And now for the long trip home!

We took our time getting ready this morning. After the hotel breakfast we checked out at 10:30 and stowed our bags with reception. We walked to Roma Termini to meet the bus for our trip to the catacombs.

We should have researched this tour as we kind of got ripped off. We spent 46 euro each, but if we had taken the public bus, it would have cost only 13! But we did have a private bus ride (nobody else on it) out to San Sebastián and we joined the 12 noon tour. There were 5 of us on the tour - can’t go down into the catacombs on your own or take photos. 

There are 7 km of underground passageways that were used to inter approximately 100,000 people from the third to the sixth century. The material removed (volcanic tuff) was used for building materials. It was a very interesting 35 minute tour. As well as the very narrow passageways and, now empty, niches where the bodies were kept, there is a small chapel. A bit further up are some Roman mausoleums that were only uncovered about 50 years ago!

The tour ended at the basilica of Saint Sebastian. We heard the story of Saint Sebastian who was a Christian soldier under Diocletian. He would not denounce his faith and was put to death by arrows. He was left for dead but found by someone and nursed back to health. He spent some time converting soldiers and when he went to challenge the Emporer about his treatment of Christians was beaten to death.

Very ornate carved wooden ceiling
in the church.

The remains of Saint Sebastian
in the altar above a marble sculpture
of his first “execution” 

Relics in the church including some
blood from John Paul II, part of
an arrow that shot Saint Sebastian and
part of the pole that he was tied to.

Bellini’s final sculpture 

We took the bus back to Roma Termini and decided to have a long, late lunch at Hosteria La Stazione, a restaurant near the station that we ate at last time we were in Rome. Thankfully it stays open 11 am to 11 pm. We had a lovely lunch - Ian had a cheese platter, while I had a pasta sampler for entree. For main, Ian had a steak and I had meatballs. With a bottle of Barbera d’alba to wash it down! Sadly no room for dessert, but we did have limoncello! We were served by a lovely Filipino water called Ariana, who laughed and joked with us, making it a fun lunch.

Ian with our waiter, Ariana

The pasta “sampler”

We walked back to the hotel to settle in and wait for our limo. The staff at this place were lovely - made me a cup of tea! The limo was scheduled to pick us up at 5:50, three hours before our flight, although I had booked it originally for 4:20. There was a heavy downpour and I was concerned that we might be cutting it fine for our flight. I had received an email with the name and number of our driver, so I got the receptionist to call him and he agreed to pick us up early.

As it turned out there was no real delay in the transfer and our passage through to the lounge was very quick! So we relaxed in the lounge before boarding our flight to Dubai. 

We arrived on time in Dubai, at 5:30 am, local time, after a 6 hour flight. We were flying on a Boing 777-300, which had full lay-flat seats, but without the space of the A380. Neither of us had slept much on that leg, so we were pretty tired. As we were getting off the plane, I realised that my iPad was not where it should have been. I had left it in the business lounge in Rome! We had to change terminals in Dubai but eventually made our way to the business lounge. I was advised to complete an online form reporting the loss, which I did - fingers crossed!! 

We had a long layover of over 4 hours in Dubai, so sat around in the lounge and had a light breakfast. The final flight was on an A380, so we were able to spread out quite well. After a nice lunch, we settled in. Ian slept quite well for a few hours. I got about 2.5 hours. We landed in Melbourne on time at 6:30 am. it was bedlam getting through immigration as a number of the kiosks were not working and a couple of flights had arrived just before us. We eventually got though and had no problems with Customs and Quarantine (declared our Tunisian spices and Sardinian salt). We met our chauffeur and got back to our apartment just after 8 am.

What a wonderful 7 week holiday! Saw so many great places, ate amazing food, drank lots of good wine....another unforgettable trip for us.

(Post script: it took about 3 weeks, but I did get my iPad back!)

A day in Rome

We had breakfast in the hotel - it was included and was quite good although they have limited seating so you have to book a time the night before.

Ian was keen to see the Roman Forum, as we had last been in 2014. So we took the metro to the Colosseo station and came out into the crowds! We didn’t intend to go to the Colliseum and they only have timed tickets and we didn’t want to go with a guide. There were lots of people trying to sell us tickets, but we would have paid more. Again, enormous crowds and queues to even buy tickets, but I heard a tourist talking to a Carabinieri who told him about another ticket office a short walk away. So we went there - no queue and could go straight into the Roman Forum area.

It is a fascinating place and we really only saw parts of it in the couple of hours we were there. We also went into the ramp, only opened eight years ago linking the forum with the residential areas.

We worked our way back towards the Colliseum when we heard a voice saying “they don’t let Aussies in here”  we turned around and there was my second cousin Gavan and his wife Beth! We last saw them in Florence in 2015! We had a good chat with them and even remembered to take a photo this time. They were just heading into the Roman Forum and we were leaving.

Gavan, Beth and us!

