B63: Europe by Rail (Part 4 of 5)

19/10/2021

Our European backpacking adventure in Sept 1991
Part 4 of 5: Rome

So this week’s blog continues with the third leg of my 1991 European Interrailing/ backpacking trip. You can read about the first legs covering Dublin/Paris/Brussels (click here), Brussels/Berlin/Prague (click here) and Prague/Munich/Florence (click here).

Day 12 Friday 20 Sept 1991 – Florence to Rome

Mary’s extract: “Got up at 8am. We had checked out, had breakfast and left the hostel by 8:45am. Our train from Florence to Rome was at 10:33am. We had to sit/stand in the corridor as we had no seats. The supplement cost IR£6.50. We arrived in Rome at about 1 pm and found that there was only one hostel; this was not possible to book by phone. As we were not prepared to have a repeat of Florence, we went for lunch before organising the accommodation. We found a small restaurant near Roma Termini where we had the Tourist Menu! (Lasagne, omelette & fruit salad). As before, the pasta course was a dinner in itself. The cost was IR£7.50 each, including drinks. One of the waiters, Mario, told us he “loved to drink ze Geeness in ze Irish pub!” "

Roma Termini Station

Trish’s extract: “The heat in Rome was really oppressive and after the meal we were ready to fall asleep. However, we set about the serious business of finding beds. We left our bags in the “left luggage” and took the metro to Ottaviano. The metro is very limited in that it only has two lines. We then got a bus to the youth hostel which was about 5-6 stops away. The hostel had plenty of beds and was nice. We checked in for two nights and at this stage we collapsed in the heat for about an hour, until we got some of our strength back.”

Our Rome Hostel Docket

Mary’s extract: “After our rest, we headed back into Rome city centre and went to see the Colosseum which was amazing and the surrounding area. The horse and carriage men were giving trips. We then went back to the left luggage and picked up our bags. Martina witnessed a fight between the attendants and some English people who thought that their luggage was not being handled carefully – objects were thrown! When we came back to the hostel we were tired so went to bed about 10pm.”

Seeing the amazing Colosseum, Rome, Italy - 20 Sept 1991

Day 13 Saturday 21 Sept 1991 - Rome

Trish’s extract: “We got up at 8am. The hostel seems to be on the main road out of Rome and a constant noisy stream of traffic had passed the window all night long. However, this didn’t stop us from sleeping soundly. Breakfast (Colazione) was from 7:30 to 9:00 am and consisted of one roll, butter and jam, and tea/coffee. The good thing was that the breakfast area had a shop where other (proper breakfast) food could be bought.”

Mary’s extract: “At 9:15am all the lights went off and they announced that the hostel was closing. We took our gear and headed for the beach at Ostia. We went out by train with a crowd of noisy American teenage girls. At Ostia we went looking for the beach and were delighted to find it was clean and sandy. Here we hired beach beds and umbrellas and had a full day’s relaxation interrupted only by trip to the shop for “gelato”! It was lovely and hot but we were well-protected and enjoyed the heat. When we were finished reading etc., we watched the other sunbathers. They seemed to be mostly Italian. The parents are very young here and the old people are very wizened from overexposure to the sun. Parts of the beach were private and had to be paid for before entry. This wasn’t expensive – we paid about IR£4/IR£5 each. The Italians talk very fast and loud and all appear to talk at the same time. It is impossible to tell whether they are arguing or just having a conversation!”

The Beach at Ostia near Rome

Trish’s extract: “We met an old lady from Clare on the beach (at Ostia). At about 6pm it began to get cool so we headed “home”. On the train were a group of Dublin people who looked to have gotten severely sunburnt. They were laughing and joking a bit on the first train but by the time we got to the metro one of them had turned white and was very sick. The Rome metro is very stuffy and almost feels difficult to breathe in. The trains themselves are almost always very hot. We decided to treat ourselves to a nice meal and stopped off at the Colosseum where we had seen some nice-looking restaurants last night. Unfortunately, the one we picked was not the best. The food was not great, Martina’s wine was not nice and the place was dirty. The waiter also seemed half drunk.”

