'Tis funny. I was about to say that I was up at sparrow's fart this morning. In reality, I had an extra 10 minutes in bed. Weird. It felt earlier than usual. I guess it was 'cos I wasn't going to work? Who knows? I don't know how my brain works...it's a weird thing.
So, up and off to the tube station. Instead of jumping on at Pimlico (just around the corner) I wandered up to Victoria (only a few minutes from home). I felt a wee bit stupid walking the streets in shorts & tee-shirt when it was about to piss down at some point...but hey, I was off to Roma! Why did I walk to Victoria then? A) I had to drop my rubbish in the skip, B) because it saved changing at Victoria anyway, and C) I never actually thought about it at the time! Jumped on the Circle line for two stops, then on Jubilee at Westminster, then changed to the DLR (don't ask what this stands for - it was the first time I'd been on it...it could be Docklands Light Rail (or could not be!)) to London City Airport. The only thing I didn't like about this trip is that I was in the airport when I realised I hadn't swiped my Oyster Card - this means it's gonna cost me a lot more (don't know how much a lot more is; don't even know what the 'cheaper' rate is!).
Ended up being at the airport with time to spare before check-in, so bought a phrase book & some sunscreen (I'd forgotten to take mine). What a f**king waste of money that was! I forgot about them taking things over 100mls off you. No sooner had I bought it, then I'd had it confiscated. Bah humbug! Checked in and went and sat in the departure lounge. Had a look at the cost of a new iPod (yikes! more expensive than buying it in town! Duty Free my arse!). Started reading a book that I carried along with me.
The arrival of the plane we were to leave on was delayed - but they never actually announced this. The boarding time of 09.40 was still on the screens at 10.15...when we could board. Grr. 35 minutes of my time in Roma gone. But wait, it gets worse than that! The buggers waited until the doors had been closed before they announced that we'd lost our window not only out of London, but into Europe and we would have to wait until a new flight plan had been applied for and approved. Nearly 2 hours later, we were off (grr - more of my time eaten up!). Short of flying over England, it was a beautiful, clear flight. There wasn't a cloud to be seen over France or Italy (though I had no idea it was France or Italy below us!). Turns out that I was bloody lucky! This was the day of a massive downpour in London (so when I said earlier it looked like it would piss down, I was right!). Torrential rain in London. Found out on Monday that the boss told everyone to leave for home at 3.30pm because of the rain and the delays on the tube etc. I missed it - gosh, darn it all ;)
Anyhow, finally arrived in Roma around 4.30pm (not 1.40pm as originally scheduled - just to reiterate: grr). This wasn't too bad, as I had to get cash out and find my way to the Leonardo da Vinci Express (the train into town). Okay, so it's not difficult to find - follow the signs (or the people). I didn't get a stamp when I went through customs - I did ask :-( Got the Express to the Termini (main station). This was interesting as I got to see a different side to Rome - the poverty. There were a few 'tent cities' around, which was kinda sad to see. Also, there were lots of allotments, with run down sheds - but fantastic looking gardens. After arriving at the Termini about 30 minutes later, I then spent nearly an hour trying to find my way to the hotel. People were very friendly, but not very knowledgeable (this coming from he who forgot to try and figure out the way to the hotel in advance...). Had three different directions (one of which was totally wrong, apparently). In the end, this lady told me the quickest way was the tram. Jumped on it and asked the driver if it went past the hotel. He said it did, so I jumped on. We were going along Via Prenestina (the street the hotel was on) and then he turned off. I jumped off at this point and walked the 1.5km along Via Prenestina to the hotel. Finally got checked in around 6.30pm - all I'd seen by this point was the Termini and my way to the hotel. Pissed off.
Was meant to meet up with Peter & Mandy at 7pm - but I ended up cancelling as I wouldn't have made it back into town in time (this was before I worked out it's about an hour to get to the Termini from the hotel - hence me having such a cheap deal, huh). We agreed to meet up the next morning.
