Rome - Day 1

We had booked a Ryanair flight to Rome at a reasonable time, but it was subsequently changed twice and ended up being at 5:50am from Edinburgh. So this meant we had to set the alarm for 3am and have an early drive to the long term car park.

We had a coffee at the airport and ate the sandwich we'd brought with us, and the flight took off pretty much on time.

We landed at the small Rome Ciampino airport just before 10am. The new EU Entry/Exit System was in place, and was a bit hit and miss (worked for Shirley, not for Scott). However it didn't hold us up much and were through quickly.

We bought a return ticket for the airport bus for 14 euros each, and walked straight onto one which left 5 minutes later. It takes about 40 minute to Rome Termini Station.

Right next to the bus stop is a food market, so we had a little look round. We then walked to where we thought there might be a tram stop, to find it was only a bus station. Checking Google told us we could get a bus right to the Trastevere area where our apartment is, so we got on it.

It was extremely packed, and very slow, so not a particularly pleasant journey. However it did the job and got us to the main road quite near the apartment. We were of course too early to get in, so we went for some lunch in the Magnifico café.

We had focaccia sandwiches, which are a common snack or street food in Rome. Shirley had mozzarella, tomato and basil and Scott had porchetta (pork).

After lunch it was still well before our 3pm check in time, so we had a walk round the area. We discovered there was a huge street market in the area around our apartment, so we had a walk round it. It seemed to be mostly second hand and cheap clothes.

At about 2pm we decided to go and see if we could get in the apartment. When we got there we found the cleaner was still there, and she told us she wouldn't be finished until 3:30. So we went down the street and sat in a wine bar for a while.

Eventually we got in at 3:30. The building has lots of security, a code number to get in the outside door, another one to get to the lift and staircase, and a 24 hour guard in a booth just inside the door.

The apartment is a studio with a fold down bed, a reasonably equipped kitchenette and a good shower and bathroom.

It also has a small balcony looking into an internal courtyard.

We noticed there was a roof terrace so we went up to have a look. The views from the 8th floor were good.

After unpacking we went out to the supermarket, which was just round the corner, and bought some supplies.

Later we had a walk up to the central, older part of Trastevere where all the bars and restaurants are located. There were lots of people eating, drinking and generally congregating in the streets.

We went into one of the many churches for a look.

We had an Aperol Spritz in a bar then started looking for a restaurant. This proved to be quite difficult, as many had no outside seating available already, and others either didn't feel right or had poor reviews on Google.

Eventually we went into one called Vanda, where Shirley had pasta Cacio e Pepe (with black pepper and Pecorino Romano) and Scott had pasta alla Gricia (pork cheek). Both were ok though we though the pasta was more al dente than it should be.

We walked back home to the apartment, the streets were still busy.