Now Italy is massive, so when we decided to plan an Italy vacation - it had to include a week's time off. There were the usual suspects - Rome, of course; Venice, Firenze, Tuscany, Milan. So the first stage was short listing the places that could be covered. Easy(Jet) was the answer. We checked with the flight prices - and the cheapest ones helped us make the decision! So we decided to fly into Rome and fly out of Venice and back to Basel. Now that is an easy way - let Easy jet help you in this. Ok so we decided to cover Rome - Pompeii to Vatican to Firenze and Firenze- Venice via car and leave the rest to God (or Pope in this case). Little did we know about the plans that were being cooked by the conclave in Vatican. And we were travelling from the 16th till 21st of Dec. - so we were on the road for literally a week... and boy, were we excited!
Managing leave was easy – Basel was on vacation from the 18th Dec till 31st Dec. anyways – so one had to manage just the 2 days – Thursday & Friday. It was managed...somehow. Especially during Christmas time, it is easy to curry favors from the team – a leave here and a day off there – and it is easily granted.
So the D-day arrived and the plan was in place. Rome was 3 days and a half – we planned to cover Pompeii and Vatican also within the same time; off to Firenze on the 19th morning and Pisa the same day; then Venice on the 20th evening and a day- long Venice love affair to conclude the Italy sojourn - Looked like everything’s in place… Well... and the time to get lost again is here… :)
16 Dec:
So on the morning we were at the Basel – Euro airport right on time, having got the connecting bus service on a shoe string. The flight did get delayed – hell, even the speedy boarding passengers could not board till almost half an hour after the scheduled departure – and that was after everybody had already lined up for boarding half an hour BEFORE the scheduled departure time…! We reached Rome Fiumicino airport by noon and did NOT catch the Leonardo Express. Instead at € 8 instead of the € 14,00 ; we took the Regional express – and landed in a station that was connected to the Metro - with a half a kilometer walk through the arterial roads! And since we had the Roma Pass that was valid for 3 days on all public transports, we did get a steal on the airport transfer; but at what a cost and hassle. My Tip – do take the Leonardo Express from airport to Roma Termini.
From Roma termini to our hotel at Il Granaio di Santa Prassede was a short 10 min walk to the Basilica of Santa Prassede. And was the hotel grand? An ancient townhouse from the times of Roman heydays – it was grand. The interiors of the house were newly renovated, but from the exterior, we were like transported back to the Roman times. So far so good – we had not yet checked the shower, nor the heating, but definitely it was a grand affair on first looks.
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| The Colosseum in its Glory |
So we dumped and rushed to the first and foremost sight of any Roman trip – the Colosseum. It was walking distance and with a map and a good map reader (a.k.a. Devrupa) we made it in time just before sunset. But be forewarned – Rome is windy during winters, and in mid-Dec with the breeze, 4C feels like -4C in Rome. The hands were freezing, and even the simple task of having a sandwich with bare hands was an exercise in frigidity evasion. Ahh and the sandwiches – somehow we do carry so much homemade sandwiches and biryani from Basel that we get to sample the local cuisine only occasionally. But just a suggestion, in Rome – DO sample the lasagna, pizza and anything on the streets. Not only is it vegetarian wholesome, but it is real irresistible. And you don’t need to loot the bank to pay for a meal - € 10 - € 14 tops for two people!
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| Colosseum |
Colosseum was majestic. There were people dressed as Roman gladiators prowling on the outskirts and we were happy clicking, and more clicking. Though we decided to visit the inside on another day – we were already behind schedule (as always) and it was getting dark. And we had to cover the Pantheon and the Capitoline Museum. The Pantheon was at Argentine square (thanks to our godsent savior - Devrupa’s uncle basically from UK) and we managed the Route 81 to there. Pantheon was truly a devotion to geometry – every bit as a Greek tribute to perfection as can be. And every bit as spell-bounding also! Ok, now for some Italian refreshments – and just near to the bus stop, there is a delightful café. Lasagna and the best Margherita pizza with extra toppings for under €10,00! It was the best meal – deal in a long time.
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| The Pantheon |
The Capitoline Museum beckoned and the sculptures did take our breath away – the big foot and the big hand were strangely mesmerizing. And given that it was our first sight, we were so captivated by the gargantuan collection. A definite no-miss for any tourist- even though at € 9,00 with the discounted Roma Pass it is not cheap. But hell, when in Rome do not miss this and the Borghese gallery – more of that later.
17 Dec:
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| St. Peter's Square by Night - Vatican |
The next day started with a shiver… and there was more to it than the winters. The hotel room heating was not working, and we didn’t have an extra blanket… so we were cold – but more was yet to come. Vatican was on our itinerary today and we started off with the Metro to the edge of Rome. I mean, Vatican is a different country – so literally you will leave Italy to visit Vatican and then re-enter Rome once done. The most strange thing on our metro station – a tour guide ambushed us into a guided tour of the Sistine Chapel and the St. peters basilica; but the more amazing thing was that Tushar agreed to pay € 90,00 for the 3 hour tour; and this did not include the souvenirs. Which was another € 30,00. But Vatican is well worth a trip.
