Rome Day 1
9/15/03 - the start of our Roman Holiday :-)
We checked out of our hotel in Milan around 8. Got to the train station around 9. Our train was scheduled to leave at 10.
The train station in Milan is impressive. It was designed by Ulisse Stacchini in 1912, who combined the popular Art Deco style of the time with the grandeur of ancient Roman architecture. Check out this brief description and history of the building. Bottom line is it is quite a grand train station.
We arrived at the station and I had to go to the ticket booth to ask where we go next to catch the train. Good thing I did - as it turns out, the final destination for our train was not Rome, as I had thought, but Naples. In Italy, all the trains are listed on the schedule according to their final destination. So in order for us to figure out what track our train was arriving at, we would have had to know that it's final destination was Naples. The ticket agent at the counter informed me we were looking for the train destined for Napoli. Sure enough we found it on the arrival/departure board listed as "Napoli". Glad I had asked.
Train arrived on the designated track, which we found without a problem. We had purchased our train reservations as well as our tickets online. Did I already go over how the whole ticket/reservation thing works? Ah yes - in Planning our Honeymoon. If you didn't read that yet, check it out - it explains why you need to buy a reservation as well as a ticket :-).
Our car was #4, so it was closer to the far end of the train than the near end, so we had a bit of a hike. Both Tim and I were really nervous about the whole boarding aspect. Both of us having taken trains in Europe previously, we knew that they didn't wait around - they left when they said they would and you typically had about 10 minutes total to find your track, walk to your car, and board with your luggage.
There was no reason to panic though. it was about a half hour before it departed. I guess if I had bothered to look at my watch I would have figured out we'd have more time :-) The luggage was the hardest part. Neither Tim nor I are very light packers. Tim will tell you himself he "packs like a girl" :-) Well hey - we were going to Italy for 12 days, and we needed to be prepared for dressy as well as casual outings. I took 4 pairs of shoes :-) Anyway - the luggage was pretty heavy, but we managed to lug it onto the train and drop it into the luggage bin at the front of the car.
The car was really comfortable. I guess that's not always the case, even when you book 1st class reservations and tickets... we were told by several folks (all Italian) that it depends on the railway and your destination. Our train was Eurostar Italia. The car looked and smelled new, and had nice big comfy seats that reclined, tables that folded away, etc.
We didn't have window seats, but the windows were big enough that we had a perfect view of the countryside throughout our trip, without having to lean over our neighbours. The train made two stops - the first in Bologna and the second in Firenze (Florence) and then it was straight to Roma. The entire trip was 4.5 hours. We were both glad we took the train though - it was well worth the extra time (vs flying) because we saw so much beautiful Italian countryside. The time flew - it didn't feel like 4.5 hours until we got close to Rome. The last half hour as we approached Rome consisted of tunnel after tunnel after tunnel... it was actually making us both a little sick because every time we went through a tunnel the pressure would change and our ears would constantly pop - it was actually painful in the long tunnels. Still though - it was a very enjoyable and comfortable way to get to Rome. We were happy though, to be able to get our luggage and step out under the beautiful blue Roman sky to hail a taxi!
We were able to locate the taxi line fairly quickly, and before long were sitting in a cab being driven to our hotel. In the taxi ride to the hotel, Tim managed to impress our cab driver AND me by informing him that we were in Rome on our Luna di Miele - literally translated, that's "Honey Moon" and is in fact the term in Italy for honeymoon. Unbeknownst to me, while we were on the train to Rome, Tim had been flitting through our pocket Italian dictionary looking this up. I really was impressed.
I had heard about these Roman taxi drivers... I mean, in movies, and on that TV commercial for Kodak Film - you know the one (you do if you have cable, anyway) - with the two girls who get into a cab in rome and get a whirlwind tour of the city, whizzing through Rome, pointing and shouting out as he drove past the colosseum and other famous landmarks as the girls snapped pictures. The pictures by the girl who didn't use kodak film came out blurry wheras the pictures of the one who did use kodak film turned out picture-perfect. Well - our taxi driver did not disappoint! That was our exact experience (minus the picture snapping. We had too many bags in the back seat with us). Our driver chattered on in a mix of Italian and English, gesturing wildly when he didn't know the right english word (sometimes with both hands!). And if we thought the drivers in Milan were mad, we didn't even know what to call the drivers in Rome. It was road chaos like I have never seen it (except for my trip in highschool for spring break to the Dominican Republic. Those drivers were way scary too) and we were right in the middle of it, and I'm sure creating our fair share of it as well.
