Month: February 2024

The following is an extract from my forthcoming book Andiamo! Let’s Visit Rome to be published on the 16th March 2024.

Stress-free arrival – a personal account!

I promised to tell you why I was surprised to find that arriving by train and then making my own way to the hotel was so much more relaxing a way to arrive than the mini-bus transfer direct to my hotel door from the airport. Well, dear reader, what you must factor in here is that the operator of the vehicle must fill every seat possible to maximise his chance of making a profit and so he will have sold seats to a number of airlines whose planes are arriving around the same time as yours. Your party is just one of a number that will be taking the minibus to a variety of hotels in Rome’s city centre, and you may have to wait for the driver to gather all his charges together before he can even set off from the airport.

Then there is the matter of cramming the passengers’ entire luggage into the van, which can take a bit more time before you get to hit the road. Suddenly you become aware that the minutes have ticked away since you got out of the arrivals hall and you are still not on your way. The thought that you had that you would be relaxing in the hotel bar by now is fading as it dawns on you that it’s going to be a long time into the future that you are likely to be doing anything like that!

Next off is the realisation that you may unfortunately be the unlucky passenger whose hotel is the last of your driver’s destinations. You are just going to have to sit and endure the compulsory tour of a bunch of hotels, none of which you have booked, and all the while you find yourself getting increasingly tired of the journey around the manic streets while crammed into your minibus seat.

Then there are the crazy motoring skills that Rome’s drivers are known for. From the very start of our journey, our driver began as he meant to carry on by aggressively pulling out from the parking area. He then proceeded to drive at breakneck speed on the highway from the airport to the city centre. Good, I thought, as I want him to make up some time. The closeness of his van to the rear of other vehicles on the road, however, had me gripping my seat firmly and drawing my seatbelt more tightly across my chest. Had he never heard of the “two-second rule”, I wondered, as he tailgated the vehicle in front of him?

When he reached for his smartphone, which I believe is illegal to do while driving, even in Italy, and checked his texts while bombing down the road only a couple of metres from the car in front, I caught myself saying a prayer to St Christopher, the patron saint of travellers! I suppose it rather apt to find myself in prayer as we entered the city with the largest church in Christendom, the tombs of St Peter and St Paul and the home of the Pope. The sheer terror was not the experience that I had expected when I innocently booked this travel extra to my holiday. I had willingly chosen this way to get from airport to hotel over all the alternatives of taxi, bus or train to the centre and I was now thinking how mad that I had been!

Roman drivers will boast about how, to the outside world, their driving seems a bit crazy, but when you have just turned up in their city after a long day travelling you just want to be able to relax on your way to your accommodation.

Contrast this, if you will, with my more recent arrival. I had booked myself on the Venice to Rome high-speed train using the Trainline website (see more on my blog www.letsvisitguides.co.uk/train).

As I was making my booking several months in advance, I was able to upgrade to a business class seat for just a few euros extra – and the experience of the Frecciarossa was well worth it! I had also chosen a hotel in the Termini area that was not far away from the station entrance and so when my train pulled into the main station at Rome all I had to do was to pull my wheeled luggage out into the street.

Termini station is a spacious modern 1950s building, which, once you have cleared the platforms and gone out into the bustling concourse, is filled with shops. All sorts of retail outlets can be found on two levels. On the ground floor I discovered a medium sized supermarket where I was able to stock up with some fruit and sandwiches in anticipation of my next morning’s sightseeing (as well as pick up a bottle of wine). A further higher-level floor, up some escalators, is where I discovered a number of food and drink outlets and I had a most delicious snack at one of them, having last eaten on the train at lunchtime.

So, already feeling pleased with having dealt with my need for sustenance, with what was on offer as soon as I stepped off the train, I checked my smartphone for directions to my hotel. It turned out to be located no more than five or so minutes’ walk away and so I didn’t need the services of a taxi. If I had required a cab then many examples of the white official taxis were drawn up under the canopy outside the station, plying for trade.

I stepped out through the entrance and quickly the thrill of the energy coming off the streets enveloped me. I was back in Rome! A few minutes later and I was checking in at the hotel and looking forward to a drink and a meal in this exciting destination.

If you want to read more, watch out for the book release on Amazon 16th March.