Ever since I saw 'Roman Holiday' *ing Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, its been a dream to go there with my own Joe Bradley. Time flies by and its Nov 2008. My Joe Bradley and me finally decide to take a small holiday in Rome .... a twist ..we are accompanied by little Bradley.
Its been a hectic year. New job, new project , stress at home ... by November I am ready for a nice holiday.
Anyone who has been with me on a holiday will know the amount of planning I usually do. I usually surf the net and get a list of attractions to visit. I then compile my own list noting down some interesting facts about the place : some historic or architectural fact. I also have a list of restaurants near the places, espcially a list of vegeterian restaurants. Then the list of things to take. Well this list actually belongs to hubby dear .. he usually helps in compiling the list. I just add a few items to it. This list is v useful when you have a 2 year old to travel with.
well this trip was different. I had no time to do any research. All I knew about Rome was there is a Colloseum and Vatican to visit. I was busy at work with a project and didn't pack our bags untill the night before. We spent the night rushing from room to room dumping things into the bag. Next morning woke up at 4 to go to the airport ..... caught the flight at 6:30 .. the flight took and my Roman Holiday had started.
Just 2 mins into the holiday and we realised we forgot to pack my son's sippy cup. Now my son is very particular about his sippy cups. He likes his yellow cup and absolutely refuses to drink water from any other cup. Yogesh rushed around the airport searching for the same yellow Avent sippy cup, but didn't find one ... oh oh is this a sign of things to come !!! Well anyways managed to convince my son drinking from the proper bottle was a 'BIG BOY' way to drink :).
Flight was good. Aki slept at take off and woke up in time for landing. Don't remember the aiport, I guess it was Fiumicino. There were trains going in to Roma Termini, the main train station in Rome. We were too tired and didn't want to walk around with the pram so we decided to take the shuttle to our hotel. It was basically a taxi which dropped people off at their hotels.
My first impressions of Rome was not very great. As we got out onto the motorway I could see construction sites on both sides. Bulldozers and cranes dotted the skyline. My heart was sinking and I began to think 'Is this the romantic Rome everyone was talking about'. Akshay was thrilled to see it, so maybe its not all bad !! We slowly made our way into the main city and I could see modern buildings and apartments. Suddenly in front of us we saw ancient ruins of the Colosseum. Our taxi went right under a bridge which was surely made in BC. So this was Rome a city where the new and old lived in perfect harmony. It was amazing. We were driving right over millions of years of history. We finally reached our hotel. Hotel Valadier was bang in the centre of the city right next to the famous Spanish Steps. Its surrounded by famous boutiques.. an eye watering number of chic shops were all around me .. Me a person totally devoid of fashion was now in the temple of fashion .. well kind of . I am going to shop till I die I promised myself. But first to the hotel. The hotel was quite nice and comfortable and best of the people were very child friendly. Akshay got a royal reception and that was all that mattered. The rooms were dark (but comfy) and Aki was not too thrilled about it.
First stop Spanish Steps. There is a fountain at the base of the steps. Foolishly I thought it was the Trevi fountain ... Aki loves water and loooooves fountains. Rome turned out to be the city of his dreams. Everywhere you look there is a fountain. Fountains are erected to commemorate anything. They are intricate and ornate and with clear pure water. After an hour we managed to pry Aki away from the fountains and walked the 100 odd steps up. The view from the top of the steps was nice.
Next stop was Trevi fountain ... It was a short walk from the Spanish steps. On the way we made a small detour to the buy some toothbrush and paste ... yep one more thing missed out in the packing. No more holidays without a list !!!! We finally made our way to Trevi fountain. It is the most stunning of all fountains in Rome. Its a two tiered fountain with water cascading down the steps. The central figure of the fountain, in front of a large niche, is Neptune, god of the sea. He is riding a chariot in the shape of a shell, pulled by two sea horses. Spent the evening right by the fountain. Akshay enjoyed splashing the water around, not sure if the people around enjoyed it as much !!
Tummy started growling and we headed back to the hotel. We decided to have dinner at the rooftop restaurant. The night was cold, but there were heaters around us. Akshay enjoyed the view from the top. He saw a dome of some building and shouted 'Taaj Mahal' :). Food was good though the bill wasn't !!!
