Aperol – Lady Lavish

Wonderful Rome

I had a wonderful time in Rome. After the boys finished the cycle, we had Saturday night, and full days on Sunday and Monday, so we made the most of them.

We walked our feet off, traversing the city and constantly being amazed by yet more brilliantly big old stuff. There were lots of churches, and sitting in on mass on Sunday morning was very special.

There was lots of pasta. The best Spaghetti Carbonara I’ve ever had, washed down with lovely rose wine.

There was no shortage of Aperol Spritz, all served in jars.

And it was wonderful to see The Vatican. The queues were so long that we didn’t go in, but even from the outside it is very special.

I adored Rome and would go back tomorrow. It has the best food, the best drink and it is so accessible. Everything is in walking distance, and there are some lovely neighbourhoods away from the main tourist areas. We didn’t have a bad meal or an unpleasant experience the whole trip – perfection!

And of course, there was plenty of gelato.

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9th October 2016

Travel

Ciao Roma

The great thing about living near an airport is that you can be from home to through security and eating your breakfast in 45 minutes flat.

After a 2 and a half hour flight, I landed at Rome’s Fiumicino airport around lunchtime, and with just hand luggage I waltzed through and out the other side to the train station. It was easy to buy a ticket and to find the ‘Leonardo Express’ train into the city’s Termini station. The boys were not due to finish the Epic Cycle until about 5pm, so I knew I had plenty of time to find my hotel and get some food, before making my way to The Coliseum.

Phone in hand, I started following the Google Map directions. Which was fine, though after a while it felt like I had gone round in a bit of circle. At which point I realised I was following the driving directions not the walking ones, so I’d obviously gone right round a one-way system! Just as my bag was starting to feel a bit heavy and my feet beginning to ache, I stumbled across a very nice looking small restaurant. I managed to order a lovely spaghetti pomodoro and 2 glasses of white wine, which fortified me enough to finish the remaining 10-minute journey to the hotel.

I was quietly proud of myself for getting to Rome, getting the train, finding a restaurant and walking to the hotel. The idea of travelling alone doesn’t scare me, but it’s not something I’ve done much of. I felt like a proper adult, and even managed to work out how to use the room safe – one of the hotel room features that frequently foxes me 🙂

So, buoyed by my travelling success I headed off across Rome in a cab to meet @madgie. I had an wonderful jar (yes, jar) of Aperol Spritz while looking at the The Coliseum and a cup of coffee at a nearby café. I really enjoyed my day of solo travelling, but I was glad to see @madgie when he finally came in.

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7th October 2016