Our travels in Tuscany have come to an end. Dr. M. came by our villa and collected us and our gear, and we made our way out of the Tuscan hills that had been our stomping grounds for the past week and back to Florence
After bidding Ace and Dr. M. farewell, we boarded the Eurostar Italia Frecciarossa and 90 minutes later, we were back in Rome. It was a short cab ride to our hotel, which we found that while the hotel, room and daily breakfast was a bit nicer than the Hotel Della Signora in Florence, the service wasn't quite as friendly and accommodating. I ascribed this to the typical attitude you find in really big cities vs. medium sized and smaller (think NYC v. Seattle). Interestingly, neither hotel's air conditioning was anything to write home about; the weather in May was warm enough to necessitate having the window open, which of course meant letting the city noise in as well.
Tess and I had considered spending the last few days of our trip in Florence, and foregoing Rome entirely. We're glad we didn't, but we are glad we went to Florence first. If you're not from a really big city, Rome can be a bit of a culture shock to you; going to a smaller Italian city like Florence first is a great way to ease you into the culture.
We found the 'hop-on/hop-off' buses an excellent way to get a good overview of the city, we were thus able to best plan our attack and make the most of the 2 full days we would have. Here were the highlights:
Borghese Gallery: If you like Renaissance art, this is a 'must see'. Once the estate of the Borghese family, you are let in at a scheduled time slot, and have a finite amount of time to go through the museum. Advanced reservations are VERY highly recommended here, as is the audio tour player. Dr. M and Dr. Paolo of Golden Travel were a wonderful help in securing reservations for us for this and other popular attractions (just another benefit of your Italy by Vespa vacation package!) I could go on for pages about the art treasures you will see here, but that information is covered better on many other websites. I'll leave it at this: just go!
Vatican Museums: Nothing can quite prepare you for the size and the scope of the Vatican museums. The Vatican has assembled the artistic and cultural treasures of the last three millennia in a seeming endless series of buildings, rooms, and galleries. We spent most of a day there, if you have the time, I recommend a full day, perhaps even two. We were nearly running towards to end of our visit to be sure to take in all the rooms, as well as the legendary Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. St. Peter's is a singular experience; you feel you have stepped into a timeless space as you view art treasures like Michaelangelo's Pieta, or walk in reverent silence through the crypt beneath the church and view the tombs of previous pontiffs. Particularly touching was the modest tomb of Pope John Paul II. A small group of people were there, some quietly praying, others softly weeping. A modest, humble man, PJ2 was the second-longest serving pontiff (almost 27 years; only Pius IX held the post longer), and touched many lives. It was no surprise to see that four years after his death, people still come to grieve.
Trevi Fountain: An astonishingly beautiful fountain, it is easy to see how it has become one of the world's great landmarks. Unfortunately, it is also quite busy as well, as there always seemed to be a large throng of tourists, buskers, and vendors about. To see this lovely fountain with less distraction, I would suggest going there at first light.
Of course, there are countless more fascinating attractions you can see in Rome. We found Rick Steves guide to be an excellent resource. Getting around Rome is quite easy, they have a fairly rudimentary subway system that has only two lines (north-south & east-west, pretty much carving the city into quadrants), but between the subway, the hop-on/off tour buses, and the municipal bus system, you can get around quite easily.
Like Florence, the scooter is a very popular way to get around. And Italians certainly do it with style! I can't tell you how many times I saw attractive Italian women dressed to the nines in short skirts, heels, and little else cruise by, steering their big-wheel Honda/Aprilia/Kymco scoots with their right hand while merrily chatting away on a cell phone that they held in their left (!), in the middle of busy Roman traffic to boot; they made it look so natural and easy! Some of you may be considering renting a scooter to get around in Rome, but if you don't have experience riding a motorbike in large foreign cities already, I would strongly discourage it; Rome is no place to learn! The traffic wasn't as chaotic as I'd been led to believe, but it was quite busy. Add to that the distractions of trying to navigate and take in the sights, and it quickly becomes a dicey proposition indeed. Don't make yourself crazy; walk or take the bus.
At the end of our stay, we took one of the airport shuttle van services back to the airport, since we didn't feel like drag-bagging' through the Termini and on/off the Leonardo Express. The van almost proved to be a disastrous idea though; between being late, picking up other passengers, and fighting Roman traffic, we were concerned that we wouldn't have enough time to get through all the preflight sturm und drang(moral: if you don't take the train to the airport, have your hotel concierge call a cab; it's not much more expensive, and more reliable!). Fortunately, the Rome airport doesn't have the TSA misery that we have, and we had no problems. Our flights home were similarly trouble-free, and as much as we have enjoyed our Italian adventure, we were truly glad to be home.
With that, dear reader, our travelogue comes to a close. We hope you have enjoyed it, and that you may be inspired to go abroad to enjoy your own scooter adventure!
For your convenience, here are links to all the chapters:
Prologue
Part 1: Dream into Reality
Part 2: Off to Italia, and nothing Old World about mass transit, Italian style!
Part 3: Florence - Culture, Cuisine, and Chaos at 12:30am!
Part 4: A little more Florence; Art, Scooters, and the Coolest Cops in the World!
Part 6: Picnic in Panzano, Castellina, and the Joys of Wild Boar Stew!
Part 7: Castello di Verrazzano, and happy birthday to me!
Part 9: Top Chef!
Part 10: Target for Today - Siena, and watch out for the vipers!
