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When Julius Caesar conquered the Bosporan Kingdom – a Greek State – around 47BC, he penned the phrase “Veni vidi vici” in a letter to the Roman Senate, meaning “I came, I saw, I conquered”.
Well, I am pinning the phrase “Veni, vidi, et valde vulnerata sunt pedes” after my recent trip to Italy. Translated from Latin, it means, “I came, I saw, and my feet got sore”.
Myself and the family had been planning an overseas trip for almost four years, with grand illusions of visiting friends and family in the UK, a day in Amsterdam and Paris, followed by an excursion in Italy before ending off our dream on the island of Santorini in Greece.
Well, that idea was quickly added to “File 13” as not even selling our children into slavery off the Somali coast would have paid for it. So we settled on a trip to Italy.
For me, the trip was historical, visiting the ancient ruins in Rome and Napoli (Naples for the lower class) while Debbie looked forward to the trip through Tuscany. Emily just wanted to take sunset photos while Sarah was happy with any place that had Wi-Fi.
Rome – The Ancient Capital
Our trip to Roma (yes, the proper name for Rome), was uneventful via Dubai, although our eight and a half hour stop over was looooong. However, we were met at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport by a driver organised through Booking.com, who drove us to the Hotel Maximus. The room, for four people, was tight, but adequate enough for our sleeping arrangements.
We enjoyed a lovely dinner at a streetside restaurant which ended off with a shot of meloncello. Then we started to rack up the miles – around 100km’s over the next week or so!
Our first full day in Rome started off with a walk past Trevi Fountain to the Pantheon. A marvel of architecture – as is all Rome! The Pantheon will take your breath away if your are ultra-religious, but for me it was the size of the building and the adornments that marveled my intellect, noting that the hole in the centre of the roof provides the only lighting inside and strangely, does not let in any rain!
Our afternoon sent us in the completely opposite direction. To the most iconic building in all of Rome – the Colosseum! This ancient structure took 8 years to build, starting in 72AD under the emperor Vespasian and being completed in 80AD under his heir, Titus. It is still the largest amphitheater in the world.
This marvel took our breath away, knowing the amount of blood spilt and lives lost in almost 2000 years with an average of 65000 people watching at any given time.
After this, we trundled past a beautiful ancient archway entrance up to the birthplace of Rome, Palatine Hill, where it is said that Romulus, son of the war god Mars, won the argument against his brother, Remus, with Rome being established on this hill. The beauty of the ancient buildings for the Roman kings was brilliant. An area for the palace gardens, a water fountain and walkways took the imagination to new heights.
With Debbie’s foot injured – thanks to me standing on the back of her sandal – and Sarah complaining of sore feet and back on day 1, Emily and I pushed on further East to the Roman Forum – the ancient city centre where most of the government buildings were and most of the day-to-day life happened. Here we also saw the Temple of Romulus.
Making our way back to the hotel, we made for the nearest fast food joint – Burger King – to make Sarah happy and to hopefully find a power point to charge my phone. On our there, my phone died and it was only my masterful navigation skills that enabled us to reach our point, order some grub and charge my phone for the final leg back to the hotel.
We finished off our day at another wonderful restaurant called Cotto, which had a gentleman playing and singing.
Florence – Under the Tuscan Sun
Our final morning saw us taking a walk to the Spanish Steps before catching our train to Firenze (Florence) – Debbie’s dream. Firenze is the capital of the Tuscan state, known for its food and wine. We stayed at a lovely apartment in the ancient city centre, close to the Renaissance cathedral of Cupola del Brunelleschi. The food in and around the ancient centre was great, and so was the 1L beers to be had.
We enjoyed a walk to the Leonardo da Vinci Museum, which was just around the corner from where we were staying. To see most of his inventions up close and personal – and interact with some of them – was amazing. To see the first tank, helicopter and exercise machine was brilliant.
The highlight of our Florentine stay was a day trip to Pisa, followed by wine tasting and lunch at the wine farm Ariggoni and then on to San Gimignano and Siena.
Of course, we had to do what everyone does when they go to Piza – try to hold up the tower while the tasting at Ariggoni prompted a wine purchase and then the views of the “Medievil Manhattan” town of San Gimignano, which included a quick tour of the two torture museums by the kids and myself.
By the time we got to Siena, we were so tired, we found the nearest street cafe, sat down and ordered BEER! The one thing that did catch my eye was the massive stone fortress that was built in the middle ages by the Medici family when they conquered Siena, with their massive family crest created on the the outside of the wall.
Our last day in Firenze, we finally used some public transport – given the complaints above – and went up to the Piazzale Michaelangelo which gave us stunning views over Florence. However, the trip back landed us in hot water – because we didn’t fully understand the ticket service.
So, you buy a ticket which lasts for 90 minutes. Cool. You get told to validate the ticket when you get on the bus. Done. What I didn’t understand was that you are only supposed to validate the ticket the first time you get on the bus. My BAD!
So, two stops from our final destination, which was our apartment, two conductors get onto the bus. A lady asks me for our tickets, which I duly – and proudly – present. She then waffles to another conductor in Italian and then comes back to us. At this point, it was our stop so we got off. She then proceeded to inform us of our folly and explained the correct procedure, which was to only validate the ticket on the first use. This way they can see when the ticket was first used, and they can calculate how long it is valid for.