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| St. Peter's Square - Vatican |
The façade, the St Peters Square, the Gardens – and the snow. It started snowing just when we reached St. Peters Square and it added to the whole Christmassy flavor. The perfect snowflakes in Vatican on the eve of Christmas – and we were taking in the grand sights – and the guide was also good. So we went in the Sistine Chapel and got stuck in there. They say you can’t cover the Vatican Museums in 5 years (or was it 50) if you spend more than 30 seconds looking at each painting or wall or the roof or the columns even. And I agree! We could not hope to cover so much of St Peters and Sistine in so short a time. So we did what we could and sort of glided through the entire palace. The history, the paintings and the sculpture – you do feel a little overwhelmed. But we survived. And then also managed to take snaps next to the Swiss Guards guarding the Holy See at the entrance to Vatican – their dresses were originally designed by Michelangelo – or so the tour guide claimed!Quickly the tour did not end, for there was the inevitable souvenir shopping affair. And we picked a memoir for the generations – a Roman gladiator in full splendor on the four horse chariot going to his gladiatorial conquests or something like that. Well, a 4 hour hurried Vatican whirlwind tour and a whole € 30,00 poorer, we started for Colosseum – had to see the Via Sacra, the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum.
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| Trevi Fountain |
We could only manage the Colosseum, but it was worth it. Did it on our own – no guided tour or even the Audio guide; so don’t know how much we saw and how much we missed! But the view was worth a million bucks. Half broken it was, the other half was stolen (the bricks had been ferried away by local real estate developers) – but it was still a must see. Well, given that the Pantheon stones had been stolen by the Romans for the Colosseum, it was poetic justice I guess. Anyways the afternoon was rainy and the accompanied by the cold, it was pretty difficult to cover the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill from the insides… so we gazed at the magnificent Seven Hills and made our way to the Roma Termini for the next stop.
Borghese Gallery is a private collection of some of the most magnificent paintings and sculptures, but that is not the reason why we remember it. The elusive place took us 2 hours to find and reach – and we were drenched by the time we entered in the hallowed halls (Roma Pass covered the entry fee, but the audio was another € 5). Good collection - and we could see why it was private. The priceless treasure had been stashed from various sources and some of the items had been pursued for a quarter of a century before they were added in here. But well, every act of crime must have a reason – it usually is a woman or some land!
Anyways, a hearty pizza and lasagna dinner again – this time closer to our hotel we retired to our chilly abode for another night of shivering. No extra blankets and the heating was ançient. But it was a day when the soul was amazed.
18 Dec:
Pompeii beckoned, and we were out on the road by 6 for the Napoli train… and then by 8:40 am we had taken the Pompeii Scavi commuter train (using the Napoli-Pompeii / Napoli-Pompeii day ticket)… no wait, we missed the 8:40 so we took the next one and were in Pompeii by 10:30 am. A full 2 hour later, we had been witness to a grand Roman lifestyle - but what we would carry back memories with us will be of the stinking baths and open air theatres – both Romanesque to the core. And the eating out shops in old Pompeii before Mount Vesuvius interrupted the happy sojourns of this Roman vacation getaway. Oh yes, the Romans originally the introduced concept of a vacation, a weekend getaway – whatever you call it, and Pompeii was the place by the beach where the rich and spoilt Romans relaxed!
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| Ruins of Pompeii |
Back from Pompeii and this was our last day in Rome – so we took in as many sights of this everlasting city as we could. Sunset walk by Tiber River, Circus Maximus and the view of the Palatine hills were the highlight snaps of the last evening.
A quick change of clothes back in the hotel and a trip to the Basilica of Santa Prassede later, we went to the Spanish steps and clicked, clicked, clicked. And then we took the metro to the Trevi fountain and in the dusk – saw a million people throwing coins in the wishing 'fountain'. And that is when we discovered that our camera had been flicked :( somewhere in the Metro from Tushar’s pocket… someone had taken all our memories – of Rome, of Pompeii and of the Vatican. So this section of the blog has a few pirated touristy snaps and a whole lot of details for the later… but we had a rather somber ‘wishful’ evening at the Trevi fountain. It was the happiest of times, it was the saddest of times; and we had an unforgettable gelato to drown the sorrow.
There is one thing with Rome – you can’t wait to get to get out of it; and once out, you can’t wait for the next trip to get back in! It is a maddening place, and an eternal city – the brain registers so much going on that when you reflect back on the days spent there, you can’t help miss the tinge of excitement and adventure. A city that literally changes your life - and makes you feel happy while at it!
19 Dec:
Florence adventure started early morning (again) and we took the 7a.m. Eurostar train to Firenze. Ohh, we had breakfast Roma style at the station with the short-glass espresso shot and the full range croissant – for another € 5 or was it € 6 (for 2 people again!)!
