The Roma Return

 Gino's garden at Ciampino is a fifteen minute walk from the Casa Bianca Station and as I still had the TrenItalia app on my phone which had retained all my details we were able to check the timetables and book tickets in to the Rome Terminii central station. Here we found our way through the shopping area down to the Underground Line A which took us to the outskirts of the Vatican City in no time at all and just required a tap of a bank card to pay the fare. Emerging in to warm sunshine we walked towards St Peter's Basilica and were approached by a friendly Bangladeshi woman, one of the many runners offering tours. She said we could get on an English language tour that was just about to leave so took us to a small office where we paid €80 each to cover the tour of the Vatican City including the Sistine Chapel and avoiding the queues. No doubt we could have saved by sorting it out ourselves but our guide was excellent, we avoided the queues and were soon inside the City complex with ear pieces giving us access to his commentary. Some 4000 people a day enter the State to work, most countries of the world have Embassies there and the complex includes many acres of lovingly tended gardens and suites of rooms, chapels and galleries linked by many corridors. Several museums display an astonishing array of paintings, tapestries and sculptures and it would take many days to do them all justice. Along the walls of one long gallery were mediaeval maps of the world and in another there were intricate tapestries covering scenes from the Old and New Testament.

Eventually we reached the Sistine Chapel which was indeed remarkable given that it was the work of one man, working at great height and apparently having to mix and apply his own plaster base for the paintings. Whilst hugely impressive we both felt that we had seen equally amazing work in other churches and cathedrals on our travels.

Our guide left us to enjoy the Basilica at our leisure so we decided to pay to ascend the main dome via several hundred steps that wound their way inside the curved walls before emerging high above St Peter's Square with extensive 360° views across the city.

Half way down after grabbing a drink and snack in the small and reasonably priced cafe we stopped to walk around the inside gallery of the dome which gave us a real idea of the size of the structure as we peered down at people on the ground floor. Mandy had a particular desire to see the Pietra which is now housed behind a protective screen after a hammer attack many years ago. There were many remarkable paintings, decorated crypts, papal tombs and richly gilded altars which we enjoyed before exiting after a full day as the sun set with the colourful Swiss Guard watching over the main entrance to the Pope's private quarters.

The few homeless people in a small tent city just off the square contrasted rudely with the excess and affluence we had been experiencing and gave us cause for thought as we found the station again and returned to Terminii. We knew our train would be at the end of a long walk to platform 18 but jogged a bit as it was due to leave. In fact having settled in our seats on the upper deck we learned that there was a delay due to a problem down the line which caused a group of British guys to panic as they had clearly cut it a bit fine for catching the evening flight to Manchester so disembarked and ran off to get a taxi. After twenty minutes we were on our way and I suspect given the traffic the British group might have been better staying on the train. Walking back to Gino's we were tempted by the Baffalona Steak House which had a meat counter with a remarkable range of steaks available from Waygu to buffalo and in a choice of weights. The friendly staff took our orders, produced the wine and subsequently served two delicious fillets accompanied by roasted vegetables and potatoes. We noticed other groups tucking in to great slabs of meat with little else but were glad we had ordered less, if only 'cos it left room for pud....

After a quiet night we were back on the train again with time for a quick coffee in a bar before reaching the centre once more and catching the same metro but getting off at the Spanish Steps we had missed last year. The rest of the day was spent walking at leisure and with no specific itinerary but we returned to the Trevi Fountain, found a square with 3 fountains and eventually reached the Coliseum that appeared as impressive as ever. A coffee in a smart cafe overlooking the structure revived us as we dipped in to the metro once more for our train home. Having trekked out to Platform 18 we found out that all trains on our line were disrupted so returned to the main concourse to find out more and after half an hour a train going our way was indicated so we trailed up to 18 again, sat down somewhat exhausted and before long were on our way.

On the Saturday we serviced the domestic side of the van and settled up with Gino (€25/night) and then drove out the few miles to Ostia Antica which had once been the port for Roman Rome. The Tiber estuary had silted up leading to the place being abandoned but the extensive remains of a variety of buildings and the street plan including fortifications and gateways were well worth exploring on a sunny day. The museum had a collection of statues and busts that had been discovered as well as various artefacts and was well presented. The cafe behind sported the all too common surly and indifferent staff who were more engaged with their phones than their customers so no tips were forthcoming.

I rang a number for a sosta an hour or so away and the lively Florinda said we would be welcome to stay. On arrival down a track we were redirected from one house to another large property set in substantial but unkempt grounds where Florinda greeted us and introduced us to her two friendly dogs. She was multilingual having run a group of three hostels in Rome for many years but was now retired and living in the family home having sadly lost her parents and husband during COVID. She was an endearing and intriguing character and we enjoyed a quiet night at her home before saying our goodbyes and heading along the coast.

We stopped at the War Cemetery in Anzio where Operation Shingle had seen many American lives lost and walked down to the port area where fishermen were mending their nets and numerous smart eateries lined the harbour side. We walked out to the end of the breakwater and then chose a street food outlet for a delicious burger in the sun.

Near Sabaudia we arrived at a farm stay on a large horticultural enterprise occupying many hectares of the sandy land along the coastline. There was no one around but I rang the owner who was out to lunch and said just to settle in as required. We followed signs past huge polytunnels to a hedged off grassy area with power and water points and just one young Italian family in a small caravan.

