• The show of our plane on the water
    The view from our balconeOur glorious streetA cold beer at last, at Bar CaramelleOur local fountain, Fontana dell'Acqua Paola in Piazza TrilussaThe Ponte SistoThe Ponte Sisto showing off her arches

    Getting There is Half the Battle

    7月26日〜28日, イタリア ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    I know I’ve sad it before in Find Penguins, but for Australians who are travelling, getting there truly is half the battle. We live in a world half a world away from anything happening in the Northern Hemisphere, so arriving at a destination up that way is an endurance for Aussies, let no-one tell you otherwise.

    Chris and I had a 6am flight out of Sydney. We stayed at the airport hotel to make things easier. Still, we had to be inside the airport, checking in and going through security at least three hours before that, ie., 3am, which meant getting up and showering and doing the final pack an hour before that. We rose at 2am. The airport stuff went mercifully smoothly. Security was no problem.

    The combined flight however, Sydney to Dubai, Dubai to Rome, took twenty two hours. I used the word endurance earlier. It is an understatement. Arriving at Rome around 8pm, we had been travelling non-stop for around twenty-eight hours. And for me, this was one of our better flights. I did not hurt so much, although I did take paracetamol to help me get through it. When turbulence permitted, I got up and stood around the cabin, loitering around the toilets as there isn’t much else place to go, as often as I could, just to move and to put my body into a different pose than that of sitting cramped. It can get excruciating.

    I could not concentrate on watching a movie, so I watched documentaries instead, two on Great British Cathedrals (three of the six chosen I had been to so there were some nice memories to enjoy), and a ridiculous Mysteries Decoded series on the aliens at Roswell. I am convinced there were aliens. They would not have passed their space ship test though as they crashed it on their first go. I also read a novel that I started before the trip and got through half of it.

    Rome’s airport was likewise nice to us, as were the Customs officers who waved us both through no doubt thinking, ‘how charming these two Australians are’, or, ‘look at these poor bastards, they’ve just flown from Australia’.

    We had intended to catch the Leonardo train into the city and take an Uber or taxi to the apartment but honestly, we were so overwhelmed with the length of time being both awake and uncomfortable and then getting out into a balmy Roman night of 35̊, we decided to just pay the taxi fee from the airport. It is supposed to be a flat flee of 55€, but when we alighted, the driver charged me seventy and I could not be asked to argue with him, so overwhelmed by this point were we. I made my first mistake of the trip when I left my glasses behind in the taxi on the back seat. I am making enquiries as we speak, but I do not hold out much prospect.

    We slept well. We have air con in our room and our fourth storey apartment, despite the challenge of the 59 stairs (yes, I counted them), is a lovely, safe, comfortable and welcoming little place. We can be happy here for a week or so. Outside our door is a bustling restaurant and bar strip, one of many labyrinthine dedicated to endeavours gustatory and drinking. It’s a fun spot.

    This morning, we did a supermarket shop and had out first Italian brekky, a coffee and a cornetto (croissant). When paying, I began in Italian, but the cashier asked me to speak in “English please” so I complied. My Italian teacher told me to insist on using Italian otherwise they will ‘English’ you wherever you go. I don’t quite have the confidence yet to insist. But I’m working on it.

    Today is a rest day, as is tomorrow. We will need another really good sleep tonight like we had last night to return to some semblance of human normalcy and psychological equilibrium. Una passeggiata (a stroll around) this afternoon probably, and dinner out tonight somewhere is almost certainly on the cards. We are spoiled for choice.

    Despite the feat of physical and psychological endurance of the trip here, I am happy to be seeing this amazing city and getting a feel for its people.
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