|
|
||
Rome in a weekend by Paul Kirkham Rome will most certainly be all things to everybody, it’s a capital city of a sizeable country, so that goes without saying, but nothing could have prepared me for the Rome I discovered in a weekend in June.
If given just five words to describe my experiences Rome, I would have to choose; Hot, expensive, tiring, but perhaps most importantly, stunning and awe-inspiring. Never has a city managed to excite pretty much every single one of my senses in the way that Rome did. One thing was abundantly clear everywhere throughout the whole stay, if you’re coming to Rome, be prepared to spend. I am sure there are many ways to enjoy the city on a budget, to keep a tight reign in the finances, it’s just that we didn’t see many of them. It started well and on a small scale with Coventry airport. It does everything it says on the tin, it’s small, cheap, cheerful and has a shower cubicle sized duty free section. What do you expect for £91.00 for return flights for two adults? This was the last semblance of anything small for the rest of the weekend. Thinking back, flying over the Alps, with the snow covered ice caps poking through the wispy clouds, gives you a portence of things to come.
Leaving the smog bound Ciampino airport we decided to test the local taxi system and this is where I would strongly suggest you listen to the nice lady on the flight offering a reasonably priced bus service to the city centre. As soon as the meter started to spin, we knew we’d made the wrong decision. Yes, it was very nice seeing all the sights at break neck speed, and the thrill of nearly crashing half a dozen times is something that those of a more extreme sports bent would appreciate, but not for me. Every cliché you can think of for the Italian driver, loud, shouty, hand waving and exuberant is there for a damn good reason, because it’s true. Fifty euros for a motorized adrenaline rush, round most of Rome and back again is something that I could have done without. However, it did give us a good idea of the scale of the city and the footballing views of an Italian driver. Apparently David Beckham is overpaid whichever language you think in.
|
|
||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
