On Bank Holiday Monday Paddington Bear invited me to Snugburys to sample his marmalade ice cream. When I arrived, he doffed his hat to welcome me.
Thank you, Paddington. The ice cream was delicious.
This is what happens when an iPhone girl tries to take a photo on a Samsung 
Click on photo to view the video
4 Comments CherryPie on Aug 30th 2024
We got up early so we could enjoy one last hotel breakfast before the taxi arrived for our transfer back to Rome airport. After collecting our bags and checking out at reception, we waited in the lounge area for the taxi to arrive.
There was a bit of confusion when the taxi arrived. The driver read out a couple of names, neither of which was ours. The driver was expecting to pick up four people and when he checked he realised that he had read out the wrong name.
We shared the taxi with a couple who had been celebrating their wedding anniversary and a couple of ladies who were already on board. The transfer ran smoothly whilst the six of us engaged in interesting conversations. The others we were travelling with had all flown from Birmingham and their outbound flight had suffered with air turbulence which we had not experienced on our flight from Manchester.
Checking in at the airport also went smoothly giving us time to relax before boarding the plane. Once again, the flight was delayed due to air traffic control issues. The captain was eventually, one hour late; given the all clear for flight. When he announced this, he added that we would now be joining the ‘Conga’ queue to the runway. There were around ten planes ahead of us on the curvy taxi way to the runway.
The flight was also smooth, albeit with a slight bit of turbulence. Once back at Manchester and past customs and passport control, we made our way to the baggage reclaim area. This proved to be slow again. My bag arrived quite quickly but Mr C’s took a long time to arrive as did many other passengers’ luggage. A few cases would arrive and then there would be a delay before more cases arrived.
With our car reclaimed from the ‘meet and greet’ parking we headed home, stopping to pick up a ready meal for dinner. We stuck to the Italian theme and chose lasagne.
10 Comments CherryPie on Aug 29th 2024
We had afternoon tickets to visit the Colosseum which left us with time on our hands in the morning. We used it to visit the Museum and Crypt of the Capuchin Friars. I found the history of the Capuchins extremely interesting, especially as it included two of my favourite saints; Francis of Assisi and Padre Pio. The crypt is rather macabre, displaying the bones of 3,700 mainly Capuchin friars in a series of 6 rooms.
When we left the museum, it was time to walk the short distance and catch the bus to the Colosseum where we had plenty of time to share a pizza before it was time for our entry slot.
As we approached the Colosseum our email entry ticket was checked. We were informed that it wasn’t a ticket and we needed to go to the ticket agency to get it converted to a ticket. We were given directions which turned out to be a bit vague. We checked at the Tourist Information office who couldn’t see a problem with the ticket but told us where the issuing ticket agency was located nearby. By this time, I was flagging in the 96-degree heat. I waited in the shade whilst Mr C walked the short distance to the ticket agency where he was informed that the email was indeed an entry ticket!
By now, after charging around pointlessly in the mid-day heat, I felt like crying.
Eventually back at the colosseum, albeit now late for our timeslot, our tickets and passport identity were checked and we were in. The wonder of the architecture and the sheer size of the structure soon made us forget the palaver we had had with our tickets. We took our time, viewing the structure from all angles to understand what it would have been like in its day. We were treated to a light sprinkling of rain which cooled the temperature down to an acceptable level.
At its peak, the Colosseum had capacity for 80,000 spectators, which is roughly similar to modern Wembley Stadium. The arena had trapdoors to allow gladiators and animals as bi as elephants to be released into the arena from cages and cells below. The arena could even be flooded to allow naval battles between galleys to be recreated and fought out.
Later, as we walked back to our hotel, there was a torrential downpour which showed no signs of stopping. We purchased an umbrella for Mr C at one of the street stalls. I already had one. This did the trick; it immediately stopped raining.
That evening we chose to dine in the same restaurant as we had done on our first evening in Rome. The outside dining area was full so we dined inside. The waiters and the owner remembered us from our previous visit and welcomed us. One of the waiters even remembered the wine we had ordered and when our waiter of the evening advised us that they had none left our waiter from our first visit produced a bottle from the back of the cooling unit.
