2012 Rome and Eastern Mediterranean Adventure

2012 Rome and Eastern Mediterranean Adventure

Sunday October 7^th

Our Mediterranean adventure began on a beautiful, sunny autumn Sunday in Seattle. Dr. Hal gave us a lift to the airport and we checked-in with British Airways in a relatively relaxed setting.

We made our way to the British Airways Terraces lounge atop the South Satellite. We were doing this trip up right (Club Class) and took advantage of all of the perks that come with that. We had experienced the lounge last year when we flew Icelandair, but BA puts out a much broader range of comestibles. There were little sandwiches with a carrot-ginger spread, and ham with apricot that were quite appetizing. The lounge was relatively quiet, and although views were limited, we could still see some aircraft activity. Svetlana was one of the busy lounge staff members, and we spent some time talking with her about photography (one of her hobbies).

A new addition to this trip was Dobbin, Allan’s “Angry Birds” red bird doll. He made his first appearance here in the lounge, and is certain to appear throughout the journey.

After a few hours in the lounge, we made our way to gate S10 where we boarded British Airways flight 48 to London, a 747-436. We were seated on the Main deck in seats 14J&K in the forward Club World section. While we prefer sitting upstairs, no seats were available this flight, but It worked out fine. The seats were fairly comfortable, and the overall cabin design was understated but tasteful.

The sun was setting as we took off just after 7PM local time. Our cabin crew was a fun mix of a lot of gay and gay friendly gents, so we were well treated. They worked well as a team, and soon menus were handed out. There was a nice grilled vegetable starter, a salad, and then a beef tip with potatoes and mushrooms. Dessert was a panna cotta.

We each slept for about four and a half hours of the nine-hour flight. I didn’t watch any videos, and only a little of the moving map. I just enjoyed being in the experience – a rarity for me.

(Allan) – I watched about the first third of Harry potter Part 7.1, then my melatonin kicked in and I slept quite soundly for about the same length of time as Steve.

Monday October 7^8h

Breakfast was a much simpler affair: a bowl of cut fruit, a warm piece of bread, and a bacon roll (which was simply a piece of bacon stuck in a small roll). Coffee and juice were more than welcome.

We circled a bit before landing at an overcast Heathrow airport, about ten minutes after noon. The pilots gently guided the jumbo jet to a gate in Terminal 5’s “B” pier, and were soon off the plane. A side note: I’d forgotten how wonderfully quiet and graceful the 747 is, still a joy to fly after 42 years.

Those making a transfer at Heathrow have to go through Security again (although no shoes needed to be removed). After finally getting out of that mess, we made our way to the North Galleries Lounge in the main Terminal 5 building.

The lounge was huge (as should be noted was the entire Terminal 5) and had great views over the tarmac and runways. We enjoyed much-needed showers and then a 15 minute free massage at the Elemis spa. While getting a facial, you sat in a motorized chair that massaged, pummeled, rubbed and kneaded your back. It was marvelous!

(Allan) Daddy, buy me a chair! The massage kind. Yes, I WANT it… ;-)

Eventually we met up with Shaun and Michael at gate A11 for our British Airways flight 554 to Rome. Allan and were seated in 2A&C on the Airbus A321. The interior still looks very late 80s, early 90s. British Airways uses convertible seats in Club Europe, so the seats were a little wider than a standard economy seat with a 1/3 seat in the middle. We were delayed in pushing back from the gate, and then entered a long queue for takeoff. It was fun seeing the different liveries of the airlines that fly into London – probably my favorite in the world for that sort of thing.

We took off at 4:30, about 50 minutes after our scheduled departure time of 3:40. A “high tea” was served”, with some finger sandwiches and a sweet. Due to favorable winds, we landed only ten minutes after our scheduled 7:10 arrival time.

Compared to our previous tranquil arrival at Rome’s Fiumicino airport in 2004, this time there were a lot of people in the terminal (an Air China A330 disgorged its hundreds of passengers at the same time we arrived). Passport control lines were long, but once you got to the agent, he just glanced at your passport and waved you on. Remarkable.

In 2004, one of Allan’s suitcases didn’t connect at Heathrow and he had to deal with a lost bag (it was delivered the next day). This time, everyone’s bags made it to the belt. Unfortunately, our driver never made it. We didn’t discover this until about 30-45 minutes of looking around the meeting area in Terminal 3 Arrivals. When we finally contacted our Rentals in Rome representative, he told us that the driver was involved in an accident. He recommended that we just take a cab into town. It was another high-speed drive down the Autostrada, but our driver got us safely to our destination, 99 Via Francesco Crispi in about 45 minutes. (Allan) Poor Shaun was not quite ready for that drive from the airport into town. Steve and I knew what to expect, as I suppose Michael did also, but Shawn had the middle seat in the back and had no choice but to watch our driver veer in and out of the frantic dance of metal. Harrowing but exhilarating ;-).

Instead of a hotel stay, the four us thought it would be more fun to rent an apartment for a week. The cost was 1,600 Euros, about $2,000.

The apartment is on the 3^rd floor of an older building in the neighborhood between the Spanish Steps and the Piazza Barberini. It has marble floors throughout, and a clean, white, open look. There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a big living room, and a compact kitchen – plenty of space for us to stay for a week.

After getting the monetary side settled with Alex (the Rentals in Rome rep), we unpacked and then headed out for a little exploration and food. Our exploration took us to those same Spanish Steps, but from the top looking down. The city was quiet while still exuding that charm that makes Rome a favorite of ours. We managed to stop and have some of the lousiest pizza in Rome, but at least we were here!

