Day 1 in Rome - Tuesday 10 September

Our accommodation at the Locanda Colosseo is small but comfortable (I chose it from booking.com reviews), and conveniently located on Via Cavour, very close to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Trajan's Column, and the Victor Emmanuel Monument. There is a Metro stop nearby and the huge Termini Station is a 15 minute walk away.

When we were dropped off, we went in the entrance to the building, and tried to work out where the B&B was. There was one of those really old lifts where you have to shut all the doors and you can see out of the metal cage as you ride, and we went up to the first floor. We had a friendly welcome by a staff member.

After we'd settled into our rooms (facing the street on Via Cavour, but with shutters to cut out the street noise) we wandered out to find the Metro for Jan and Steve so they could catch the train to their early Tour of the Vatican Museum the next morning. Then we sat down and caught our breath over some cold drinks, before heading out for a walk further afield to get our bearings and find somewhere for dinner.

Thinking things were closer than they looked on the map, I led the others past the excavations along the Via dei Fori Imperiali, around the Victor Emmanuel Monument, to an area near the Campo de Fiori.

  

 



I found a gluten free restaurant I'd seen recommended on Trip Advisor, and we enjoyed pizzas for dinner at Voglia Pizza. Initially thinking we'd share pizzas, the waitress convinced us that we needed one each... it turned out that they were huge pizzas. This restaurant had a full GF menu including pasta and dessert, but we were too full to enjoy anything more. I was quite awake, but the others were exhausted, Jan even falling asleep momentarily with her head on the table! Nevertheless, it was wonderful sitting at a table outside with the temperature still 28C (it had been 33C when we arrived in Rome). We fell asleep instantly that night, once we put our heads on our pillows!

For our first full day on Tuesday 10 September, we had a lie in, David waking around 6:30 am, but then sleeping in a further two hours and being amazed he'd slept so late. He obviously needed it! We went two doors along to the little cafe where we handed over the voucher from our B&B and were given breakfast - we chose coffee, juice, yoghurt, bacon and eggs. Then off we went, exploring.

My first priority was to check out the notorious Termini Station, to find out its layout, and the likely platform for our train to Naples on Thursday. We bought a Roma Pass that gives us unlimited train travel while we're here, free access to two museums, and discounted access to others. David bought a bottle of water at a little supermarket, noticing the price of DAS beer supplied in Countdown supermarkets was not very different to the local price here - amazing. We got some small change so I could have a Euro coin with which to access the public toilets (coin operated, no change given).

Then we caught the Metro to the Spagna stop, and had a proper look at the Spanish Steps (we'd only seen these at night during our visit in 2009). See if you can spot David (not Wally) in the photo.

Then we climbed to the top for some great views over Rome. We kept following the road that skirted around the Villa Borgese Gardens, and wandered into one section, coming out at Piazzale Napoleone I and spectacular views over Piazza Del Popolo and across the city to the dome of St Peter's.

As we walked down to the Piazza Del Popolo, we came across a museum exhibition (possibly the same as one we didn't get to see in Christchurch) about 'The Genius of Leonardo da Vinci'. It was excellent.

Then we wandered through the Piazza, through the arch/gate Porta del Popolo and into Piazza Flaminio. By now, David was desperate for lunch (it was around 3pm). The only food seemed to be pizza, no bread rolls or decent sandwiches where we looked, so (of all places) we ended up in Burger King where David had a wrap and I had a smoothie, and we shared some fries.

Next, we caught the train around to the Ottaviano stop, near St Peter's. We thought we might have another look inside St Peter's, but the queues were too long, and then it started to rain. The temperature had been a balmy 33C (but not unbearable at all).

I had also been looking for another highly rated GF restaurant, and found it just in time. We ducked in out of the rain and sat down for a drink. The menu looked good for GF, but it was too early for dinner. Then we headed back to the Termini on what were now very overcrowded trains. We gave up doing one transfer because the train was jam-packed, and walked the rest of the way back from Termini to our B & B, with the rain just beginning to set in more.

We collapsed back into our room and blobbed for an hour, had showers, did the inevitable laundry in the shower, and then shared a bottle of bubbly with Jan and Steve (gift from our hosts) before wandering out to find somewhere nearby for dinner. We ended up in an Argentine restaurant where the food was over-priced but we had a pleasant time (they also understood the 'sanza glutine'). Jan reported that the wind at home had blown in a window at their house, so we're wondering what things are like at our place.