When we had finished our main course the waiter from our first visit quipped that we would be sharing a Tiramisu as we had done last time. We surprised him by saying we were having one each this time. Much laughter was had by all.
When we had finished our dessert, he immediately provided us with two glasses of Limoncello, much to the indignation of our waiter of the evening. He immediately said I will bring you another one in a minute. Sure, enough as we finished our glass he filled it up again.
Back at the hotel we enjoyed one last after dinner drink on the roof terrace. All too soon our holiday was coming to an end.
7 Comments CherryPie on Aug 28th 2024
Before catching the ‘I Love Rome’ bus to the Vatican City we had breakfast inside where it was cooler and we wouldn’t be pestered by wasps.
After we got off the bus, we decided to have a drink (to keep hydrated) before embarking on the 15-minute walk to the Vatican City. The service in the café was extremely slow but we waited because we could not guarantee that any other café would have quicker service.
At the Vatican City there was a bit of confusion where I thought Mr C was going to see how our ticket worked. I was left standing in the baking heat expecting him to come back. He didn’t, he had been expecting me to follow him because he (we) was exploring.
When we caught up with each other we were in need of another refreshment stop before joining the fast-track queue for our 1.30 ticket time. The queue slowly wended its way to the entrance. After a while our tickets were checked and we were informed that our email code needed converting to a ticket in the nearby ticket office. I stayed in the queue, eventually arriving at the front where I stood to one side waiting for Mr C to return. When he did, he informed me that our ticket had been converted to a 2pm time slot as he had arrived just too late for our 1.30 slot.
We joined the 2pm queue which moved much faster than the one we had previously been so as it turned out we only lost a few minutes of time. We were surprised that our ID wasn’t checked as we passed through the gate. ID is required to gain entry.
We bypassed some of the Vatican museum’s collections and headed to the Sistine Chapel. Before arriving at the Sistine Chapel, you pass through many of the museum’s collections and rooms. There is an overwhelming amount of art and artifacts to see along the route; far too much to take in. Every now and then the museum guides barked ‘keep moving’. What they really meant was that people should not block entrances to rooms. Each room opened with an awe-inspiring view which we able to explore at leisure after stepping towards the side of the rooms.
There were never ending groups of guided tours surging through and taking over the spaces en masse, which made it a bit difficult to see and appreciate the items on display.
When we arrived at the Sistine Chapel, it was packed with people and anything but serene. Museum guides were loudly telling people that they should stand in the Chapel’s central space to allow a free flow walkway around the edges. This was interspersed with tannoy announcements requesting silence. The first time it happened I was expecting a prayer or other religious contemplation. But no, it was for people to be quiet and it didn’t work.
The artwork in the chapel is absolutely stunning although it is not possible to view it in context of a chapel space due to the volume of people in the room. As Holy places go, I didn’t experience any spiritual feelings which have come easily to me in many other places I have visited, including the Pauline Chapel in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore which we visited the day before our visit to the Sistine Chapel.
Before leaving the Vatican City, we visited the café for a drink and ice cream. I found this to be a hostile place with staff being quite rude and aggressive to customers. It made me grateful for the lovely service I get in church and cathedral cafés in the UK. The two approaches are quite different; one is service and the other is commercial.
We also browsed the shop where I was specifically looking for a guidebook for the Vatican Museums. It was available in several languages but not English. Luckily, Mr C was able to find a more detailed book about the museums which I purchased.
Purchase completed; we walked back to the bus stop. Along the way we had confirmation that the street traders trying to force goods on us were in fact trading illegally. En masse they all upped sticks and ran with their goods gathered in a cloth because they thought they had seen the police.
We got back at our hotel rather late and had a hasty shower to wash off the days heat before walking the short distance Restaurant Fuocolento for dinner. This was a lovely restaurant and what I would call ‘Fine Dining’ with attentive service and attention to detail and presentation.
Despite our long day we chose to have a nightcap on the hotel rooftop before retiring for the evening.
