, but it was fuel for our tired bodies.
We finished our night with a walk to the local supermarket for some breakfast supplies. Even though the guy operating the checkout was a grumpy bugger it was fun to wander around the shop taking in all the fresh food and products unknown and familiar. Even their window displays were great, although the photos below do not do them justice.