The Irish College, Rome, Italy

Mary’s extract: “After eating, we went to the Irish College which is nearby to see if we could go to Mass tomorrow. “Nearby” turned out to be a very long street up a hill. Going in we met an Irish student priest who was on his way out to work in Rome’s Irish pub. Mass at 9:30am on Sunday, he said. We headed back to the hostel stopping off for gelato en-route (surprise!).”

Trish’s extract: “Martina is leaving tomorrow evening and is currently planning the itinerary for her last day. Mary and I have decided to stay here for Sunday and Monday nights, leaving on Tuesday and stopping off in Switzerland on Tuesday and Wednesday nights en-route to Paris.”

Day 14 Sunday 22 Sept 1991 - Rome

Mary’s extract: “Got up at 8am. Today is Martina’s last day. We went to the main railway station, Termini, for Martina to reserve a couchette on her train and for us to change money. We then went to St. Peter’s for Mass. We arrived there at about 11am and went into the Basilica. From inside the door we could see only crowds of noisy tourists taking photos. When we moved further up the church we discovered that there was some seating but the seats were all full and crowds were standing in several rows behind the seats listening to Mass. We joined them but did not understand much as it was in Italian. However, we did receive Holy Communion.”

Crowds inside (top) and outside (bottom) St Peter's Basilica, Rome - Sunday 22 Sept 1991

Trish’s extract: “When Mass was over it was about ten to twelve so we went outside to see if the Pope was giving his twelve o’clock address. The heat in the square was almost unbearable and there were crowds of a few thousand. We were dutifully watching the balcony where we expected the Pope to appear when we heard clapping at the other side of the square, and realised that the Pope was at a window there. He was so far away from the crowd that all we could make out was a tiny white figure at a window several stories up. He gave an address in Italian and then spoke very briefly in several other languages including English….when he prayed for Peace. The appearance lasted about 10-15 minutes and we were delighted to get out of the great heat when it was over.”

Listening to Pope John Paul II (the white dot in the window with the red banner) - Sunday 22 Sept 1991

The three of us in St. Pater's Square, Vatican City - the only phot of the 3 of us together! - 22 Sept 1991

Mary’s extract: “As we were approaching the Vatican earlier in the morning, several black men were selling belts, money belts, sunglasses and junk jewellery which they had laid out on sheets along the footpath. On our way back, the police were clearing them away. Several people handed us leaflets for nearby restaurants. We went to one of these for lunch and had lasagne, steak and dessert for IR£7.50. We ate at the pavement tables which were shaded overhead and had shrubs at our backs. It was deliciously cool and a welcome break from the sun.”

"La Caravella" card - where we had lunch - 22 Sept 1991

“After lunch, we headed back to Vatican City (which is small) and then walked across the Ponte Vittorio Emanuel crossing the Tiber. We crossed back at the Ponte S. Angelo where more black men were selling belts etc. They were eager to bargain; almost throwing a calculator into our hands to get us to indicate how much we were willing to pay. We spent a while in a park near the Castel S. Angelo writing postcards. It would have been a nice park if there wasn’t so many overflowing (and very smelly) dustbins in it.”

Park in Rome with smelly bins - 22 Sept 1991

Trish’s extract: “…..we went to see the Spanish Steps which the girls managed to climb but I refrained. The steps were crowded with people (all sitting) watching other people go by. At the front of the Steps is a Piazza with a fountain, around which were more crowds gathered. We concluded that the water in Rome must be clean as people regularly put their heads under the fountains for a drink.”

Me & Trish having a natter on the Spanish Steps, Rome - 22 Sept 1991

Mary’s extract: “After this we went back to the Trevi Fountain (to buy gelato!). Several other people had the same idea and the area was thronged with people. It was then time for Martina to go back to Termini for her train. We went back with her and she set off for Paris at 7:10pm on an overnight train arriving at around 10am tomorrow. Patricia and I waved goodbye. It was kinda sad splitting up. It was too early to go “home” so we set off in search of the Irish pub which Mario the Italian waiter had told us about on our first day in Rome. His instructions were hopeless but we eventually found “The Fiddler’s Elbow” in a small street near Termini. It was much more like a normal Irish pub than the one in Berlin and had a nice crowd. The bar staff were Irish as were most of the customers. We had a couple of drinks and left at about 10:30. Tomorrow we plan to spend another day on the beach at Ostia.”

