September 27 - Rome

We finally made it to Rome, after travelling more than 6500km and 14hrs. Our trip started with a puddle hopper flight from London to Montreal via Ottawa.  This was followed by a mad dash thru Trudeau airport from one end to the other to catch the flight to Rome.  The transatlantic flight took over 7 hours and that was a long boring ordeal.

We caught the hotel shuttle and took it into the heart of the city.  Traffic can only be described as nuts.  It seems that you don’t follow rules but instead just aim for open spaces in the traffic.  Our driver has been a taxi driver in Rome for the past 40 years.  Talk about a stressful job.  We followed the airport highway until we went under the old city walls.  These walls have defined the formal city of Rome for the past 2000 years.  Once we were inside the walls we continued on a beautiful tree lined boulevard to the hotel.  It still thrills me to be able to walk on the same ground as Julius Caesar did twenty centuries ago.

We were supposed to be staying at the Hotel Milton Roma, but they were having problems with their plumbing so we were sent to another hotel.  Talk about déjà vu, we had similar problems with our cruise ship when we went to Alaska this past summer.  We are staying at the Hotel Best Roma.  It is a beautiful hotel with a comfortable one bedroom suite.  The shower is a Jacuzzi with more than 20 jets and an electronic control panel.

After a short sleep, we went out for lunch.  We went to a sidewalk cafe call Le Caveau, where we had thin crust pizza and wonderful bottle of Chianti wine from Castel Greve.  After the meal our waitress, who was formally a fashion model from Romania, gave Marg some Lemoncello and a glass of Grappa for myself.  Marg wants to thank Heather for recommending this after meal liqueur.

Marg at the Pizza Vitorro

We then took a long walk along a main shopping concourse where we then stumbled upon the Basilicadi Santa Maria Maggiore.  This was the Palace of the Popes before the Vatican was established.  The main chapel is beautiful with many frescoes.  They were having a service when we entered, so we couldn’t take any pictures.  The grave of Bernini, who was responsible for all lot of art and statues in Rome is in the nave.

In legend it is told that the Basilica was build after a vision of Mary foretold of snow in Rome during August.  In the legend it did snow in August and the church was built in her honour,

The ceiling was made from gold that was pillaged from the Incas by the Spanish conquistadors in the 15th century,

Santa Maria Maggiore

Santa Maria Maggiore

On the way back to the hotel we walked through a peaceful park, Victor Emmanual II Park, with many people out enjoying themselves on the warm day.

Victor Emmanual II Park

Victor Emmanual II Park

Gas stations in the inner cities of Rome are nothing more than gas pumps along the curb of the street, kind of like a city bus stop.  You just pull up to the curb, pay with your credit card and pump the gas.  When finished you pull back into the traffic.  I guess there just isn`t enough property available to build a station.