And so it began. I lay awake this morning not sure what to do and where to go. I have been to the major sights and the major historical monuments... so what to do. I also have school looming on Monday morning... I have no idea where it is and how to get there.... So this must be the next step. Public transport. I hauled myself out of bed, cooked myself breakfast of boiled egg and toast and sat pouring over bus routes and tram routes. I needed to do this... Google is a wonderful thing... By simply clicking on the bus stop symbol it tells me which buses serve this bus stop and not only that, it tells me the times of the next buses for the next 2 hours! Perfect! I decided I wanted to settle on the 44. That looked a good one. Took me right into the centre near to the Capotiline Museum and near to the Tiber where I knew I could navigate myself. But then something caught my eye.... a little beauty called the 870. It went to the bus stop near to me, and terminated right where I needed to be... could this be true??? I flew to get my Italy guide book that had the bus routes in a way that was clear to read.... a lot of the bus guides are anything but. So that was it. I was determined.
I was a sight to behold.. showered, dressed, rollers in, bus route in hand checking and checking again and again and again... Yes I know, rollers... its Rome - have to look your best at all times!!!
So this was it.... Buses here I come. My biggest fear... I went to the tobacconist next to my apartment block as my lovely landlord Fabio had told me that was where I could get tickets from. I walked in like the most naive Englist tourist you could imagine. "Errr ticket for bus?" Why is it, the most intelligent of people, I may act stupid sometimes I know but blimey, become pigeon English speakers?! "Ticket for bus? OK? For the day? OK, 1 journey yes!" Absolutely shameful. It is most definitely a confidence driven thing but my.. how embarrassing.... So I got a single journey ticket for 1.50 euro (No euro symbol on my old laptop!). I asked if they did a day ticket, again in pigeon English, to be shouted at.. No day!! No day!! I promptly paid my fare and let the espresso drinking Italian go back to having a quiet shop. I then went for it. Bus stop. Up the road, turn right, big yellow thing. I can do this. OK so it was closer than I thought so that was good. Walking up hill at midday in 35 degree heat, as much as I love heat, is a no no. I got to the bus stop. Route 870 is on the board. I thought OK... get on, validate your ticket, sit down, if you go the wrong way you have 100 minutes to get back (a single journey ticket lasts 100 minutes) and if you are on the wrong bus, see where you go and then try another. So the bus turns up and I get on... I go to the yellow validation machine and I am a complete idiot and faff and stress getting the ticket to go in.... It finally works and it prints and spits my ticket back out.. I can relax...
What a fabulous bus ride.... That 2 hr walk to Gianicolo Hill, the one where I was puffing and sweating and my legs are still aching from... OK so this bus does that route in 10 minutes!!! I may well pack myself a picnic for a late afternoon hazy siesta...but that's for another blog post...
The bus clattered and banged and wound its way round the roads towards the centre and we finally land at the bus station on Via Vittorio Emmanuelle... I feel like I have won on a scratch card. The bus was right, the destination was right and to top it off, there was a ticket machine which meant I could buy my weekly bus ticket... I'm sorted. A stress for Monday gone!!
Next mission - find the school....
Well... 50m down the road I took the left hand turning and the school was there... larger than life.. with a huge group of international students laughing, chatting, taking 'selfies'... My stress levels dropped more than I knew they existed. I had conquered the route, the walk, and knew what to expect. 8.30am Monday was no longer an issue.
There was only one way to celebrate.. (Apart from calling my mum like a child to jump up and down to say I got on a bus... when all is said and done, you still need to tell your parents :D )
That celebration was gelato... So Piazza Navona it was. God I love gelato. I dont have a sweet tooth but in its place, wow. Pistachio gelato whilst watching the world go by... perfect.
And so this brings me to Monkey. Monkey is a friends Monkey. For reasons undisclosed on this blog, Monkey is now travelling with me and felt the he wanted to appear in this blog. This will be the only time I mention him by name. I need to no more. His travels will be documented. However its safe to say that he sparks conversation. Met a lovely couple from the Gold Coast in Australia that have a son in Edinburgh that loved the story and I ended up taking their photographs :) Sometimes its the simplest things that get conversations flowing...
I then wandered to Piazza Rotunda to see the Pantheon... I almost feel I need to see it every day. It is a love that has grown... Its a wonder I understood, but the more I come to Rome, the more I need to be near it. I then wandered to the Trevi and after stopping for a beer, decided to take a wander back to the bus station via Campo di Fiori.
