When In Roma

On our second night in Roma we had no Opera singer outside our window. It was almost a disappointment, not to hear the screeching, ear piercing, finger nail on a chalkboard Soprano   but a good night’s rest

On our full day in the eternal city we navigated over to the Trevi fountain, and tossed in some coins, as one must do, when in Roma.

Trevi Fountain

My traveling compadre wanted to hike back over to the Vatican to hear Francis at noon. Because we were far away, and mostly lost I thought we would miss it and not be able to get to close.  but we got very near St. Peters square and could see the third-floor window under the flag where Francis was a tiny white dot. In his message I am sure the Pope thanked us personally for attending his noon speech, but as it was in Italian and he was a little hard to hear over the people talking around us I can’t be certain, but others are.

We had recommendations for Gelato and after finding an excellent local place for lunch we headed out to find it

Best Gelato In Roma

 

The queue to get into the tiny Frigdarium shop was long, but not as long as it was yesterday. We waited, and it was worth the wait. Their Gelato is excellent, so good you didn’t want your cone to be done. A must stop when in town.

On our next morning it was time to leave our accommodations at the Relais Rione Ponte. There may be better places to stay when in Roma, but that is doubtful. The staff was so attentive and helpful, making wonderful espresso, fixing the air conditioner control after I pushed all the buttons and still couldn’t get the thing to stay on longer than one hour, and even helping us get our bags down the lift and to the corner taxi stand. The room was wonderful also and the wi-fi powerful and free.

Near Our Hotel

 Our cab driver was not named  Marco, that I can be sure of, but he knew his way to the train station through the tiny narrow streets of Roma, and he wasted no time getting us there, helped us with our bags, all this for ten euros tip included.

As expected the train station is huge, and confusing, but with the help of a street person and only two euros we found our track and before long off on a high-speed train to Venice. It should be noted that baggage for ocean liners is not completely compatible with rail travel, but spots were found, and the isle cleared, and we were off.

High Speed Train

283 kilometers per hour was our top speed and we zipped through green country side dark tunnels and three hours later arrived in Venice, where our hotel was only across the canal over a bridge from the rail station, but with the aid of a porter and twenty euros we managed the transition.