Arrival in the Eternal City25 May 2012
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| After 4.30 wake up call, and 7.00 flight from Bilbao via Barcelona, we arrived in Rome about 11.00. Another hour or so was spent either waiting for bus or on bus which took us within a few blocks of our comfortable and friendly Hotel Gerber in the Prati area of Rome not far from the Vatican. After a bit of a rest we went for a walk crossing the Tiber and heading down through Piazza del Popolo to the Spanish Steps. It's a sunny afternoon and the Eternal City is as evocative as ever in its ochres and layers of history and its mix of the grand and the romantic. There's a bit of fun in seeing the tourists since there's not too many. We walk past all the over-the-the-top high end designer shops that probably cater for wealth Americans. They don't do anything for me after the Spanish sense of design which really had some pizazz. They ooze the worst form of consumerism. As you can see it brought out a little puritanical streak. The tourists are just starting to appear in significant numbers. It's not too bad yet. Not like it was at Ephesus for those who read our Turkey blog. In a city so over run by tourists the Romans must have mixed feelings about us - well certainly those who don't depend on tourism for an income - and even those who do it appears, sometimes. There's a mixed reaction. Mostly friendly and helpful but the odd abrupt person. A bad experience that night for dinner - so won't go into that. We are like kids in a lolly shop. There is so much to be done in Rome. We spend an age that night mapping out what we want to see and a logical order for doing them having resorted to buying a BOOK, the Blue Guide. |
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