Rome facing backwards

Sunday and we were off on a golf buggy tour of Rome to drive by all the major sights… or were we?!

It turned out the entire centre of Rome was closed for a breast cancer run and our tour turned into a spontaneous itinerary slightly different from our booking.

We were in a group of ten and taking the backward, outward facing seats behind a couple of Irish ladies, we knew we were in for a laugh.

Travelling backwards through Rome

We stopped to pick up Barbara from Florida, a lady who appeared to be on her last legs and off we went with our witty Italian guide, Martino whose grasp of English humour was very good indeed.

After about fifteen minutes (the tour was three hours) it seemed we were going nowhere fast and so we spontaneously rescheduled to go to Roman Catacombs just outside the walled city.

Backwards past a city gate

Backwards along the Via Appio Antiqua

We bumped along the original road from Rome to Sicily, cobbled and flagstoned before arriving at the ancient burial grounds, the underground tombs of half a million Romans.

Green fields of Rome

Just outside Rome, the scenery turned green and hid the secrets below. The catacombs date back to 200AD and were excavated from the top down putting the oldest tombs closest to the surface. No bones remained as the tombs had been emptied to protect them from robbers as artefacts, marble and items of value had been removed over the centuries.

Barbara from Florida was feeling quite unwell by this time and decided not to attempt the catacombs, a good decision as the steps were steep and the temperature cool.

Emerging forty minutes later it seemed Barbara may have either fallen asleep, fainted or died. An ambulance was called but apparently she’d eaten something which had disagreed with her (we had heard an indication of this earlier) and she felt much better after going to the loo. Why we knew this I have no idea but we were soon back on the road complete with Barbara, other Floridians, hilarious Irish ladies and a large lesbian Australian couple. A motley crew indeed.

Eventually we threaded our way back through the traffic still navigating street closures and ended up at the pantheon.

The piazza was heaving with tourists, the sun was beating down and it all seemed quite chaotic after the morning fiasco.

The Pantheon walls

Heaving with tourists

At this stage, almost four hours later, we were a little hot and tired so our tour guide bought us all a gelato and we jumped off the golf buggy into the throngs of Roman tourists to find our way to some small streets off the tourist trail where we could chill out before browsing a few independent boutiques.

Rooftops at Sunset

What better way to see Rome than at sunset from a rooftop bar and so that’s exactly what we did.

My old schoolfriend’s cousin has lived in Rome for almost thirty years and so with her Italian husband, we were lucky enough to snag a table on a tiny terrace for an aperitif while the sun set, surrounded by the domes and spires of the city as multitudes of bells sounded the hour. If only I liked Aperol Spritz, the moment would have been complete but I’ve always found it a bit bitter and watery.

Hanging with the Romans

Ah well, I forced down a French 75 (when in Rome and all that) and enjoyed some hilarious storytelling from the cousin about a train journey from Siberia to Beijing one January as she travelled to Australia very slowly, hard to explain but there’s definitely a book to come (she’s a writer) and I dare say, a film.

The evening continued with dinner at one of their favourite restaurants. It was a charming evening in Rome. Great company mixed with good and bad food (as I seem to find in Italy) with lots of laughs all round.

Sunset over Rome

Italian food

I have had the best of food and the worst of food in my various Italian adventures and Rome was no exception.

From tourist-level carbonara, thick and gluggy, average pizza (how is that even possible?) tough, leathery mozzarella and fairly inedible fettuccini, the bad stuff was definitely available. Ah, the joys of being a tourist.

As always, local knowledge can’t be beaten as we enjoyed an aperitif on a fabulous rooftop terrace listening to church bells before dining at a family-owned local restaurant in the Campo del Fiori where there was melting buratta, warm chicory with fried Roman cheese, soft delicate Roman artichoke (a huge step up from Jerusalem as a variety) fresh bruschetta with ripe Italian tomatoes and finally a carbonara worthy of being called Italian.

It was worth it in the end!

Off to the Coliseum

Saturday morning and after an early start to try and see the Trevi Fountain without people (impossible) we went to the Coliseum.

Proposals, wedding photos and more

Inside the coliseum

Detail of the underfloor tunnels

The upper levels

To the coliseum

The forum

It was spectacular and immense. We spent several hours exploring the coliseum and the surrounding Palentine Hill and Roman Forum.

