Postcard from Rome - 1-5 October 2011

I flew out from Gatwick on a glorious afternoon. Not the best of BA’s flights. They served only ‘tea’, so lunch was missed that day, and the Club Cabin was freezing! Rome airport was a shambles but eventually found an expensive shuttle to get me into the city and to my little hotel. The room was tiny – just room for one person, but Sue is joining me in the morning, so we will have to squeeze in! Took myself out for a nice dinner at a delightful little Trattoria just down the road and sat outside for my meal.

The next morning I set off to try and get to the Vatican, but got lost en route. After an hour I eventually met up with Sue, who had just arrived from Gatwick, and after a good lunch we walked Rome for the afternoon. In the evening we met up with our Group for dinner and then six of us – all ladies – decamped to a little café and drank Aperol Spritzers for an hour or so before retiring to our hotel and bed.

The next morning we left early for the Vatican and spent the morning on a guided tour of the Vatican Museums, finishing in the Sistine Chapel. We then had a lousy lunch with our Group, before going back for a tour of St Peter’s Cathedral, after which Sue and I walked Rome for two and a half hours. We stopped for an ice cream at one stage, and it turned out to be the most expensive ice cream ever - £10 each!!! It was then rest and recuperate at the hotel for a while before going out for some pizza and vino for dinner.

At 9 o’clock on Tuesday morning we went off on a guided walk to the Colosseum and then to the Forum – we spent four hours walking around these incredible places and then walked around Victor Emmanuel Monument before finding ourselves a nice little restaurant for lunch and a much needed drink! In the afternoon we visited the Pantheon and Piazza Navuna and then walked slowly back to our hotel, stopping en route for a reviving drink! In the evening after a quick dinner we went to a performance of Strauss’s Elektra at the Opera House – not something I particularly enjoyed although there was some excellent singing! As there was no interval, some of us indulged in a couple of nightcaps in the balmy air of Rome before retiring.

On our last morning Sue and I walked down to see the wonderful cathedral of San Giovanni before packing up our bags ready for departure. We then had a nice lunch sitting outside before being bussed to the airport for our flights home. How lucky we were to have four days of cloudless skies and some delightful people in our group.