Blanca & Ian's Travels

Sicily

Trip Report - 2009

Doin' the Ruins
(With a slice of Roma thrown in)

Roma, Taormina, Siracusa, Modica, Menfi, Palermo

Roma

Hilton Cavalieri
Via Alberto Cadlolo 101, 00136 Rome, Italy  
Free with Hilton Honors Points

http://www.romecavalieri.com/

Accommodations:  Rm 614.  Very nice queen-bedded room on the 6th floor.  Very nice 'American-style' room.  Comfortable couch & chairs.  Bathrobes & slippers.  Satellite TV via SKY, Safe,  mini-bar, ice machine down the hall, in-house restaurants X 1, concierge, swimming pool, spa.  A typical Hilton.

Located on a hill to the north of Vatican City.

The Negatives:   15 minute cab ride to virtually any point in Roma.  Very expensive food & beverages.  To use public transport you have to walk 15 minutes to the bus stop & connect with subways.

Day 1 Saturday May 23

Our flight from Toronto was uneventful. My Frequent Flier status & early booking earned us First Class seats with the new lay flat seats/beds/cubicles so it was a very painless 7 ½ hr flight. I had prearranged pickup from Rome Cabs for 45€ & the very affable & efficient driver was waiting outside the baggage area.

See http://www.romecabs.com/

After a quick ½ hr drive we arrived at our hotel - the Hilton Cavalieri. The hotel had some convention underway so our room was not ready until 3 pm. We wandered the grounds & visited the new Coliseo Lounge which is free to Hilton Honors members. Cold drinks & niblets were available but it seems that free breakfast was going to be denied for our stay since the lounge didn't open until 11. The hotel sits on a hill north of the Vatican with wonderful city views. I didn't choose it for it's location but it was free & as I mentioned, our last stay in Roma was at the Hotel Caravaggio which was a pretty subpar hotel. This time I wanted better, thinking that this was one of the reasons we left Roma disappointed last time.

Day 2 Sunday May 24

We woke up refreshed but skipped breakfast in the hotel due to the extortion-level food prices. The breakfast buffet was around 30€ per person. I had booked tickets at the Villa Borghese for 11 am which meant a 10:30 am ticket pickup time anyway. We grabbed a cab to the Piazza Popolo (10€) & had espresso/cappuccino & pastries in some touristy café in the southwest corner of the piazza. Espresso was a relative bargain here at only 4€. The bus/subway option would have been cheaper for us but I was antsy about the timing which is why we cabbed. In fact, we ended up never using the subway because it was so difficult from our location since it always involved multiple transfers etc. Oh & I didn't mention, but a heat wave had also hit Roma the day we arrived. The expected high for this day was in the low 30s C.

Another taxi ensured that we made it to the Borghese in time for our ticket rescue. We got audio guides & started upstairs while the hordes started down, so we perused this fabulous collection with relative ease & peace. It was worth the effort! This reputed art thief certainly had good taste.  The Bernini fest was wonderful.

Borghese Gallery & Museum Website

We wandered back through the large Borghese park, picking up some ham & cheese paninis & water along the way for lunch under a shady tree. The heat was building so walking turned into trudging.  Then it was down through the Trident area to the Augustus mausoleum & the Ara Pacis. I was curious about this monument, so we dug deep for 8€ a piece & went in. Well, at least it was cool inside because it was pretty much a waste of euros. It is a newly restored monument of peace built & dedicated by Augustus. Some very nice reliefs on the side, but debatably not 8€s worth. Augustus was a pretty smooth oporator & he would have loved the attention.  In the wonderfully cool basement, we commiserated with a couple from South Africa who were holidaying with a $12 to 1€ rate. And we thought our rate was bad!

Outside on the scalding streets again, we walked to the Spanish Steps. Why are these a big deal? There were throngs of people in the Piazza. Tour groups. Hawkers. Literally thousands gazing at this non-event. I just don't get it. We escaped down a side street & slipped into a shop for a limone gelato. Thank you to the woman who stepped on my foot here btw. Next time please look before you reverse your bulk. Can you tell that I was hot & annoyed by this time? We found the Piazza Barberini, whose northeast corner is Hilton's designated hotel shuttle pickup spot (which was actually free - can you believe it?). An espresso & cappuccino at a cafe across the street calmed our nerves until the shuttle appeared. We did see our 1st of several police motorcades while waiting here too. Sirens blaring, they screaming through the piazza with some politico or other in a sedan.

Interestingly, the shuttle was stuffed with Hilton Honors members & we compared notes. We all had rooms facing the antenna. All of us but one were denied 7th floor lounge privileges. Normally, the executive lounge is a great freebie for HH members but this property only let us into their new cheapie Coliseo. They recently turned into a Waldorf & it appears that they changed the access rules the day before we arrived & this one man had checked in several days before the change. This was not a happy group. I know if you are not an HH member, that this is meaningless to you & you probably resent our indignation, but we spend a lot of time starring at Hilton & Hampton hotel room walls when we travel on business & this is a privilege that we look forward too.