Most websites recommended taking the open top bus tours. In non-baby days we avoided these tours and would have headed out to explore by public transport. But now we couldn't imagine lugging the heavy pram through the crowd and opted for the less stressful tour bus. Also a 'double decker bus' is something that Aki would enjoy. So we set off in direction of Piazza del Poppolo'. This was right behind our hotel. again a small stopover to enjoy the fountain .. one of a lion. Aki was amazed to see water coming from the lion's mouth !!
Now there are atleast 5 different open top buses running in Rome. Since I had not done any research we had to make some on the spot decisions. Had to let a couple of buses to go by before we finally decided on CitySighteseeing bus. We took at 2 day pass (don't remember the cost) which would let us hop on and off. We could also switch between the 3 lines (red, blue and orange). There was some confusion about the direction of the bus and when we sat in one, we realised it was going in the direction of Vatican (we wanted to go to the Colloseum). So Vatican is where we went. We reached the Vatican and saw huuuuuuuuuuge crowds. We could hear someone speaking on the microphone. Looked up and saw the Pope himself adressing the crowd. We had reached in time for Sunday mass. We wanted to go to see St Peters Basilica but dropped the idea when we saw the huge lines. Aki was getting a bit upset too so we took the bus and went towards Pantheon. We walked from Piazza Novona, a cute little square to Pantheon, ancient Roman temple. Reached Pantheon and another fountain greets Aki. There is also a little tap which keeps him busy for sometime. We then made our way in the temple. Some facts taken from wikipedia . 'The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment opening into the rotunda, under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus), the Great Eye, open to the sky. A rectangular structure links the portico with the rotunda'. or as Aki said on looking at the roof 'Amma circle.. big circle'. There are huge spheres made of iron just outside the Pantheon. Aki enjoyed balancing on them. He also tried his best to push them.
We then decided to walk towards the Colosseum. Grabbed a pizza slice on the way and some roasted chestnusts. Those chestnuts are the best I have ever had. Warm and succulent. Walked past some buildings that I knew had some significance, but I had no idea what they were. I felt very lost without my research , but in a way liberated. Since I could enjoy and admire them without having a preconceived notion about it. We finally reached the Colosseum and found it closed. The last entry was at 4:30 and we had reached just after 4:45. So it was sad walk back to the bus stop to take the bus back home. Had a shower and then hit the streets again in search of grub. Finally made our way back to the Pantheon and ate at a restaurant in the main piazza. Akshay enjoyed his meal surrounded by lovely Xmas trees and lights. After our meal we headed back to hotel. It had been a long and tiring day.
Last day in Rome and we had still to see Sistine Chapel and Colosseum. So headed off again to Vatican on our tour bus. Another error because of lack of planning became evident , when I though the Sistine Chapel was within St Peters Basilica. So we spent an hour in the Q and headed inside searching for the famous Hand of God ... no not Maradona... famous painting by Michelangelo 'Creation of Adam'. Finally asked the guards and were told it was in the Vatican Library. So ran off .... finally made our way to the Sistine Chapel ... and saw the famous painting. We were surrounded by so much beauty and artistic things, i hope a bit of it rubs onto my son. Well he has become a michelangelo ay home .. busy painting my walls with his crayons. Everytime i think of admonishing him I remember the paintings in Sistine Chapel. Who knows .....
Again a quick slice of pizza to go and we were on our way to see the Colosseum. This time we made it in good time.. and it was well worth the wait. A slice of history right there in front of us. We could almost hear the roar of the crowd egging the galdiators in their fight for survival. The roar of the lions and the tigers. Another tiny growl which sounded quite close.... oops that was just my tummy. Akshay was enthralled by the story of the boar and the lion and tiger that Yogesh spun out for him. He still keeps talking about it.
Soon it was time to take the cab back to the airport. Our hectic trip to Rome had come to an end ... and I didn't even visit the shops which were right at our doorstep.
The people are amazing. Everywhere we went people went gaga over Akshay. Every restaurant we went they were keen to make sure Aki was happy. I guess thats what made this trip a real pleasure. One downside was the absolute lack of baby facilities. We have resorted to changing diapers in the park. Akshay loved the open places .. he could run around and play and best of all he loved the fountains. I have enjoyed my trip to Rome, I hope the coin tossed in Trevi means I will be back soon
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