Friday, November 19, 2010

Visiting Rome

Its been just over 10 months since I travelled out of the country and it really seemed for ever....I had almost forgotten what to take while travelling as a family...We pinned down on Rome ( one must see cities!) as we were going during term time and couldn't afford to take the girls out longer.

So we decided we leave on an early Sunday morning flight so that we can do some sightseeing even on Sunday.All through I will mention things "What did I learn?"I thinks that's what will help any one visiting Rome next time.

the taxi drive from the airport to the apartment took us an hour and we were ready to begin exploring Rome by 1 PM.

We started with The Colosseum, followed by a tour guide who took us to Arch of Constantine,Arch of Titus and Palatine Hill.It will take you a good 3 hrs if you really like to immerse yourself what happened 2000 years ago....Amazing perspective on Roman History!

We walked back to the apartment only 10 minutes away after having dinner.and ice creams...being

We began the next day with visiting St Peters Basilica.....it truly shows the role of Christianity.....The opulence of the building's interior bears true testimony to the enormous wealth of the Catholic Church!

The Vatican Museum was a true eye opener ....The Sistine Chapel ....The museum seemed endless....

Post which we ended up shopping around Piazza di Spagna......the streets were lined up with all renowned brands and windows display on shops were outstanding...

Day 3 we decided to venture out on an open bus tour ....so that we don't miss any significant landmark of Rome. We visited the Pantheon ,Piazza Navona.....and finally after lunch decided to go shopping!We were lucky to get a 48 hrs pass as a special offer with kids free!


Our first mishap so shall I say unfortunate incident occurred....our camera fell down though we could continue to click pictures and the zoom functionality had stopped functioning!We were grateful it retained all pictures taken and it still worked.! But that was not the most disturbing experience I personally had.....I was nearly pickpocketed!  ( will write that on a separate post don't want you to be put off!)

We then took a bus to Porta di Roma shopping center .It is the largest shopping center in Italy and one of the most modern in Europe, with a total GLA of 97,000 m².We accidentally discovered it while trying to go to the fashion district which we didnt go as it was very far! Porta di Roma offers a good variety of fashion and daily needs which makes the shopping center attractive for leisure shopping and functional shopping. Needless to say we didn't visit all shops but loved the shopping there...We returned late as it a good one hour ride by bus from the main Terminal.....close to where we stayed.....

The next morning we were back on our Open Bus to have a final look at city of Rome.We stopped at Capitoline Museums and Piazza di Spagna.....We didn't have much time as we were warned of some political demonstration may delay traffic.....
We took the Airport express back to the airport to experience the Italian railway service.There was a lot of nice shops in the airport although we hardly had time to look around!

All of us were happy to be back in our own beds at home after the "Roman Holiday"!



Photos ...click on the link!





What did I learn?

1.We figured out for a 3 to 5 days trip from Gatwick its always better for us to drive and park at the airport!It is cheaper than booking the cheapest taxi to and fro .Also when you are in your own car you kind of feel your journey starts only when you reach the airport.

2. Although I have used several budget flights this is the first time I had experience of first come first serve seating although printing your baording pass and checking in does speed up the process at the airport as you can directly use the baggage drop only lane.So as soon as you drop the bags, it is better to queue up at the gate if you have any specific preference for the seat!

3. The cheapest and fastest way to get around was to buy a 3 day BIG Ticket ....travel is free fo children on with a 11 Euro ticket you can go around as much as you want!It will amaze you they have only two lines A or B with only one Terminal!

4. Rome was a great place to shop for curios and clothes!
and

5. Finally .....how close I was to be pickpocketed!........so be  VIGILANT all times!