11 - 17 Feb 2016
In a fit of madness a year ago, we'd said 'wouldn't it be fun to go to Rome to see the Italy-England game in the Six Nations Rugby?'. It was fun, and lovely to go somewhere other than the UK, but there's so much to do on the house and in the garden at this time of year, it was quite a wrench to leave it all behind and try to relax.
Greece is currently in the grip of a Farmer's protest about eroded pensions, and they are blockading the major roads with their tractors. This meant we had to take the very early (7am) bus to Athens to get off the island, and then take a tortured route avoiding the bottlenecks. The usual 5 hour trip took seven hours, but we were so early we had the whole afternoon to go swimming at the airport hotel!
Our flight was seriously early as well, so that we had arrived in Rome and made it to our hotel before they'd finished serving breakfast, even tho' our cheapo hotel served breakfast in another building several blocks away. Quite a bonus. So we stocked up on carbohydrates, and set off to find Kate and Laurie in the smart end of town.
In a fit of madness a year ago, we'd said 'wouldn't it be fun to go to Rome to see the Italy-England game in the Six Nations Rugby?'. It was fun, and lovely to go somewhere other than the UK, but there's so much to do on the house and in the garden at this time of year, it was quite a wrench to leave it all behind and try to relax.
Greece is currently in the grip of a Farmer's protest about eroded pensions, and they are blockading the major roads with their tractors. This meant we had to take the very early (7am) bus to Athens to get off the island, and then take a tortured route avoiding the bottlenecks. The usual 5 hour trip took seven hours, but we were so early we had the whole afternoon to go swimming at the airport hotel!
Our flight was seriously early as well, so that we had arrived in Rome and made it to our hotel before they'd finished serving breakfast, even tho' our cheapo hotel served breakfast in another building several blocks away. Quite a bonus. So we stocked up on carbohydrates, and set off to find Kate and Laurie in the smart end of town.
Laurie and Kate from Nisos, in the posh hotel where everyone else stayed
Our little room in the back streets somewhere - overlooked by THREE popes!
Pavement cafe (in the rain)
Lovely day on Saturday, walked along the river and explored a park.
Jonathan and Bella arrived late Saturday, and settled in fast.
With Rowan from Nisos and Simon, our glorious leader.
Match day - Bella and I with our warpaint on
In the stadium, just before kick off
Monday, time for some culture - a stroll round the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel, followed by sunset at St Peter's Basilica
For some reason, I felt very welcome in Rome ...
Me and my birthday panna cotta in a posh restaurant, courtesy of Jonathan.
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