We collapsed back at the hotel & rested until dinner.

At 8 pm, we headed out for dinner with a wild taxi driver who played chicken with a lady on a motorcycle for about 10 blocks. She had nerves of steel.

For dinner, we chose Ambasciata D'Abruzzo which is in the Parioli, a residential area far removed from the tourist zone north of the Borghese. I would describe this as a good neighborhood restaurant.  We ate outside with good food, served by a friendly waiter & surrounded by Roman families out for Sunday night's dinner. 108€ but that included a splurge bottle of '01 Prunotto Barbaresco for 50€. I highly recommend this restaurant if you want to get away from the tourist zone mania.

Ara Pacis

Ara Pacis - detail

Bernini in the Piazza Barberini

Day 3 Monday May 25

This was a big day (Monday) because I had not one, not 2 but 3 reservations.  Scavi tour @ 11:15 am.  Vatican Museum tour @ 2 pm.  And dinner at Armando al Pantheon @ 8 pm.  I don’t think we have ever been this organized for a holiday.  

We headed out early again for breakfast in the streets in front of San Pietro & the Vatican .  This warren of ticky-tacky shops & restaurants is not known for value or quality but it was close to the ‘main event’.  The usual was ordered in some anonymous cafeteria – espresso doppio, cappuccino & some bun things for breakfast.  About 12€ for all.  

We wandered around San Pietro square watching the crowds build & feeling the heat of the day begin.  The tour groups were out in full force following their respective leaders.  When you see one coming toward you, just stop & let them by.  They will not give way.  They will not stop.  They will literally trample you because a mass of people is just like a mass of cows – stupid in their blind need to follow the leader.  At least most groups have earphones now so you don’t have to endure the drone of their ‘expert’.   

As an aside, I haven’t mentioned the water fountains of Roma yet but they are an amazing resource for parched, baked tourists.  Use them.  It’s free (one of the rare things in Roma that is) & good.

At our appointed time for the Scavi tour, we entered the gates on the left side of the square.  The Swiss Guards admitted us to the parking area & I was able to point out the plaque on the ground that marks the center of Nero’s Circus of old.  Our tickets were waiting for us in the office – glass doors on the right in the archway.  

Booking the tour:  As many have noted before, this is a tour you have to book months in advance due to the small groups admitted.  Also due to the complete lack of communication from them.  I 1st tried to book this last fall.  I sent email – no response.  I tried again in March.  I sent email – no response.  Finally, with 3 weeks to go, I sent a curt email requesting a tour in English or Hungarian.  (my wife speaks Hungarian)  Bingo!  We got a booking – in Hungarian!  I figured my wife could translate the juicy bits for me.  

Booking info: Vatican Scavi Tour

Mr. Paolo Parrotta email mailto:scavi@fsp.va
Responsabile Ufficio Scavi 
Fabbrica di San Pietro 
00120 Città del Vaticano (Europa)
Tel 0039 06 6988 5318

Our group consisted of 4 people plus our guide. The other couple was a young Hungarian woman & her Romanian or Czech boyfriend. Our young tour guide seemed to talk exclusively to her but he did relax the rules & let us take pictures! Bonus! Although when the guide of the Italian group that followed us saw us she hissed at us - but out of her sight, all was well.

I must admit that I missed the commentary but my wife fed me snippets along the way.

Some 'pagan' tombs. Note these are only 'pagan' if you are a Christian but I guess they own the place now . . . Please excuse the blurriness in some of these.  The lighting was poor & I didn't use a flash & I had to be quick & discreet as above.

Roman Tomb
(Tomb of T. Aelius Tyrannus)

Relief with burial niches
(Tomb of the Valerii 2C)

Roman Tomb
(Tomb of L. Tullius Zethus 2C)

After the tour, we exited back into San Pietro square to run for lunch . . .

We grabbed a hurried pizza lunch in a restaurant in front of the square.  It was actually pretty good but we only had 10 minutes to enjoy it before we had to rush to the museum entrance for our 2 pm tour.  And it’s a long hot walk to the entrance with construction along the way.  Against my better judgment, I acquiesced to my wife’s request for a tour.  The last time we were here, we lined up early in the morning & did the Sistine beeline.  Then we doubled back to see the rest of the museum.  I was inclined to just book entrance tickets to line jump but we opted for a tour in English.  After a 10 minute lineup, we were in - only feeling mild pity for the throngs in the general lineup.  

Inside the entrance hall, confusion reigned supreme.  There were hot, sweaty bodies everywhere.  With difficulty, we found the tour ticket wicket.  We found the audio guide distribution.  Here 2 employees were having an intense conversation with each other & doing their best to ignore the mass of tourists demanding their audio guides.  We stood with a group of English speaking tourists who were as confused as us.  Finally, a tour guide made herself known & we were on our way.  As were 20 other tour groups . . .  