On our way back to the apartment, we stopped at the relatively quiet Trevi Fountain, which looks better at night than during the day. Maybe it was the lack of crowds and souvenir hawkers.

Got to bed after 12:30, and took quite a while to get to sleep.

Tuesday October 9^th

Shaun and Michael had the insight to pack a French Press coffee maker in their luggage. Even better, they packed a bag of ground coffee. That got the day off to a good start. After our ablutions, we walked down the block and discovered a small grocery store, where we purchased milk, juice, and some other comestibles we’d use during our stay.

It was a partly-sunny day, about 75 degrees and a little humid. We made our way to the Trevi Fountain again, this time packed with tourists. Pictures were taken of our obligatory coin toss (it must be true, because here we were, back in Rome again!). We leisurely walked toward the Imperial Forum area, and then made our way to a restaurant named “L’Asino d’Oro” (The Golden Ass) at Via del Boschetto, 73/74. (It was recommended in the Rome for Foodies iPhone app). We had an incredible   €12 prix fixe lunch that included a hummus appetizer, potato soup, ziti with lemon zest, ricotta cheese, and pepper, and a veal stew. It was all delicious and the service was outstanding. (Lunch even came with a choice of white or red wine, but Shaun is the only one drinking on this trip so far, so the rest of us had a Sprite-like beverage common here in Rome. – Allan)

We had bought Roma Passes which made for an easy entrance to the Colosseum. We didn’t see this on either of our previous visits, so it was a delight. All four of us used our iPhones to listen to the Rick Steves’ walking tour of the Colosseum, which was terrific and took about 45 minutes. I managed to trip going up the stairs but didn’t hurt anything (except my pride). The scale of the place was amazing, and it was thrilling to stand in such a historic (if horribly bloody) setting.

We stopped for a refreshing coffee at a nearby café before heading back to the Forum area to enjoy another Rick Steves’ iPhone audio tour. We picked up a lot more details than we did with our guide on the 2004 trip. While it still appears as a bunch of ruins, if you squint just right you can mentally re-create temples and other buildings. A few raindrops fell, but nothing that spoiled the experience.

The first time I went to Rome, I found few of the men attractive. This time, that sort of scenery was vastly improved. Either that, or my standards have changed. Maybe a little of both. Anyway, it was fun snapping pictures on the sly (and sometimes not so sly). One of the cutest was a young bearded priest on a bicycle. I know somehow I’m burning in hell for that…LOL

(Allan) I concur. The “scenery” has much improved over the last 8 years (numnumnumnum).Many short, stout, furry beasts running around here. You know I hate that…

We stopped in at the Gesu Church, which was large and ornate, as well as another church (behind the Pantheon) that had a stunning lapis-blue ceiling. We also visited the Pantheon, which seemed to have been cleaned up since our last visit. Still stunning.

We walked back toward our neighborhood, enjoying the bustling early evening crowds and the wonderful stores along the way.

Dinner was at an old favorite, the Terraza Barberini. We had a leisurely dinner that included salad, gnocchi, saffron and myrtle risotto, a typical Roman Fritture platter (fried rice balls, potatoes, cheese, etc.). and profiteroles for dessert. We almost closed the place as we left after 11PM.

 

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

(Allan) I woke up early this morning around 7AM after having gone to sleep around 1AM Tuesday night. I’ve slept well here so far even though we’re doing so on two single beds (bleh!). We decided that since we’re having our tenth anniversary and Michael and Shaun have only been together for two that they really should have the larger bed >:-].

I opened the can of Illi Espresso we bought at the darling little grocery about 20 feet from our apartment door and made a pot of extremely strong coffee to get me going. After checking on my Flickr upload I decided to start editing the tags and details for some of the photos (a lengthy process in Flickr). This is something I rarely do, but would like to get better about. It helps when people are following you for them to have some clue what they’re looking at yes? ;-))

It was a very languorous morning with all of us moving slowly; not in any hurry to get out the door. The weather was perfect and I was looking forward to locating a TIM shop (Telecom Italia Mobile)where I could purchase a pre-paid SIM card for my recently unlocked (or so I thought) iPhone 4.

Well… let’s just say that was our drama for the day and let it go at that, shall we? Yes, we shall.

The upshot was that yes – I did get that SIM card for my phone and no- it doesn’t work. Not yet anyway. It was not that expensive: €25 for a micro-sim including 1GB of data. If I end up not being able to use it I’ll still be able to sell it when I get home for at least that much. Win-win.

We hiked over to the Esquilino District and ate at a great little fast food Indian place that reminded me a little of the place in Jackson Heights, Queens that David and Richard took us to a few years ago. The food was very good if the place was a bit funky, and the service was prompt and cheerful.

After lunch we made our way over to the Baths of Diocletian and the Museo Nazionale Romano .The Baths were not so much really, but the National Museum… well, all you can say is WOW! It’s probably my number three now for Rome right after the Borghese and the Vatican Museums. Pretty spectacular indeed. I’ll be uploading pics and videos to my Flickr site here soon, so stay tuned.

Roaming the sumptuous galleries in the Museo Nazionale Romano  was completely exhausting. We did manage to make a quick stop afterward in another of my favorite churches: San Bernardo alle Terme. The dome inside this lovely old church is magnificent, and seeing it the first time in 2004 is one of my most cherished memories of my first visit to the Eternal City.

We walked home to our spacious digs on Via Francesco Crispi and promptly passed out for a longish nap.

Steve and I walked to a great local pizzeria Pizza Ciro for dinner and had a very festive experience. The place was filled with locals and the spread they had laid out in the back was amazing to say the least.

Well it’s the “Big day” Thursday (it’s now 1:48AM and all good little otters must away to bed… Ciao!