We found a touristy restaurant fairly close by and had a very nice lunch of lasagne (Ian) and pasta with beef ragu and peas (me). Much better than yesterday’s! We took a bus back to Roma Termini and ended up booking a tour to the catacombs for tomorrow. 

We walked to our apartment and repacked and rested before heading out for dinner. Tonight we went to Ristorante Donati, just down from last night’s dinner location and obviously a competitor. A lovely waiter who recommended their homemade pappardelle with bacon, mushroom and tomato sauce. We started with a shared bruschetta and then had the pasta - it was wonderful, probably the best in the past two weeks! Enjoyed with a bottle of Barbaresca. I had lemon gelato and we had a couple of limoncellos each to finish off. It was a lovely dinner.

To Rome

We were able to have a leisurely start to the day and had a taxi pick us up at 10:15 to take us to the station.

A final look at that view!

Our train left at 11 and it was an uneventful fast trip to Rome. I had booked us into Hotel Varese, only 7 minutes walk from the station. We were upgraded to a larger room (I think because we booked direct and not through a hotel booking site).

We did a little unpacking and headed straight out. We stopped for a very poor lunch at a cafe - both ordered lasagne which was quite awful. No meat at all, swimming in a cheese sauce with a hint of tomato and a bit of pasta! 

We walked to the Reppublica and bought public transport tickets. We then caught a bus to near the Pantheon and walked the rest of the way. We couldn’t believe the crowds! We would hate to be here in the peak season!

Last time we were here, in 2014, you could just walk in and take plenty of time to absorb this amazing building. Now you have to pay after standing in a huge queue. Just as we joined the queue a woman came up to us and said she had two places on a tour about to start - no need to queue. So we said yes. It was quite a good 30 minute tour and we learned quite a lot about the Pantheon. It cost 20 euro each (normal entry ticket is 5 euro), so it was OK.

Raphael’s tomb

Pantheon selfie

We had a coffee break at a cafe in front of the Pantheon then headed back to our hotel on a very crowded bus!

We unpacked properly (but not fully - only here 2 nights) and rested before heading out to dinner. While we are not in a major tourist area there are a couple of quite cheap, but nice restaurants a short walk away. So we ate at Ristorante Romano La Lupa. We were quite hungry so had pasta (Ian had carbonara and I had Cacio e Pepe) which were lovely, but large and a bit salty. Then Ian had pepper steak and I had saltimboca ala romana. They weren’t bad, but too much food! After finishing our bottle of wine, I decided to have a small lemon sorbet, which was fabulous, and we both had limoncello. 

Final day in Florence

We had a slow start to the day. We had decided to stay very local, and headed out to Palazzo Piti and the Boboli Gardens. We have been before, in 2015 when I was ill. There were some art displays but the real draw are the royal apartments which are very ornate and they are filled with so much art it is impossible to take it all in.

Modern art - giant shoes made out of
saucepans and lids!

We had a coffee break in the courtyard, then went into the gardens. Ian wasn’t feeling up to the climb right to the top, but I did it. Lovely terraced gardens with fountains and sculptures until you get to the top where the “gentlemens pavilion” with rose gardens that overlook olive groves.

A tiny water fountain with heads

We walked to the very end of the gardens to the Porta Romana gate, which exits to the Florence city wall. We then walked back to the entrance of the Palazzo Piti and found a cafe for lunch. It is quite amazing just how many tourists are still about in Florence. It is supposed to be the low season. But it was a sunny day and we wanted to sit outside - we found a table at a place that serves “pinsi” which are a type of pizza. Ian had a diavola one, while I had one with cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, prosciutto and rocket. They were huge! Couldn’t finish them!

Pinsi

We went back to our apartment to pack and have a rest. Then went out for a final walk around Florence. 

We decided that we would have the famous “bistecca ala fiorentina” (a huge shared T-bone steak) tonight and had booked into a cute little restaurant called Ristorante La Galleria. It is a family run restaurant and Nonno takes the orders and writes them on a little self-carbonising pad. His wife runs the kitchen and son does the technical stuff (and speaks the best English). There was no appetisers or primi or even bread - we just had steak, some potatoes and white beans. It was delicious! Of course with a good bottle of red.

We decided after a good break that we had room for dessert. Ian had icrecream with San Marzana liqueur (seems that Frangelico, while made in Italy, is not widely used here) and coffee, while I had cheesecake. We finished off with limoncello.

Lucca

Today we finally made it to Lucca, out third attempt! First time was eight years ago while we were here for our language and cooking classes. I came down with bronchitis and the day we had planned to go to Lucca I was really not up to it. The second time was five years ago and it was so hot we couldn’t even contemplate it!

We got a train just after 9 for the 90 minute trip. Lucca is a lovely town surrounded by a 4 km wall. The station is just outside the wall. We walked up and over the walk and first visited Saint Martin’s cathedral.