"Fiddler's Elbow" Irish Pub, Rome

Day 15 Monday 23 Sept 1991 - Rome

Trisha’s extract: “We got up at 8am and after breakfast packed our stuff for the beach. Then we looked out the window and were amazed to see that it was raining heavily. Shortly afterwards there was thunder and lightning. As we had no contingency plan, we were not prepared to do anything else. So we went into the Station and got out our books; firstly to plan our departure tomorrow and secondly to see what we could do today. We decided on going back to Paris via Lucerne and stopping there for two nights. So hopefully we will be off at 8:10 tomorrow morning. For today we decided first to look at the shopping areas and then to go see the Sistine Chapel.”

En-route to the Sistine Chapel with my entrance ticket - 23 Sept 1991

Mary’s extract: “….we headed for Via del Tritone which is one of the main shopping areas. Most of the shops were clothes shops and were not as expensive as at home. We saw several nice skirt suits for IR£90-120. At his stage it was lunchtime and we were outside McDonalds. The McDonalds near Spagna has a huge salad section and dessert section. We duly ordered our usual fish/chips/chicken nuggets/shakes etc. (Martina would not have been impressed with us!)”.

Memorable McDonald's near Spanish Steps, Rome

“The rain had stopped so we went to the Sistine Chapel which is only a small part of the Vatican Museums which consist of 30-40 rooms. It is so extensive that there are different tours labelled A, B, C and D to take, as it is not possible to fit it all in. It cost 10,000 Lire (IR£5) entrance. 2 hours (and what seemed like 10,000 steps) later we were glad to get out. Every room is so ornate and filled with paintings and sculptures that after a while you suffer from visual overload. We wandered past a lot of it (probably with a glazed look in our eyes). The Sistine Chapel itself is the last room to see on the tour. You are not allowed to sit on the floor or the steps here, to talk or to wear shorts. The ceiling is very high and quite difficult to see as a result but something not to be missed just the same.”

Some of the detail from the Michelangelo Sistine Chapel Ceiling: "Creation of Man" (Top) & "Adam & Eve" (Bottom) as seen Mon 23 Sept 1991

Trish’s extract: “After the Sistine Chapel we went back for gelato and then decided to buy some food for tomorrow’s trip (which will be very long), so that we will not be starving as we were on the way to Florence. We didn’t know where to get a supermarket as they are not very common but found an “Alimentari” which is equivalent to a grocery shop and got our food there. We then returned to the hostel to deposit the food. It was rush-hour around this time and it was very difficult to cross the roads. We discovered that motorists are in fact supposed to stop when pedestrians are on the marked crossing areas, but they never do. So it is a case of stepping out with great courage and forcing them to. (This works!). “

Souvenir Napkin from the Gelato Shop - Rome 23 Sept 1991

Mary’s extract: “The cars are mostly small Fiats or similar super-minis and the Fiat 126 in particular is really popular. We saw two nuns driving one today in Vatican City. After resting for a while in the hostel we went back to Termini and went for some food. We had lasagne, ice-cream and coffee in a restaurant near the station. This turned out to cost 40,000 Lire (IR£20) as it included both a cover charge and a service charge which we had not bargained for. We then reserved seats on tomorrow’s train. The man in the train office said he was speaking only Scottish today and we would have to come back tomorrow if we wanted to speak English – a mild attempt at Italian humour. There was a 12,400 lire (IR£6.40) supplement to pay on the train.”

Parked Fiat 500 in Rome

Trish’s extract: “When we got back to the hostel we attempted to check out as we will be leaving very early tomorrow. The man on reception was waiting for his “colleague” to take over the next shift and the colleague was late. He was in extremely bad humour and dealt with the ten or so people by scribbling a big notice, “THE RECEPTION IS CLOSED” and pasting it to the desk. He then relented and asked us “what our problem was?” and informed us that we could check out in the morning. We went to bed around 11pm”.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Bucket List Items Ticked Off in the above Blog 63

Number 7 - Backpack around Europe
Number 34 - Food & Drink - Eat Regional Foods