RTW 2.5x - a DONE4 with stops in NYC, London and Italy (HCO only)

[PrezRegan]

This update comes from the ground in Rome.

So… let’s start with the flight.

BA560
LHR-FCO
12:50-16:40 dur 2h 50m
A320neo, seat 2A

So the flight was delayed by about 30 mins and as a result they couldn’t load any catering. Otherwise, the flight was classic euro business with economy seats and no one sitting in the middle. However on landing I had an email from BA apologising for the lack of catering and indicating a rep will reach out shortly to discuss compensation. This is way better than QF and I’m happy to take some Avios!

Customs and immigration was super quick in FCO but the rail strikes have caused absolute chaos for transfers out of the airport. The taxi line goes on for a few hundred metres and the bus is about the same as well. I only had to wait about an hour before getting on the bus to Termini, where I’m writing this update as we’re still on the road. Thankfully I haven’t booked anything for tonight because it’s looking like I won’t get to my airbnb till closer to 1930 local. The taxi is a fixed 55 euro to the city whilst the train is 8 but this particular line only goes to termini

 

[PrezRegan]

My prediction unfortunately proved correct and it was a while before we got to Termini. We didn’t actually get to the designated drop off point, the driver just dumped us about a 10min walk from it. It was a wet and slightly depressing walk to the Airbnb - plus about 5 minutes of trying to figure out which generic door with intercom I was looking for. They all look very similar, street numbers aren’t prominent, and Rome seems to have an aversion to street lighting. But we got there in the end.

The digs are quite nice - actually match the pictures.

Rental unit in Rome · ★4.91 · 1 bedroom · 1 bed · 1 bath

Domus Luxury Colosseum

www.airbnb.com

I ducked out for a late dinner at Scoglio de Frisio - the place next door to me was empty but was apparently fullly booked. When I walked in I was worried it was going to be a tourist trap as no one in there except the staff were speaking Italian. There was also a large Japanese tour group there.

Be that as it may, the food was decent and not ridiculously expensive. I got the Cacio e Pepe with mussels, a saltimbuca à la Roma and tiramisu for dessert. This plus a pint of house red and a bottle of still water came to 44 euros. Not outrageous tbh and a decent enough meal. The grotto like setting was also quite nice.

Now off to bed for I have an early start tomorrow at the Sistine chapel. Hopefully I can find coffee on the way

 

[PrezRegan]

Sooooooooo it appears that whilst I set a wake up time last night, I didn’t set an alarm. So I woke up at 0715 feeling refreshed - just as the tour was meant to start. The tour makes clear that they don’t do refunds, reschedules, and a no show is exactly that.

I decided to go to the Vatican anyway, and bought a skip the line ticket at 50% off for 40 AUD. It turns out that “skip the line” only lets you skip the line to queue to buy the ticket - which to be fair was a couple of hundred metres long at 0800. However, the line to get in was also a few hundred metres long. Whilst queuing and contemplating my life decisions I made the rash choice to book another guided early morning tour for tomorrow - at the low low price of $160 (which was cheaper than what I paid for the original, funnily enough). So looks I get to go twice now.

Still could be worse - and I guess I learnt a lesson. Better this than what I saw in the lounge where the dude opposite me woke up and realised he’d missed his flight!

The line to get in didn’t take as long as I expected - about 30mins. The Vatican museum is massive, and I have a lot of very poor quality pictures to show of it. At first, I thought I wouldn’t need an audio guide but I’m glad I turned back and paid 8 euros for one because they have a wealth of info on them. All up I spent about 3hrs meandering through the museum, which even at 0900 was very busy. I think the audio guide was worth it alone just for the 20+ minutes of commentary provided on the Sistine chapel. An amazing space - in fact there were a lot of amazing spaces throughout. Interestingly for me I found the ceilings to be the most fascinating (even outside the chapel). Definitely worth the visit but yeah, note that even with a skip the line ticket you will have to queue anyway. When I left at 1130 the lines seemed to have died down significantly but it could just be because they were all indoors at that point!

A quick stop for lunch at what is likely again a tourist trap (this is a very touristy area). But decent food and not ridiculously expensive.

Next event is a tour of St Peter’s Basilica and a dome climb. Hopefully the semi-decent weather holds and I can get some good views!

 

[PrezRegan]

Well today I supposedly walked 17.5km and took 23k steps if my watch is to be believed.