Then we walked through the streets to the Piazza Anfiteatro, a lovely little piazza that is built inside an old Roman amphitheatre. Can’t really tell from the inside, but from the outside it is a bit more obvious.

The outside of the old Roman amphitheatre

We had a coffee break in the piazza and then walked around the main shopping streets. It is a very pretty little town. 

We had lunch back in the piazza, this time on the sunny side. We shared mixed crostini for entree then Ian had pappardelle with wild boar ragi and I had tagliatelle with pecorino and truffles. 

We walked back towards the station and visited the Church and Baptistry of Saints Giovanni and Reparata. It was being prepared for a Puccini opera that night (Puccini was born in Lucca), but the main feature are the Roman ruins underneath. 

Roman ruins

We walked up to the wall and sat, enjoying the mild weather. We decided to go to the station and got an earlier train than we were booked on. We got back to our apartment at about 4:30.

Wide trail across the wall in Lucca

Each evening buskers play along the river. The sound is quite lovely as it travels along the river. Despite being close to the very busy Ponte Vecchio, the apartment is very quiet, except for the bells that we seems to be able to hear from all around.

We decided to eat very local tonight and went to Ristorante Mamma Gino, a few doors down from our apartment. It wasn’t the best meal. Ian had fried tripe while I had Pappa Al Pomodoro for entree. Ian’s serve was huge, but very fried. My soup was fairly tasty, but with too much bread. Then Ian had fried rabbit - came out looking like KFC - and I had cannelloni. Ian’s rabbit was very dry and my cannelloni was swimming in cheese sauce and with a strange beef filling. We were not impressed!

A cruisey day in Florence

We had a bit of a sleep in today, and planned to just wander around for the day.

We walked up to the central market, where we had a look around the food market, stopping for a coffee, hot chocolate and cornettos with custard. Eight years ago when we stayed in Florence for a two weeks, attending Italian language and cooking classes, we spent our school break in a cafe eating these lovely, unhealthy treats!

Morning tea!

We braved the market stalls outside the central building and I bought a couple of handbags, haggling the price down pretty well I think.

Lots of leather goods on sale

We walked back past the beautiful Duomo on our way back to the river. For lunch we stopped at the Formaggioteca Terroir. It is owned by Rebecca and her husband who also run the Tuscan Wine School. Nine years ago we did a Chianti Classico tour from the same building, which they have turned into a lovely cheese and wine store / restaurant. We shared a plate of cold cuts and a selection of three cheeses, washed down with a glass of red.

Yum!

We went back to the apartment for a rest, then wandered out again to visit the nearby Chiesa de Santa Felicita, another church. This church is linked to the Uffizi Gallery via a raised corridor that goes across the Ponte Vecchio. It was used by the Medici family back in the day so that they could move around and go to church without mixing with the masses.

We went to the Osteria Cinghiale Bianco (white boar) for dinner. We were given a little niche table, perfect for two! Ian had crostini toscani (toast with liver pate) and I had caprese salad for entree. Then Ian had wild boar steak and I had roast suckling pig for main. Ian’s was a little tough, but mine was lovely. After a decent break to finish our bottle of Chianti Classico, we braved dessert - Ian had Cantucci (almond biscuits) with vin santo while I had tiramisu (couldn’t finish it!).

Antipasti

To Florence

After a final hotel breakfast, we walked up to the train station. Hotel Continental had been great and we were treated to a lovely sunrise this morning.

We caught the train to Pisa and then another to Florence. This is our fourth time together in Florence and it really does feel like home - very familiar! We walked from the station to the Duomo - it is a breathtaking sight!

A stunning sight - the duomo!

Given it is November and outside the main tourist season there are lots of people about. Many tour groups too. We stopped at one of the tourist cafes beside the cathedral for lunch. Ian had lasagne and I had tagliatelle with cheese and truffle - lots of truffle! Yum!

Lots of truffle!

We walked on, past the Piazza de la Signora then over the Ponte Vecchio to our apartment. We were met by our host, Cristiana. What a beautiful place! We have a balcony and big windows looking over the Arno River to the Ponte Vecchio and even the top of the Duomo.

Gorgeous view from our apartment!

The night-time view from our apartment!

We unpacked and got a load of washing on. I went out for breakfast supplies and we relaxed with a beer on our balcony until it got a bit too cold. It had been a lovely warm day - about 20C with cooler weather forecast for the coming days.

We went to a nearby restaurant, Trattoria 4 Leoni, for dinner, as recommended by our host. The food was OK - we both had Papa Al Pomodoro (my favourite Tuscan tomato soup) for entree. But instead of a soup it was more of a paste - tasted OK, but the texture wasn’t quite right. For mains, Ian had rabbit and I had veal cotoletta. A bottle of Chianti Classico of course! No dessert, but we did have some biscuits once we got back to our apartment! On the way home we called into the Osteria Cinghiale Bianco and booked a table for tomorrow night.