Impressive doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Rome Day One

From the Spanish Steps to the Sistine Chapel and the Trevi Fountain by night, we’ve seen a lot so far.

Everyone posing at the Spanish Steps

Trevi fountain by night

The reality, it was packed with people

Spiralling at the Vatican

Stunning ceiling at the Vatican

Detail

Colour and detail

Roman Holiday

This weekend I’m off to Rome… not for work, for fun! I’m meeting an old friend from Australia, I’ve never been to Rome and I can avoid all things coronation. Mission accomplished!

As I’m a first time tourist I suspect my inaugural trip to Rome could be quite exhausting, so much to see and only three days to see it. I’m wearing trainers as I think I’ll be walking a lot.

For now, I’m landing shortly and then the adventures begin!

Day tripping to Dublin

This week’s adventure was a day trip to Dublin. It was an early start with a 5am taxi but all was good with a 9am landing in Dublin for a day of meetings and a quick return home planned for 5:30pm. That’s fast fashion!

The spring-like weather of the Easter weekend had vanished and Dublin was very cold and wet as we arrived at Head Office.

A typical day ensued with seven fast-paced back-to-back meetings, five minutes for lunch and then back in a taxi to head to the airport.

And then things ground to a halt. Of all the days to visit the Emerald Isle, Joe Biden decided to arrive in Dublin just as we were trying to get out. Traffic was stopped, the airport was closed, nothing moved and we sat for forty five minutes in a taxi in pouring, freezing rain before deciding to walk the last kilometre.

It was a very long, wet and cold kilometre. I was wearing a suit but no coat as I wasn’t supposed to be out walking. I tied a wool scarf around my head and looking like an Albanian refugee, battled my way up a hill in strong winds with a distinct lack of humour.

Needless to say our flight was delayed and so having dried out over the two hour wait, we finally boarded the plane. First however we enjoyed a walk across the tarmac in torrential freezing rain and a climb up the steps in buffeting winds. Wind-swept was an understatement!

After a 4:40am start, I finally made it home at 9:30pm where I managed a bowl of soup and went to bed exhausted. Another glamorous day on the road!

Fast cleanse

After all the travel, eating on the hoof (bad food in Brussels, curry wurst in Essen, lots of buffet breakfasts and lots of coffee), lack of sleep and general hard work, I decided to have a mini retreat at home.

It’s been a long time since I did a green juice cleanse and I wasn’t sure how it would feel. I decided it would be a gradual build-up.

The first two days, I replaced breakfast with green juice. Barely noticeable!

The next two days I had juice for breakfast and lunch with a homemade vegetable soup (cauliflower and onion) for dinner. A little more challenging but easier by the second day.

And then I was ready for the full juice experience. Three days of juice (I’m just at the end of day two) and I’ve been feeling good. The trick is to drink plenty of fresh juice and so I’ve juiced more celery than I can poke a stick at!

Coupled with a little yoga, early nights, no alcohol and a quieter week at work, I’ve been feeling good.

I’ve found the gradual build-up a good approach to juice fasting. It’s less of a shock to the system and the will power can kick in slowly.

The reason, a detox (think curry wurst), a rest to the digestive system and a chance to take things a little easier, at least for a week.

Still to come, a mad twelve hour trip to Dublin so the fun’s not quite over yet!

Düsseldorf to Rugby

Next stop on the European tour is a day in Rugby tomorrow with a quick stop at home for the night.

I’m hoping to be home by 8pm tonight and need to be out by 7:30am so a very quick turnaround. The end is in sight!

From tapas to schnitzel

This week it’s Germany for a quick overnight. Düsseldorf and Essen and home again.

After Spanish week last week where time operated on a different spectrum, meetings started and finished when they liked and I still don’t understand Barcelona, it was nice to see an orderly queue and depart almost on time. We, as a nation, are certainly more Northern than Southern European.

Arriving in Essen, we discovered a men’s club/bar/restaurant and ordered a dinner surprise.

The menu was in German and the waitress didn’t speak much English, we spoke no German and so a large schnitzel covered in curry sauce with slices of sausage, fries and a salad arrived. It was massive!

I didn’t make it through the schnitzel as it was the size of my shoe but the sausage wasn’t bad which came as a huge surprise as I’m very wary of miscellaneous meat. If I’d been hungover, it would have been an epic cure!

And so to bed where my stomach may regret the meal but so far so good in Germany.

I wonder what’s for breakfast!