This was not a fun experience.  The mass of people blocked every object, every view & every single thing of interest.  And did I mention that everyone was hot & sweaty?

Mobbed in the museum
(Laocoön and His Sons)

Roman statue & nobody in the way

By this time, we were getting seriously frustrated.  The audio guides cut in & out & belched.  The crowds were intense & making the whole experience miserable.  About 5 groups appeared to be moving in the same mass.  We gave up & left our group & walked ahead.  The museum was full to bursting in every room & every hallway.  We pushed & shoved our way following the signs to the Sistine.  It was totally lunched.  Inside, staff were waving the people through like cattle.  This irritated my already irritated wife & she took off ahead into the crowd.  Which promptly swallowed her.  Really?  . . . oh no . . . ?  Yep.  She disappeared.  

Now earlier in San Pietro square, I had made a mild mention that the obelisk would be a good meeting area if we got separated.  I must have been talking to myself.  We also had heard (and I thought that I mentioned it to her) that the exit to the church was on the right from the Sistine.  Well, she didn’t take note of this tidbit . . .  

I dumped my audio guide by the door to the church & waited.  And waited.  Hmm.  She (unbeknownst to me) was waiting just outside the other door.  Hmm.  After 5 minutes I decided that she might have already gone ahead, so I slowly & watchfully made my way down & out through San Pietro to the obelisk in the square.  She on the other hand reversed our route & went the long & circuitous route to the entrance to the museum.  Just a bit of miscommunication here . . .  

I waited for about 45 minutes sitting in the weak shade of the fencing around the obelisk.  I had a fountain nearby to stave off dying of thirst.  She waited for about an hour in a crack of shade outside near the museum entrance.  She had a water bottle in her purse.  We were both at opposite ends of San Pietro.  Not a fun time.  We both assumed that the other party would be pretty upset.  

I finally grabbed a taxi back to the hotel.  She did the same.  So we met an hour & a half later back in our room in our blissfully air-conditioned haven above Rome’s madness . . .  

And the moral of this tale?  Always discuss a meeting point – before you need it.  And always have your hotel name & address written down & make sure that everybody has it.  

After some recuperation, we taxied to the Pantheon for dinner at Armando al Pantheon.  This cozy eatery has been recommended by just about everyone.  We reserved a couple of weeks in advance because the restaurant is tiny.  Dinner was superb.  I had stracciatella & pig.  I forget what my wife had but similar.  The bill was 70€ (discount for cash) including a bottle of ’05 Dolchetto d’Alba.  Very yum, yum.

Day 4 Tuesday May 26

Since I am a very amateur student of Roman history, I requested some time in the Roman Forum to poke around.  The last time we were there, I stumbled around confused by the jumble of stones & columns, not quite understanding the way the imperial builders overlaid the Republic builders etc.  This time, I had a couple of decent maps & the determination.  My wife didn’t really want to see it again & preferred a slow start morning so I struck out alone & we arranged to meet on the steps of the Capitoline Museum at high noon.  

I arrived – but not before a mass of student groups – and spent an enjoyable couple of hours figuring it all out.  I also went through the Palatine section to see the rubble of the various houses of Rome’s rich & famous.  I hungered to see the new Domus Augustus underground site but that obviously must be pre-arranged.  But I had fun.

Imperial Rostra
A lot of hot air here.

Inside the Curia - Senate House

Forum from the Capitoline

View of forum from Palatine

Domitian's Circus
An arena . . . in his house . . .

Our meeting point worked without major issue & we spent the rest of the day just wandering the area north to the Tiber – Pantheon, Trevi, Piazza Colonna (some protest was in swing near here) & the river walk. And yes, it was still hot.

We returned to the hotel for some much deserved R & R.

For dinner, we ventured out to Sora Lella on the Isola Tiberina. This restaurant was a crash & burn.  My dinner was pretty mediocre (meatballs & veal roulade) & my wife disliked her food intensely (bean soup & a pig cheek & a walnut pasta dish).  They didn’t charge us for her pasta so dins was 50€ including some wine or other.  I would give this restaurant a pass.  Since grandma (pics in evidence everywhere) stopped running it, it has probably been going on reputation.  To say we were less than impressed is an understatement.

We were tired of Roma.  We don’t like the city.  There I said it.  I know that many travelers do & might take offense to this, but we just don’t.  We have given it two tries & it failed in numerous ways both times.  We were tired of the noise, the traffic, the motorcycles, & the expense of virtually everything.  We didn’t find the people friendly at all – just typical big city indifference.  The sites are incredible & the Vatican Museum & the Borghese Gallery are must sees for any art lover.  And San Pietro Church is unlike any other.  But we have seen them all now.  We might use it again as a gateway to Italy, but the only view we will have is in our rearview mirror as we drive away.

Ponte Fabricio
Built in 62 BC

Teatro Marcellus