Anyway, despite us being first time Italian tourist, we received a €40 fine – per person! So, our cheap bus ride of €4 ended up being another €160 in total. Would have been cheaper to use Uber! But, that’s how you learn and rules are rules – that is why Europe works.
Napoli – A City in Change
Anyway, off to Naploi, more to the point, a suburb outside called Torre del Greco, on the foot of Mt Vesuvius. The point of staying here was that we were in between Naples and Sorrento, but also close to Pompei and Herculaneum – one of my historic highlights.
Our first day was spent taking a short walk on the pier and then just chilling in the hotel room of Hotel Poseidon. This was to recover somewhat.
However, we found out that there was going to be a national train strike from 9pm on Saturday evening through till 9pm on Sunday evening – smack-bang in the middle of our return journey to Rome to catch our flights.
So, we spoke to the front office manager at Hotel Poseidon about our predicament, and then took a train into Naples so that we could make alternative arrangements with the Trenitalia office. Our original plans were to take a train from Naples Centrale (central train station) to Rome Termini (Rome central) and then catch the Leonardo Express to Fiumicino Airport.
We had to bring our departure from Naples to Rome a day earlier – done and no cost. Hotel Poseidon accommodated up brilliantly by agreeing to let us check out a day early and give us a full refund for the final day – brilliant people these!
The Leonardo Express was a different story. We were told to go onto the Trenitalia website and log a refund. Sure. However, the ticket numbers we had would not be accepted on the refund form. But, luckily, they have an office in Durban – so that will be our next stop when I am back at work!
Anyway, once in Naples, we used public transport – correctly this time – and went to some local markets where the kids bought some local goodies. We also visited the Catacombs of San Gaudioso which was quite interesting, including gatecrashing a wedding in the church above!
Dinner was at an awesome little place called Salotto24, which was quiet, but the food was amazing and so was the service.
On the Friday, we had booked a trip from Torre del Greco to the Amalfi Coast, which included stops at Amalfi and Positana. And WOW – how beautiful this was.
Emily, who always suffers from car sickness, suffered on the first leg from Torre del Greco to Amalfi, as we sat inside the cabin. It was a lovely trip, including a stop in Sorento to pick up some passengers. We docked in Amalfi, with a three and a half hour stay. We walked about, stopped at a lovely restaurant for lunch followed by a walk up the coast road. We returned to stop at one of the beaches – now this is a stretch because the beaches are actually just rocks and pebbles – for a swim in the Mediterranean Sea.
Funny enough, I cannot float in water, due to my larger girth, however, in the Mediterranean, I was able to float about – which was wonderful.
After our dip, we headed back to our boat rendezvous before heading off to Positana. the stop in Positana, which was so gorgeous, was a tad too short. Debbie and I took a steep climb to enjoy the view before hunting for a loo.
We found a restaurant which served delicious ice-cream and beer before heading back. Now Emily had grabbed an outside seat from Amalfi to Positana and she said that she felt a whole lot better. So, she and Sarah grabbed an outside perch for the homeward-bound trek.
On the outward bound journey, we had noticed a fire on the mountain side before Amalfi. On our return leg, we witnessed a helicopter sucking water out of the ocean and then dumping the water on the mountain-side.
For dinner, Sarah decided – or complained – that she was too tired and sore to walk anywhere, so we arranged room service for her, while Debs, Emily and myself headed out on the hunt. After a 40 minute walk, all we could find were seafood places (which of course Emily and Debs don’t eat), so we landed up at Salotto24 again.
The young gent who had served us the previous evening smiled with a “Welcome Back” in broken English. We had some amazing burgers and drinks again, followed by a long conversation about their homemade beer “S24”, which I enjoyed thoroughly along with a conversation about the differences between Cape Town and Italy.
Saturday morning we checked out, caught a taxi (again through Booking.com) to Napoli Centrale, where we caught our adjusted train to Rome. We had booked our final night in a quaint little place close to the Rome Termini.
The hostess, Violetta, was very accommodating. Her and her toy pom! We enjoyed an evening out, having dinner at a place around the corner called Birreria Marconi. Debbie and Emily each had a pizza, Sarah had Spaghetti Bolognaise while I had a “mixed grill” of chicken, lamb chops and Italian sausage, potatoes and salad.
Our final day in Italy was spent walking about, including a ridiculous €33 because they added a €12 cover charge! Anyway, the kids found a few more trinkets to buy, Debs finally got herself an Italian handbag (at an affordable price) while I found some Italian shirts. (This was to be a massive disappointment for me when I got home to find they were a tad too small.)
When we got back to Bounarroti suite to collect our bags, having to wait about an hour for our taxi which Violetta had organised. She even brought us a jug of water with ice and glasses to quench our thirst while we waited.
And so, we headed off to Fiumicino Airport for our journey home.
A journey that will forever be implanted in our memories. A journey that opened our eyes to the world outside of South Africa. Giving us the chance to see what is good and what is better back home. Our taxi drivers have nothing on the Italian drivers. Parking is a nightmare, the beaches are either black from volcanic eruptions, or made of stones. But, the food is great, the transport system works (as long as you know what to do) and you can walk around at 11pm without fear.
Back home, we have awesome beaches, the streets are clean and the people are courteous. All in all, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience which we will never forget.