10 Comments CherryPie on Aug 27th 2024
We chose to have breakfast in the fresh air looking towards St Peter’s Basilica in the distance. Our food attracted a lone wasp so we distracted it by leaving a few scraps of food on a separate plate which kept it entertained and away from my food.
Today was Mr C’s significant birthday and he chose to visit the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Before entering the Basilica, we enjoyed a refreshing drink overlooking the Basilica and the column of peace in the Basilica’s piazza.
The Basilica was peaceful with services regularly taking place in its various side chapels. I especially enjoyed the peace and tranquillity in the Pauline Chapel. I later found out from the guide book that Pope Francis places his apostolic journeys under the protection of an icon entitled ‘Salus Populi Romani’. He visits the icon before and after embarking on each of these journeys.
Within the church a special altar has been installed to house, amongst other things, five sticks of sycamore that were part of the manger that the infant Jesus was said to have been placed into. The wood has been scientifically dated to the time of Jesus’ birth.
We also visited the museum beneath the church and regretted not going on the tour of the archaeological area beneath the Basilica.
We had lunch facing the square. I chose focaccia filled with pistachio mortadella. It was the day for flying insects and my food attracted a hornet which pestered me. Again, I had to distract it by putting a small portion of food on a nearby table.
After lunch we caught the bus to the nearby Roman Circus Maximus which looked rather dusty in the afternoon heat. We then walked the short distance to Bocca Della Verita (The Mouth of Truth) which is a stone mask representing a river god.
After that we returned to the hotel to freshen up and cool off before having a celebratory glass of prosecco on the roof top garden terrace. We then walked the short distance to La Pentolaccia for our evening meal. The food was tasty, lemon chicken in my case, but the service was somewhat chaotic. We got chatting to a German couple who were also celebrating their wedding anniversary and his birthday. We got by with Mr C’s limited German and the lady’s limited English. This more than made up for the chaotic service.
We returned to the hotel’s roof top garden for a nightcap where we found the temperature had cooled to a much more comfortable level.
6 Comments CherryPie on Aug 25th 2024
The buffet breakfast had all the usual options on offer; I enjoyed choosing items from the continental selection.
Before leaving the hotel, we purchased a three day ‘I Love Rome’ hop-on hop-off bus ticket. The hotel receptionist advised us to catch the bus at Piazza Barberino stop 8, the last stop, being the nearest to the hotel.
We didn’t have long to wait for the bus and when we were seated, we donned the headphones to listen to the audio tour whilst the bus took us round most of the major tourist sites in Rome. We hopped off at the last but one stop, the Spanish Steps.
We had lunch in Pasticceria Dagnino which is located next to the Spanish Steps. I chose smoked salmon crostini, which was delicious. There was a bit of a kerfuffle with the ranch door toilet and some American customers who couldn’t understand how I had managed to get into the toilet ahead of them without them seeing me go in.
A rose seller instantly tried to ply me with a bunch of roses on the Spanish Steps. Despite his insistence, I declined politely even when he poked me from behind with the stems. We descended the steps in 96-degree heat. It was difficult to take photos because of glare of the sun but I managed to get a few. We wandered around the nearby streets taking in the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Lucina which contains some beautiful artwork.
We could probably have walked back to our hotel from here but we were unsure of the directions so we ascended the steps and hopped back on the bus to listen to the final part of the guided tour. We got off at the Piazza Barberino and picked up some bottled water on the way back to the hotel where, after cooling down, we headed to the rooftop terrace for a refreshing drink.
Later we dined in La Lampada where the fish I had chosen was filleted in front of me. The waiter later confessed that he had found this difficult as the fish was softer than usual making it hard to remove the bones. The fish, sea bass, was delicious and it came served with carrots and tomatoes to which a few mussels and prawns had been added. When we had almost finished our dinner the restaurant had a power cut and we were suddenly in the dark. This meant that some of the other customers had to wait for their dinner until the power came back on. We found out later that something in the kitchen had tripped the switch and eventually the electricity and lights were restored.
Back at the hotel we once again made use of the roof top terrace, looking out over the city of Rome.
10 Comments CherryPie on Aug 24th 2024