There was a quick stop I had to make first. I'm a cat lady. Its true. I'm in my 30's, single, live with my parents and have 2 cats. I cant escape this stereotype. However the cat sanctuary in the centre of Rome I just find stunning. It is run by volunteers and the cats stay within the sunken ruins in the square. I wont wax lyrical here and will save it for a separate post but it brightened my afternoon to go somewhere so amazing in a city of hustle and bustle.
I then made my way back to the bus stop to go back to my apartment. As you know I had previously purchased a weekly bus ticket for 24 euros - again, no euro symbol! I needed to validate this bad boy. Apart from the machine was not working when I got on the bus. So I presumed that as the engine was all turned off as typically the Italian bus driver had gone to have a fag and a chat. Thankfully after a few minutes stressing I was going to get fined with an un-validated ticket and I was going to get hauled off to an Italian jail.... others got on the bus, and tried, and failed, and shouted at the driver in Italian... It suddenly worked and I validated my ticket and sat back to enjoy the reverse journey home.
My home. In Rome.
So this evening I was due to meet my friends Tiziana and her husband Fedorico (Have I spelt that right?!) We had agreed to meet at Ottaviano tube station at 8pm. I had to decide how to get there. My little 870 bus became my best friend as did google. The 18.42 bus I felt was right as I had no idea whether it was 10 minutes, 20 minutes etc.... So I had a chat with the lady worried about not getting the 44 bus from our stop, that flagged a taxi, 2 minutes before the 44 bus turned up.... how typical! and then I got the bus back to town. I walked towards St Peters taking in the amazing view of Castle St Angelo in the setting sun. I wandered towards St Peters, not sure how long the walk would take.. and arrived at St Peters at 7pm. So I sat. And basked. Whether you are someone that is religious or not, you cannot be failed to be moved by what an amazing sight St Peters Square is. Especially in the setting sun. Breathtaking.The Eternal City, the Amber City. Its a light only Rome has.
Travelling alone makes you pick up on things you wouldn't normally pick up on if you were were travelling with friends, family or a partner. People don't pick up on the tourists crouched under railings trying to get the best photo. and then a photo for Istagram (maybe that's because I'm an Instagram addict)... And maybe they don't pick up on the Italian couple drinking red wine bought in some deli, poured into plastic glasses on the steps having taken their shoes off after a long day and lovingly basking in St Peter's glory. Travelling alone is something I would recommend to everyone. You become so aware and maybe that's why Rome is so personal to me.... This is my 5th visit after all.
So I went to meet Tiziana.... Lost in Translation.... I was outside the station, and then in it, and then phone calls and then we finally met across a crossing lol!! We got there... And a restaurant had been decided upon... and quite frankly I was hungry. My appetite had dropped significantly since I had been here and that's odd for me... maybe it was the heat but i think it was a combination of that and the stress of not knowing.
However - I have to admit.. tourist Rebecca came out when she saw "Everything 1 Euro!" sign on a massive market stall. My Saturday morning walks into town as a child flashed back to me.. 1 euro..!! (I still don't have symbol...) I'm not going to lie. I'm a tatt addict. 3 bracelets, 1 fridge magnet and a keyring down I'm done. How sad!!!
Tiziana and I finally met at the tube and off we went to our restaurant... A reservation had been made for 9pm, so we made our way to the restaurant of choice. We settled in, and ordered food. Seeing Tiziana again made me feel safe. We got on so well when we met before after being introduced by friends that are so close to us a families and we get on so well still. I was introduced to her husband and friend and with that, food and wine was ordered. As we sat and chatted I knew I had made friends for life :)
The food was good, although risotto can never look appetising in a photograph. The wine was good.. It was rather a warm Italian evening that's for sure, and I admire anyone that can talk in English all evening, Maybe next time I will do more Italian rather than just count from 1 - 20 and say 'Si' and 'Ciao'. It was a wonderful evening with friends and I feel more adventures will be in the pipeline...
I feel so contented.
And so I'm now home. I'm on my balcony drinking wine and typing this. An odd thing. Every apartment has a balcony and they are filled with flowers or tables and chairs.. and I have yet to spot anyone actually sitting on their balcony.... And yet the flat opposite have their windows wide open so their flat is open to see to everyone. Don't get me wrong, my apartment doors are open etc.... I just don't get the non use of balconies.... Maybe when everyone returns next week a change will occur..We will see.
Buona Notte xxx
It is great to see you are enjoying your "no regrets tour" pictures as ever are so interesting. Monkey looks hot in his jumper ! x
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