Rome in a rush!

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

The hotel ran a shuttle service between the other Roma Mercure hotels and also via Station Termini. Handy for those willing to battle public transport after a long flight. There is a direct train from the Airport to Termini.

One of the Mercure Hotels (Mercure Roma Delta Colosseo) was a block from the Colosseum and Forum. The shuttle bus ran about every hour and ten minutes and was freely available for hotel guests. (Guess how we got from Bologna to the Colosseum!) We used a small shuttle bus from the airport, which unfortunately delivered us to the wrong Mercure hotel. Thus our knowledge of the shuttle bus!

Breakfasts were as good as any we have had in hotels both at home and abroad, and much better than many we have encountered in other European cities and in the UK. The variety of foods was excellent and the yoghurts and cheese (yes.... cheese for breakfast!) was very tasty.

The tariff was much lower than the Mercure Colosseo, but with the shuttle bus service it was no less convenient. However, as a schoolteacher on holiday, a room that did not look out on the local school would have been preferable. The hotel had non-smoking rooms. Quite important given the number of Europeans who seem to smoke.

The hotel also had free internet access. Nice to be able to keep in touch with home!

The food was both tasty and reasonably priced. Given the difficulty of finding a restaurant open early enough for tired tourists where we could make ourselves understood, this one stood out. The waiter understood sufficient English for us to cope with ordering and paying, and we were seated and fed early enough to suit our schedule. An attempt the previous night to find local cuisine was less successful. We found a sort of pizza cafe, but were unable to successfully place an order for food. (English was neither spoken nor understood.)

The food never seemed to end. Good thing we had done a few laps of Rome during the day to build up our appetites. We also needed to do a few more the next day to work off the dinner. The only criticism of the evening was that coffee stopped after one table (not ours!) and the waiter started the rounds of distributing the flowers. Seemed to lose the plot and we missed out on our coffee. Coffee, of course, is one of the things that they are good at in Rome!

Still, it was well worth the 8.00 Euro entrance fee. A truly amazing structure. The Romans certainly knew how to build things. We spent about 2 hours here and were certainly impressed.

We also spent a few hours walking around the Roman Forum. Another impressive Roman structure. Photo opportunities abounded. I also like the way later Christian cultures recycled the Roman temples. (Although marks on the columns around one recycled temple indicate that they would have preferred to start with a clean slate!)

We managed to find someone offering a free tour. He explained (in English, thankfully) a lot of the historical aspects of the Forum. The only catch was the advertising of an evening tour for which one had to pay. We were heading for bed early to recover from the flight so were not planning to do anything!

The church compared itself favourably with other churches around the world. Larger than Westminster Abbey.... they had a mark on the floor to indicate the distance from the entrance of Westminster Abbey to the altar. It was well inside the church entrance!

Some popes were arranged in glass cases in alcoves around the church. Their faces were covered with either wax or silver masks. Strangely, not all popes were accorded this privilege. Some were buried under the floor in catacombs marked by a circular cover. No one could explain why some got the wax treatment whilst others were given the silver service.

Still, as an example of how to spend absolutely obscene amounts of money on interior decoration, St Peter's Basilica has to top the list (followed closely by the Sistine Chapel).

If you are not completely churched out, this one is a must see! (Along with the Sistine Chapel, also in Vatican City.)