As our driver zoomed around the cars that weren't moving fast enough for his liking, and squeaked between vehicles at a standstill at a light creating his own lane, and swerved around scooters only to have to swerve again to avoid hitting a cyclist, he pointed out the sights and gave us a bit of history between angry shakes of his fist to the imbecile in front of us who decided to wait for the light to turn green before moving.
We motored past the Modern Art museum, numerous churches and catherdrals and monuments and arches and remnants of the city wall, and passed through the Villa Borghese (more on that below) at what I was sure must have been record speeds for that particular section of road, arriving safely at our destination - the Lord Byron Hotel.
The Lord Byron Hotel is a 5 star hotel, and it was our little indulgence on the trip (one of the many, I guess, to be honest :-). This was, after all, our honeymoon! The hotel was amazing. The residential area in which it is situated appears to be an older and fairly affluent neighbourhood. Many embassies and ambassador residences were located nearby. The hotel is just up the street from the Villa Borghese. To look on a map, it is just north of it. The Villa Borghese is an expansive park, that contains a zoo, a beautiful lake, a dog park, many walking and running trails, and of course, paths that are lined with flowers and shrubs and statues and monuments, as is common in all of Rome :-). It goes from our Hotel all the way down to the Spanish Steps, and was the primary route we took to walk into Rome to shop and see the sights each day. It's a gorgeous park. More on that later.
We checked into our hotel and were taken up to our room on the 3rd floor. There are 5 floors in the hotel, plus the restaurant floor below the lobby. There are 28 guest rooms. It's a small and intimate hotel, yet definitely world class and worthy of its 5 star status. I imagine it is also frequented by visitors to the embassies that, as I mentioned, are located in the neighbourhood.
Our room. Our room was WAAAAAAAAAAAAY cool! Very unique. I have to figure out how to describe it. The room is probably a bit larger than regular, by European standards. It held a queen-size bed (not a King like in Crivi's Hotel in Milan), a desk, a set of drawers, a mini-bar and two closets. There was a large window, and also a large glass door that opened up onto a large balcony shared with 2 other rooms, that overlooked the front entrance to the hotel (which was quite a pretty view). But that's not all. The wall against which the bed was situated was mirrored from top to bottom, left to right, in its entirety, giving the illusion of a much larger space (I know what you're thinking. We're on our honeymoon, staying in a hotel with mirrored walls. I assure you it was very tasteful. And before you ask, NO - there were no mirrors on the ceiling). The closets were mounted on this mirrored wall. They didn't touch the floor. This was to provide space for the two bedside tables that were placed on either side of the bed. Opening the closet you looked way up and wondered how in the world you were going to reach the rod and hangers to hang your clothes. Until you discovered a pole that dropped down from the rod in the middle of the closet and figured out that if you pulled on it, it would actually pull the rod and hangers down until they were extended out of the closet and parallel with the floor, and at the perfect height for you to proceed with your unpacking and hanging. Then when you were done you just pushed the rod in and it raised everything back up and into the closet. Very clever use of space. If you still can't quite picture it, watch this little video:
The bathroom was large, and covered floor to ceiling in marble. It was beautiful. And I was delighted to find a large deep soaking tub, and complimentary bubble bath, waiting for me :-). I love my bubble baths!
The balcony as I mentioned was large. On it was a small round cast iron patio table, and 3 cushioned cast iron chairs. Oh - and a potted lime tree. Bearing limes. How often do you stay in a hotel with a lime tree bearing ripened limes on your balcony? Downstairs by the entrance were small orange trees bearing ripe oranges. Too cool.
Snooping around to discover what other treasures lay hidden in this room, I found two luxurious terry cloth robes bearing the Lord Byron Hotel emblem, and two pairs of soft terry slippers with the same LBH crest on those. Yay! No - we didn't steal them. We left them there.
Of course I had to try them on :-)
We quickly unpacked and washed up a bit, and set out to explore a bit of the city before dinner.
We decided to head down the hill and explore the Villa Borghese. We were delighted to discover the man-made lake at the top of the trail, which surrounded a small roman structure.