The tour of St Peter’s basilica with grottos and some climb was really good. The guide was super knowledgeable and spoke very clearly so I had no difficulty understanding what she said. She also spoke fluent Italian, French, and Spanish which was very impressive.

The grottoes were a bit meh but the chapel - wow. Absolutely mind blowing. It’s an entirely different experience ascending the stairs from the grotto and entering the chapel. I’d almost recommend doing it just for that. Here are some more very average pictures that fail to do justice to what is an amazing amazing space. I’d say it’s in some ways more impressive than the Sistine Chapel. Note that everything is a mosaic - it looks like a painting but all the images are actually made up of thousands of polished rocks. This was apparently because a large part of the decoration and construction was done by volunteers, and it allowed the masses to participate because it took a lot less skill than painting. They could also copy existing artwork this way.


The dome climb was also cool. There is a lift but the line for it is often quite long and technically costs 5 euros more. If you walk be prepared for a lot of steps - it’s a ramp/step thing up to the cupola and then 300 odd steps to get to the viewpoint on the outside. The weather wasn’t amazing but the view is impressive.

On the way out I went through the Pilgrims Door - only opened every 25(?) years for the jubilee. Surprisingly I didn’t burst into flames. Because they close the side where the door is off, it’s also the only way you can see Michelangelo’s Pieta.

After that I had a street food tour which covered both the Jewish ghetto and other areas. We started with a delicious porchetta sandwich which was delish, followed by pizza and suppli. So suppli is the Roman version of arancini and is similar but has mozzarella inside (lit. “Surprise” and the mozzarella is the surprise). The pizzas were Margherita and Cacio e Pepe. The pizza was amazing, particularly the simple Margherita one - the cheese had so much flavour, the dough was crisp. I can see why you had to get the real deal. Dominos just doesn’t compare. We then went to the ghetto where we tried deep fried artichoke (yum) and also a freebie of falafel and hommus. Again th falafel was surprisingly tasty, very crunchy and it also had peas - way better than the falafel back home. After that it was dessert of gelato.

I decided to get the bus home and it was a painless experience thankfully. You can tap on using your phone which made it quite simple.

A shower and time for bed. I have triple checked the alarm so it’s off to the Vatican (again) tomorrow before backtracking towards the Airbnb to go to the Colosseo and pantheon before a dinner across the river in Trastevere.

Also, BA gave me 3k avios - not bad for a 2.5h flight and I’d eaten in the lounge. If not eating in exchange for points was a thing I’d probably take it!

 

[Aeolus]

Sooooooooo it appears that whilst I set a wake up time last night, I didn’t set an alarm. So I woke up at 0715 feeling refreshed - just as the tour was meant to start. The tour makes clear that they don’t do refunds, reschedules, and a no show is exactly that.

I decided to go to the Vatican anyway, and bought a skip the line ticket at 50% off for 40 AUD. It turns out that “skip the line” only lets you skip the line to queue to buy the ticket - which to be fair was a couple of hundred metres long at 0800. However, the line to get in was also a few hundred metres long. Whilst queuing and contemplating my life decisions I made the rash choice to book another guided early morning tour for tomorrow - at the low low price of $160 (which was cheaper than what I paid for the original, funnily enough). So looks I get to go twice now.

Still could be worse - and I guess I learnt a lesson. Better this than what I saw in the lounge where the dude opposite me woke up and realised he’d missed his flight!

The line to get in didn’t take as long as I expected - about 30mins. The Vatican museum is massive, and I have a lot of very poor quality pictures to show of it. At first, I thought I wouldn’t need an audio guide but I’m glad I turned back and paid 8 euros for one because they have a wealth of info on them. All up I spent about 3hrs meandering through the museum, which even at 0900 was very busy. I think the audio guide was worth it alone just for the 20+ minutes of commentary provided on the Sistine chapel. An amazing space - in fact there were a lot of amazing spaces throughout. Interestingly for me I found the ceilings to be the most fascinating (even outside the chapel). Definitely worth the visit but yeah, note that even with a skip the line ticket you will have to queue anyway. When I left at 1130 the lines seemed to have died down significantly but it could just be because they were all indoors at that point!

A quick stop for lunch at what is likely again a tourist trap (this is a very touristy area). But decent food and not ridiculously expensive.

Next event is a tour of St Peter’s Basilica and a dome climb. Hopefully the semi-decent weather holds and I can get some good views!

Sorry you missed the booked tour. That’s a ridiculously early start time for an onsite tour! Didn’t think the chapel is even open that early.