We landed in Rome today at 8:15 am. I had carrots, apples, a sandwich, cheese sticks and cheese still in my pack that Sally and I had not consumed during our flights and was sure I would be handing them over to the customs personnel. As we approached the customs agent in the booth I gave a cheery "Buon Giorno!" He never made eye contact. He was busy on the phone talking to someone. He reminded me of the librarian in the Indian Jones movie stamping books while Indy pounded a hole in the floor, although this guy was paying absolutely no attention to the job he was supposed to be doing. Both Sally and I chuckled as we entered his country with our contraband fruits and vegetables.
Traveling in a new place has become very comfortable for us. Getting train tickets, figuring out the platforms, buying underground tickets, checking out the stops to assure we are going the correct direction once we board, following the stops as they pass. What used to be a act that required concentration and analysis has become more relaxed. We still have to stay vigilant and alert to adapt to the new surroundings, but the level of focus is definitely a few notches lower.
Although we may be more comfortable once on the ground in a new city, in this case Rome, riding for 13 hours on airplanes is not much improved. Our first leg, from Vancouver BC to Montreal was on board a 787. The legroom was excellent and the seats very comfy. They only fed us juices and water, so I was glad to have brought chicken sandwiches, carrots, potato chips, cheese sticks, almonds, peanuts and apples. My stomach rode in comfort. Also, when we picked our seats, we chose seats across the aisle from each other. This allowed us each to have an aisle seat, but still able to sit next to each other.
However, on the Montreal to Rome stretch, the 8 hour leg of the journey, our legroom shrunk and the aisle was so narrow that we could not put our feet out into it longer than just a momentary stretch. And, since it was an overnight flight, boarding in Montreal at 7 pm and landing in Rome the following morning at 8 am, we arrived in Rome sleepy eyed and cranky. Not at all comfortable, and unfortunately, exactly as I thought it would be.
Once on the ground we took the Leonardo Express from the airport to Rome Termini Station. This main train station in Rome contains the intersection of the two subway lines in Rome, the A and B lines. We purchased our tickets from a biglietti machine, jumped on the A line toward the Vatican and exited at the Ottaviano station, then followed the directions Elisabetta had emailed to us, walking about 6 blocks to our AirB&B for the night.
Elisabetta was in her basement office when we walked in and quickly oriented us to the building, the city and gave us an impromptu Italian language lesson. She stole my heart when I greeted her right off with, "Come Stai, Lei?" She responded "Sto Bene" and then said I pronounced the words very well. A real confidence booster for a language challenged person trying to extend himself into a discipline he is totally uncomfortable with.
Elisabetta showed us to our room, gave us the tour of the kitchen and bath, then departed. It was now about noon. We folded back the bedding and crawled in, anxious to get a short nap before we struck out to explore the city.
We woke about 1:45 pm, and headed out the door about 2:00 for bus #23 to take us near the Campo di Flori area, the start of a Rick Steves introductory walking tour of the city.
We found a kiosk selling metro/bus tickets (they are one and the same) and asked where to catch #23. The vender was super friendly as we bantered in broken Italian and English, then he pointed us to the correct bus stop, about 300 yards away across a busy piazza near the Vatican.
We arrived at the bus stop and tried to read the signage, but were having a little trouble. Sally asked a very pretty 35ish year old woman if she could help. She immediately took us under her wing, got on the correct bus with us, showed us how to validate our tickets, talked with us the whole 20 minute ride and pointed us where to walk once we left the bus. She was so kind. So helpful. So friendly. Made us feel comfortable in our new surroundings and got us off to a great start.
At Campo di Fiori, we put on our headphones and got ready to let Rick Steves guide us through the city. Oops! Sally's phone had sent her podcasts back to the cloud due to lack of use in the 3-4 weeks since I downloaded them for her. She had nothing to listen to. She thought she might read the text of the tour in the book, but 1 and 1/2 stops along we realized this was not what we wanted. Sally suggested I find an open wifi hotspot and download the podcasts. I gave her the sceptical look and informed her that (1) no one leaves their wifi unprotected anymore and (2) if I got into one, it would be so slow it would take hours to download the 1:05 episode. We started to walk back to the start to make a new plan. As we did, I had my iPhone open to wifi settings, scanning the countryside for an open wifi modem, like Captain Kirk scanning for new life forms on an uncharted planet. Within 50 feet, I picked up an open wifi. I connected using my Google account, saw that I had access to the Internet and ran a speed test on the connection. 3-5 Mb/sec download speeds! What?!?!?!
I connected Sally's phone and was soon hanging around outside the restaurant that was broadcasting the signal, downloading all the Rick Steves audio tours we would use while in Rome, about 3-4 hours worth of listening. With our new found wealth of audio, we picked up the tour and continued on our way.
These free audio tours from Rick Steves are excellent. This one, "Heart of Rome Walk", starts at Campo di Fiori and ends at the Spanish Steps, passing by the Navore Piazza, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and numerous other landmarks along the way. While walking, he explains the history, significance and location of each. By the time we finished, about 3 hours, we had an overview of the city. Great introduction.
There is a metro station at the Spanish Steps. Before we headed to the station, we sat in the Spagna Piazza to rest. Here we met a couple in their early 70s and had a splending half hour conversation about Rome, traveling and life.
We boarded the metro and were soon walking back to our B&B. However, the wifi in the room was not working and I had been without the Internet for nearly 24 hours. Withdrawal symptoms-sweaty palms, figeting fingers, wandering attention-were beginning the seriously impede my ability to function. We diverted ourselves to a Vodephone store and purchased a SIM card for my phone, 6 Gb for $45. We used google maps to get us to the phone store and now back to our B&B. Luckily, I had the foresight to download all of Italy in Google Maps before we left, so I did not need the internet for finding our way around.
Sally showered while I installed the SIM card into my iPhone. I got a message that my iPhone was locked and would not accept the new SIM card!! I had gotten a new iPhone about 8 months ago, a replacement for my iPhone 6 that was having battery issues. The old one was unlocked. The new one they gave me was not. Luckily, my smart wife suggested I put the SIM card in the iPad and use it.
Done! Works great. When we get to Florence there is an Apple Store about 2 blocks from our B&B. I will get them to help me unlock my iPhone 6.
I spent a few minutes reading emails, checking the weather and falling asleep while trying to do each of the afore mentioned.
It was now 10:00pm and time for sleep. An exhausting, yet wholly satisfying day wherein my comfort level oscillated from very comfortable to wildly uncomfortable and most gradiations in between. This is going to be a fun trip!
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