There were lots of people in the park. Many on blankets in the grass picnicking (or, having finished picnicking, indulging in a little... ahem... dessert), on park benches, strolling along the statue-lined paths enjoying a quiet and romantic afternoon.
At this point I do have to stop and talk a bit more about this park, or rather the people we observed in it. We strolled through this park daily - morning, noon, afternoon, night. And it didn't matter what time of day it was as we were walking through, invariably, on almost every park bench, on the grass, or standing up against a monument, we found couples making out. Not kissing. MAKING OUT. I kid you not. And sometimes they were really loud! Not moany kind of load, but smacking kind of loud. You know - the open mouth kissing sound? Shudder. I mean - it's kinda romantic and all - and very much in line with the italian (and in particular roman) stereotype with which I was familiar. But still a little odd. And it wasn't just the "young 'uns" either. Couples in the teens, couples in their 30's, couples in the 50's... couples in their 70's. It left an impression and I thought worthy of mention. It was all part of the Rome experience :-)
Anyway, we wandered through the park exploring, and eventually made our way to The Spanish Steps, or, translated in Italian, "Scalla di Spagna". It is interesting to note that the locals do not refer to them as The Spanish Steps. Before you say "duh", let me tell you they also do not not refer to them as "Scalla di Spagna". They call them by their real name - "Scalinata della Trinita dei Monte". Trinita dei Monte is the name of the church that is situated at the top of the steps. And it is not a Spanish church. It was founded by the French in 1495.
The steps themselves were built to unite two streets - Via del Babuino (one of the 3 main arteries that radiate into the city from the Piazza del Popolo (no - that is not the Pope's square :-) Popolo means "people")), and Via Felice. Since it's inception it has been a meeting place for locals and tourists alike (although probably more tourists than Romans). What do you do at the Spanish Steps? Why, you sit on them. You sit on the steps and watch the people and the city, eat an ice cream cone, read a book, or just hang out and talk. And we did all of that. Not all at once, mind you. We made several trips to the Spanish Steps. Mornings, afternoons, evenings. It didn't matter what time we came though, it was always lively and colourful and filled with people. A pretty cool place!
At the bottom of the spanish steps is the start of the main shopping district of Rome. We wandered through a couple of the streets - observing similar stores and people as were in Milan's fashion district. Although there were much more people.
In our wanderings we explored a few cathedrals. I have to say, the cathedrals and churches in the city were almost unrecognizable from the street front in many cases. Buildings and shops had grown up around them over the years, and unless you read the writing above the door or the plaque on the wall next to it, you wouldn't know until you had seen a few, that it was a church because all you could see was the front, which went up so high it was not possible to view the cupola or spire that probably existed at the top.
The churches and cathedrals were beautiful. Adorned with old, and often ancient, works of art - paintings, tapestries, and mosaics, gilded ceilings with depictions of angels and saints and heavens painted on them, marble columns and floors... they are definitely worth seeing. You won't see them all though. There are far too many.
After exploring the shopping area, a few churches, and the steps, we decided to catch a taxi back to the hotel, grab a nap, shower up and then go for dinner. I neglected to mention upon checking into the hotel we were given a voucher for 2 full-course meals in their 5-star restaurant. So we had already decided we would celebrate our arrival in Rome with a nice dinner in our hotel.
When we got back to our room we were pleasantly surprised to find a chilled bottle of champagne on the table with two glasses, and a note wishing us a pleasant stay. I remembered then that on our Itinerary our travel agent (Sarah at Elizabeth Holmes Travel) had put in a request for a room with balcony for "honeymoon". I'm pretty sure that was the reason for the champagne as well. What a nice way of recognizing the specialness of our vacation!
We decided to get a bit dressed up (Tim had brought 2 jackets and I a number of dresses in anticipation of getting to dress up a bit while on our honeymoon, but we didn't need them in Milan) and indulge in a little champagne before going down to the restaurant.
The meal was wonderful - all 4 courses (now that we were no longer eating 4 course lunches as well, we were finding the 4 course dinners much more manageable :-)). And by the time we had finished we were ready to turn in for the night, get a good night's sleep, and start fresh in the morning, ready to explore Rome in earnest.
Here are pictures from our first day in Rome.