A walk along the lanes passing the usual appalling fly tipping brought us out on to the long sandy beach which was our return leg home as the sun set. The next day we met the owner who showed us inside the huge polytunnel and gave us a handful of the small courgettes (zucchini) that was the current crop. The yellow flowers are a local delicacy dipped in batter and fried briefly. Heading up a very twisty road we reached Cap de Creus with its stunning views across the Bay of Naples and walked out towards the radio masts before descending via another series of hairpins and picking up the road south towards Naples. A deviation in to the hills brought us to an aire outside Sessa Aurunca, a walled mediaeval town which also had an impressive Roman amphitheatre on the outskirts. The aire was a bit unkempt but provided power, water and a park up for no charge...remarkable. So far we have been paying for stops, mainly for the security aspect, but Sessa felt fine and there was a full time dweller in a caravan with a large awning who we thought would deter unwanted visitors. We walked through a large gate tower in to the town's maze of narrow streets spotting an elderly upholsterer hard at his trade and eventually reaching the town's impressive cathedral lit brilliantly internally as the evening mass was underway. A smartly decorated cafe provided a friendly and warm space for coffee, the indifferent service and attitude seems largely confined to the employees in the public sector, business owners are generally more welcoming and engaged. After a quiet night on the aire we returned to the town for coffee in the square and a look inside the now quiet church before giving the owner of our planned stop in Pompeii a ring. Giuliana was again multilingual and was at pains to point out that her place was the one below the road....

After a supermarket stock up and crawling through the narrow traffic choked streets of Poggiomarino where we saw the Italian driving style at its best (particularly the reversing blind out in to traffic) we reached Giuliana's camper stop (English and Russian spoken) where one other large German van was parked up : his driving experience would have been awful and as always I was grateful for the modest dimensions of the battle bus. The site was well kept and her son Flavio soon had us parked up with a shot of limoncello in my hand, and a map to show us where things were in town. After lunch we walked down to the station to check out train times and ticketing arrangements as there is a local line, the Circumvesuvia that operates the most useful service. Out at the entrance to the Pompeii site it all seemed rather quiet but we familiarised ourselves with the set up and then enjoyed a drink on the main square adjacent to the huge church

Torrential overnight rain had cleared as we set off early hoping to beat the crowds (daily access is limited to 20,000 visitors) but on arrival there was almost no one around. After a basic security check we paid 25 euros each to include access to the two 'suburban villas'. We enjoyed the amphitheatre with the place to ourselves and then started exploring the vast grid of cobbled streets, many showing the grooves of carts and chariots, lined with the remains of shops, taverns, bakeries, food outlets, houses, villas and temples. We spent a thoroughly absorbing day dipping in and out of covered displays when the heavens opened and getting warmed up in the small cafe. The suburban villas lay outside the main complex and housed some stunning mosaics and frescoes and were well worth the visit. We returned via the large Forum once more with temples and civic buildings around the outside and were grateful to have experienced the place more or less on our own.

On the Thursday we caught the train out to Ercolano, a twenty minute run for a couple of quid on a rather squalid and graffiti covered local EMU and just outside the station signed up for the two o'clock bus up to the start of the crater walk of Vesuvius. This gave us time to explore Herculaneum which had also been covered by up to 75m of volcanic debris which had also pushed the shore line out by a few kilometres. A good app provided information on another remarkable layout of streets in a rectangular grid, the ruins of the houses, shops, taverns and villas, temples and gardens that were now available to explore. Being considerably smaller than Pompeii it was perhaps also more manageable and we left in time to catch the 2 o'clock bus that climbed steeply up the twisting road on the slopes of Vesuvius with superb views out across the sprawl of Naples. There is a cheaper local bus, the 808, but as our bus had included the entrance ticket and been hassle free we felt, like at the Vatican and some border crossings, that paying a little more was a good investment.

With the higher altitude it was decidedly chilly as we set off up the cinder path to the Main Crater. Some workers were filling in channels eroded by the previous day's heavy rain and we were soon at the crater edge looking in to the enormous void where steam and gasses were escaping from numerous fissures and holes. The path continued round the rim and to our delight the sun emerged as we looked out across to Pompeii and back in to the inner depths of the crater itself. The return bus journey left us a little queasy and the evening train was fairly packed so were glad of the walk home after an enthralling day.

Yesterday we settled up with Giuliana who moved to Italy from Russia 25 years ago and was interested to hear about my plans and amused by the half dozen Russian phrases that I have mastered. An hour's drive brought us to Camping I Pini at Meta on the Amalfi coast where after an hour in the sun we walked down to the station to check out trains to Sorrento and then descended many steps to reach the small harbour and beach. Waves crashing over the rocks and walkway made for an exciting stroll round to a smart bar for a drink before we returned via the small town stopping at a couple of shops for some basics.

After the 7 minute train journey to Sorrento we walked through the town and came across a large area of lemon trees with a visitor centre and adjacent public park detailing the history of the Sorrento lemon, a PDO product. Heading through the main centre we waited respectfully as a funeral cortege left the cathedral with the deceased clearly an important figure as police officers stood to attention and the hearse was a modified Maserati estate car. A long series of steps brought us down to the Marina Grande where we watched local fishermen bringing in the catch, mending their nets and repairing their boats....in a back street we looked in to the workshop of a boat builder before heading in to a restaurant for an excellent sea food lunch. Back up at town we took another set of stairs down to the Marina Piccolo (ironically actually larger) from where ships departed for Capri and Naples but a heavy downpour had us heading back up to the main square for coffee and cheesecake before the short walk to the station and even shorter journey home. I had had a text to say that my Digi SIM needed topping up to roll over unused data and I overcame my spare phone's inability to operate the app by installing it on the newer phone and soon had another 100Gb for about £8 which should see us through Italy and across Greece.

This onward progress will be reported next time.....

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