A Day Trip to Rome: A Cheeky Adventure – Day ten

An Early Start to the Eternal City

Up at the crack of dawn today, as we had a train to catch to the eternal city of Rome at the unholy hour of 07:45! The alarm blared at 06:30, meaning we had a grumpy teenager on our hands for the start of our journey – and no, it wasn’t Adam.

For a mere €9 each way, we had a two-hour and twenty-minute train ride ahead of us. A bargain, I’d say, compared to the extortionate £280 return it costs me to get to London for work during rush hour.

We found ourselves in a 6-person couchette with three other passengers, while Warren, Dawn, and Adam were a couple of rooms away. Picture the old BR trains with a side passage and compartments off it. These couchettes also moonlight as sleeping carriages, with seats that pull together to form beds for three.

An elderly gentleman in our compartment tried to strike up a conversation. Between broken English and Italian, we managed to chat a bit. He even recommended a cream for mosquito bites, which we later tried to find at the pharmacy. Unfortunately, they only had the sunburn version. Better luck next time!

A Birthday Adventure in Rome

We’d planned to spend the day in Rome to celebrate Warren’s birthday (I won’t spill the beans on his age, you can just guess). I was the only one who’d been to Rome before, back in 2009 for the Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona. We lost the game, but had a fantastic time nonetheless.

Arriving relatively relaxed, we decided to walk into the city. Warren took the first shift of map reading before Dawn took over as our official guide. She did a fantastic job, leading us through the maze of Rome’s streets – hats off to Dawn, as I know many who would have left the navigating to the men. Great job, Dawn!

Our first stop was a bustling backstreet café for a coffee break. I’d forgotten my credit card, but Warren generously offered his to Michele, provided she settled up when we got home. A brave man! However, it turned out we had to bankroll Warren for the day as he’d forgotten his cash. So, Michele stepped in to lend him a few quid.

Exploring the Pantheon and Beyond

Continuing our walk, we headed towards the Pantheon, passing a street sign named Ponte Garibaldi (Gary and Baldy) where Warren and I had our photo taken. It gave us a good chuckle – if you can’t laugh at yourselves, who can you laugh at?

Ponte Garibaldi

The Pantheon, bathed in sunshine, looked splendid. Officials were busy blowing whistles at anyone sitting on the steps, which was a big no-no. The heat was intense, with zero shade in sight.

We decided to hop on a tour bus next. At €48 for the three of us, it was a steal. We visited the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, and Arena Maximo (name spell check pending). We even managed a Bray tradition of having a McDonald’s in every city we visit, this time near the Trevi Fountain on the rooftop terrace. The pigeon population was relentless, and Michele endured a 20/25 minute queue to use the ladies’ loo – appalling! Dawn nearly caused an international incident by threatening to push in just to wash her hands, but Warren whisked her away to the gents instead.

Vatican Visits and Colosseum Capers

At the Vatican, we were bombarded by queue jump sellers but had no plans to enter. The regular queue snaked around two-thirds of the square. Warren tried haggling for a selfie stick but couldn’t agree on a price.

The Trevi Fountain was surrounded by perspex screens for restoration, which was a shame as I’m sure it would look stunning in full flow.

The Colosseum was a breathtaking sight. Some areas had been sympathetically rebuilt, though perhaps not to everyone’s taste. Time was short, so we didn’t go in but saw plenty from the outside. I’ll definitely go inside next time I visit Rome.

Silly Dads at Arena Maximo

Circus Maximus was rather barren and not on most tourists’ must-see lists. It’s not far from the Colosseum and is, I think, the stadium depicted in Ben Hur for the chariot races. Warren and I couldn’t resist playing the part of silly dads, giving each other piggyback rides and pretending to be gladiators.