When in Rome...

My big concern about Karen getting the bug became reality last night but fortunately she was only sick the once and she was able to sleep it off, perhaps because she hadn't had much of an appetite the last couple of days???

Anyhow we rose early this morning for a drive to Orvieto then a train ride to Rome.

Planning this trip had been difficult as we didn't know which towns close to us had train stations on a line to Rome, Italia Rail info was rather vague.

Speaking to our English speaking friend in San Terenziano we found out that trains run from Orvieto and Ort but in his opinion it's better to drive into Rome. As Karen really didn't want to do that we decided on Orvieto.

Having consulted our back-up crew via text we knew the time of our train and planned for a 45 minute journey to Orvieto.

Of course it took us twice as long to get there and then we had to actually find the station and somewhere to park.

While we waited for the next train we called our Rome tour operator and let them know we would not make the first tour (Colosseum and Roman Forum) but would meet at the Vatican. They we really helpful and let us re-schedule the first tour for tomorrow morning.

The Vatican is an amazing place to visit, filled with truly wonderful works of art. Isobelle behaved so well as she normally does.

Afterwards we grabbed a cab over to our next meeting point and had lunch in the Piazza that our tour would start in.

This was an evening 'City Tour' where we looked at some of the architecture that has mostly been built since the Roman Empire collapsed (although we were shown the Pantheon and some roman ruins that were excavated (badly) under Mussolini and are now used as a cat sanctuary!)

Our tour guide asked what time our train home was but we hadn't actually checked so he phoned his office for us to find out. We would need to leave our tour slightly early to make a 9.30 train home so just after seeing the Trevi Fountain we made our way past the Spanish steps to the metro.

When we arrived at the main station Termini we looked up the 9.30 to Firenze but noted that it doesn't stop at Orvieto!

We asked at the information desk and the lady sent us to another train station in Rome (via the metro) in order to catch a train there at 10.20.

After some confusion over which of the 20 odd platforms we should be waiting at the train never arrived anyhow.

A kind man from the Italia Rail walked us to a local hotel who wouldn't accept us without photo ID (we didn't carry our passports with us to the city!)

We returned to Termini to try our luck again at the info desk. No such luck.

We settled down in a waiting room with a guard at the door, who kicked us out at midnight as he was closing up.

The whole station was closing!

Here I was with a pregnant wife and a two year old, out on the streets of Rome at night, until a guy promised to get us into a 'pension house?!' which he explained was like a B'n'B but turned out to be more like a flop house.

Ah well it's either this or the streets so we handed over more cash than we would have liked to, barricaded the door and window, texted our address to my brother (just in case) and went to our separate beds fully clothed and with shoes still on!

Settling in

It was indeed a long night, most of which I spent in an armchair that was in our bedroom, snoozing, restless but at least being more upright I was able to keep down my pills with a little water.

Had a lie in and although I felt a little week I also started to feel a little hungry which I took as a good sign.

We spent the morning just bumming around the villa and grounds, what a spectacular view out the back door...



Yeah those are olive trees in the back garden.

Not wanting to go too far today for all the obvious reasons we had a short walk around the nearest village - Le Torri then drove into San Terenziano to get some groceries.

It was a lot less intimidating during the day and we stopped in Sharms for a Sprite and shared a hamburger and frittes.

Actually we really shared it, I pointed out to Karen that the lady who was cooking the burger kept on pinching off bits of the bun every time she walked past and eating them herself!

Sure enough when the food arrived it looked like a bird had been pecking bits off of it.

Things are very different here.

When we got back I started to prepare a fire in the hearth as we had not yet figured out the central heating.

Possibly the worst start to any holiday EVER!!!

Having fought our way through Gatwick airport carrying a car seat for Isobelle along with all our other gear (camera equipment, laptop, change bag, toys etc.) we boarded our plane and set off for our holiday in Italy. So far so good.

As the plane starts its descent towards Pisa airport I wake up feeling rather ill. I have never in my life been travel sick so I know just what I'm in for now. About 2 days before Isobelle had been very ill, being sick all through the night and now I have got the bug.

Bugger.

I reach for a sick bag and with only about 5 minutes before we land I'm filling it up.

Some smart alec has torn a small hole in the bottom of the bag so I get sick down my shirt and jeans, nice!

I put that bag inside another and swipe a few spares as we leave the plane.

I feel OK for about 30 minutes but as I stand in the heat waiting for Karen as she picks up the hire car the queasiness comes back, it's going to be a long day.

Well here we are in the car (a Fiat Punto), with a 3 hour drive ahead of us and me supposed to be navigating as they wouldn't insure me to drive (disability discrimination!).

The thing is I couldn't have driven anyway, it was hard enough to read a map which is probably why we missed the turning off the Autostrada and turned a 3 hour journey into a 7 hour ordeal!

Well like I said it is hard to read a map while you're being sick.

We only turned off a couple of junctions to late and thought we could cut across and get back on track but the road signs were pretty irregular.

Eventually we pulled in at a one pump petrol station and I gingerly (no pun intended) got out of the car and walked over to the 2 attendants.

Time to try some Italian (that I'd just read in the guidebook)...

'Par-lah een-gleh-zeh?'
'Noh'
(bugger) 'Doh-veh il San Terenziano?'

So here this guy starts trying to direct me by means of hand gestures and by drawing a map, he even does a 'choo choo' to indicate the railway line we have to cross.

It's at this point that the bile starts to rise in my throat once again, I try to choke it down but I can't get out of my head that I'm about to be sick down this guy who is trying so hard to help me!

Fortunately I'm able to hold it back long enough for him to finish then I try to give him my best 'Grah-tsee-eh' but it comes out rather strained and then I run to the nearest tree and throw up.

What must the guy have thought about me?

So we found San Terenziano now we have to find a man called Mr Gelle in a bar called Sharms, only no-one here speaks English and we don't speak Italian.

I went in shops, bars and just generally wandered around asking the same thing 'Parla Inglese?' but to no avail until some guy stops Karen and asks if he can help (IN ENGLISH!!!).

It turns out I'd actually been in Sharms without knowing it.

Then he tells us that he thinks Me Gelle is on 'Vacationi' (which Karen thinks is a joke) but someone spots Mr Gelle's daughter and calls her over.

Eventually Mr Gelle's sister-in-law is summoned with the keys to our villa and we follow her in our car to our home for the week.

She gives us a tour of the place and though her English is poor it's still better than our Italian, but really I'm just wishing she would leave so I can go have a chat with the toilet bowl.

It's going to be a long night...