^ The huge bathroom
Anyway, ended up crashing early, figuring I was going to have a big day out tomorrow :-)
Seeyabye
So, up and off to the tube station. Instead of jumping on at Pimlico (just around the corner) I wandered up to Victoria (only a few minutes from home). I felt a wee bit stupid walking the streets in shorts & tee-shirt when it was about to piss down at some point...but hey, I was off to Roma! Why did I walk to Victoria then? A) I had to drop my rubbish in the skip, B) because it saved changing at Victoria anyway, and C) I never actually thought about it at the time! Jumped on the Circle line for two stops, then on Jubilee at Westminster, then changed to the DLR (don't ask what this stands for - it was the first time I'd been on it...it could be Docklands Light Rail (or could not be!)) to London City Airport. The only thing I didn't like about this trip is that I was in the airport when I realised I hadn't swiped my Oyster Card - this means it's gonna cost me a lot more (don't know how much a lot more is; don't even know what the 'cheaper' rate is!).
Ended up being at the airport with time to spare before check-in, so bought a phrase book & some sunscreen (I'd forgotten to take mine). What a f**king waste of money that was! I forgot about them taking things over 100mls off you. No sooner had I bought it, then I'd had it confiscated. Bah humbug! Checked in and went and sat in the departure lounge. Had a look at the cost of a new iPod (yikes! more expensive than buying it in town! Duty Free my arse!). Started reading a book that I carried along with me.
The arrival of the plane we were to leave on was delayed - but they never actually announced this. The boarding time of 09.40 was still on the screens at 10.15...when we could board. Grr. 35 minutes of my time in Roma gone. But wait, it gets worse than that! The buggers waited until the doors had been closed before they announced that we'd lost our window not only out of London, but into Europe and we would have to wait until a new flight plan had been applied for and approved. Nearly 2 hours later, we were off (grr - more of my time eaten up!). Short of flying over England, it was a beautiful, clear flight. There wasn't a cloud to be seen over France or Italy (though I had no idea it was France or Italy below us!). Turns out that I was bloody lucky! This was the day of a massive downpour in London (so when I said earlier it looked like it would piss down, I was right!). Torrential rain in London. Found out on Monday that the boss told everyone to leave for home at 3.30pm because of the rain and the delays on the tube etc. I missed it - gosh, darn it all ;)
Anyhow, finally arrived in Roma around 4.30pm (not 1.40pm as originally scheduled - just to reiterate: grr). This wasn't too bad, as I had to get cash out and find my way to the Leonardo da Vinci Express (the train into town). Okay, so it's not difficult to find - follow the signs (or the people). I didn't get a stamp when I went through customs - I did ask :-( Got the Express to the Termini (main station). This was interesting as I got to see a different side to Rome - the poverty. There were a few 'tent cities' around, which was kinda sad to see. Also, there were lots of allotments, with run down sheds - but fantastic looking gardens. After arriving at the Termini about 30 minutes later, I then spent nearly an hour trying to find my way to the hotel. People were very friendly, but not very knowledgeable (this coming from he who forgot to try and figure out the way to the hotel in advance...). Had three different directions (one of which was totally wrong, apparently). In the end, this lady told me the quickest way was the tram. Jumped on it and asked the driver if it went past the hotel. He said it did, so I jumped on. We were going along Via Prenestina (the street the hotel was on) and then he turned off. I jumped off at this point and walked the 1.5km along Via Prenestina to the hotel. Finally got checked in around 6.30pm - all I'd seen by this point was the Termini and my way to the hotel. Pissed off.
Was meant to meet up with Peter & Mandy at 7pm - but I ended up cancelling as I wouldn't have made it back into town in time (this was before I worked out it's about an hour to get to the Termini from the hotel - hence me having such a cheap deal, huh). We agreed to meet up the next morning.
The hotel was well nice! It had only opened about a year ago, so was still in A-1 condition. I was in heaven there (especially after the wee walk in the heat) - God bless the man who invented air conditioning!!! One thing that made me chuckle a wee bit was the wall paper. It wasn't wall paper, but some kind of fabric - with a cushioning/padding behind it. It it wasn't for the fact that they gave me a key, I would've almost thought I was in a well-to-do loony bin ;-)
^ The room with the padded walls...
Had a lovely long shower (water pressure in the Cumberland Street flat had nothing on that in this place. Bliss. Oh, and the shower cubicle was almost bigger than my bathroom in London. I am not exaggerating! HUGE! Well, I do have a small bathroom ;-)
^ The room with the padded walls...Had a lovely long shower (water pressure in the Cumberland Street flat had nothing on that in this place. Bliss. Oh, and the shower cubicle was almost bigger than my bathroom in London. I am not exaggerating! HUGE! Well, I do have a small bathroom ;-)
^ The huge bathroomAnyway, ended up crashing early, figuring I was going to have a big day out tomorrow :-)
Seeyabye
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