It was just as good, for Pisa was at its snow best and Tushar was really using all the strength to shore it up (captured in a shot – Tushar managed to avert the leaning tower from toppling over!)
And then we retired to our Florence cosy hotel Panorama on the Via Cavour – and had the most wonderful € 4 pizza Margherita and gelato dinner on the way – next to the church of San Marco.
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| In Front of Pisa Bell Tower |
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| Trying Best To Save For The Future Generations |
20 Dec:The main street of Florence (Via Cavour) is a really chic place and the the sculptures (copy of David by Michelangelo and the Hercules to say the least) in Piazza della Signoria will take your breath away. It is bang in the centre of Florence, next to the Uffizi and it is as much of a highlight as is the the museum – and this is just a square. After an hour we forced ourselves to move on. The trip to Basilica of Santa Croce was revealing – not only because of the tomb of Galileo, but because we found out the true inspiration of ‘Statue of Liberty’.
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| Piazza della Signoria |
Yes, it has all happened in Florence – it was the birth place of the Renaissance and truly has the air of one. It started here, well almost. And then the Palazzo Vecchio – we would not know because we didn’t even go in, but the Bell Tower and Battistero di San Giovanni/Baptistery of St. John of the Campo dei Miracoli (Il Duomo) are worth a second trip to Firenze. Hell, Tuscany trips start from here, so the next time a trip to Tuscany is due, we could stop over in Florence, and at the same charming place we did this time. What we did miss out was the visit inside Basilica of San Marco – it was closed we retired back for our last view before we started for Venice Santa Lucia station from Santa Maria Novella. Oh, and we did manage to miss the Firenze shopping. Devrupa was rather interested – very much, Tushar managed to duck it somehow. But, but, but …
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| Piazza Della Signoria |
Eurostar reached Ferrovio Santa Lucia Station at 6 p.m. so by the time we reached the Tourist Information office, it was closed. Luckily we managed to find out a public Venice map and traced our Hotel Gardenia from the station. It was close by and it was pretty. And Venice was romantic. Even by dusk. The entire Grand Canal was full of gondolas and water taxis. And Love was in the air. What a perfect way to end the trip – you always save the best for the last!
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| Venice Streets open to Grand Canal |
After we had dumped our bags we set out for San Marco and Rialto Bridge and market. Those were the most visited of sights in Venice and they did live up to their promise. Another thing that did live up to its promise was the road signs in Venice - they were as confusing as everyone had warned us about. So the next day we trashed the maps and set about getting lost. But before that, we were lucky to discover Billa super market – we bought some groceries and retired for the night. We had an exciting day ahead.
21 Dec:
We started early after a hearty breakfast to Doges palace and the Bridge of Sighs. Venice in day time was even more pretty. We took the Vaporetto N0 1 for the Grand Canal ride; and reached Doges palace for a piece of Venetian history – the Bridge of Sighs wasn’t anything great, but the dungeons could do with some ventilation. As we took a few precious snaps from the limited number of photos possible from our camera at St. Marks square and then set out for Murano Glass factory, a kindly patron offered us a free private water taxi ride to his glass factory, where we were accompanied on a personal guided tour by an over-zealous salesman.
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| In Vaporetto # 1 |
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| On Rialto Bridge |
However, an hour later, after we had been entertained with a personalized glass making excursion and some of the most exquisite glass sea horses and chariots and what not on display in the accompanying glass shop, we managed to escape the trap by sneaking out of the factory without any souvenir buy.
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| No - we didn't fancy about a Gondola ride |
What we did buy was an exquisite charming over-priced gondola set within a glass bottle. That was after a nasty experience at another shop whose sales man was too keen to hush us away! Anyways glass making is a tradition at Murano and we did visit the Glass Museum for another piece of history.
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| Gondolas by the Grand Canal |
Back to Venice in Vaporetto N0 42 and we set about Rialto market and the Venice Casino. This casino is the world’s oldest casino – but all we were interested in were a few snacks
because the wife didn’t allow any gambling. But we were provided with some colour pencils and a token memento at the casino. One thing to note – each trip to the public restroom in Venice costs € 1,50. How do the tourists survive!
Oh, and we did buy a winter coat in the final round of our Venetian window shopping leg.. along with some really cute souvenirs. And there’s of course, a story of deceit and acceptance in how one nice winter coat was ignored for another. But what will life become if it doesn’t have a healthy dose of drama and the feminine coy-ishness!
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| Venetian Landscape! |
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| Doge's Palace |
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| The Rialto Bridge |
Anyways we were almost over with our Italian affair, and all we did next was catch the bus to the Venice airport where we waited for almost 4 hours before the delayed Easy Jet flight took off for Basel and we reached our home well past midnight.
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| San Marco at Venice |
Some snaps, a few unforgettable memories and a longing for the next time we can undertake another voyage of discovery are all that remain now. But the history tour through Vatican and the life changing experience of Firenze Uffizi treasures are priceless – and the reason why we would do this again. Well, of course, we also need a few 'non - pirated' photos of Rome – but then what good is the internet for!
