Bye Bye Roma! See You Again …

Yes, we’ll return to Roma at some point — when the crowds have thinned out and the temperature is cooler … much cooler!

In the meantime, let’s wrap up opera getaway.

Up early, we had one last breakfast at the apartment; washed and put away the dishes; finished packing; and prepared for our travel day.

By 9:00a, we were ready to check out. I suppose we could have killed time at the apartment for another hour. But we decided to head to Termini instead. Figured we’d go to the Mercato Centrale, the indoor artisanal food hall and market at the station, browse the stalls for a snack to take with us on the train, and do some people watching.

And that’s what we did … after sending our host a WhatsApp note, which included a few comments about the apartment … particularly the need for more attention to detail by the cleaning crew.

We had over an hour to kill once we got to Termini and the Mercato Centrale proved to be a good place to do so. Capuccinos … pastries … cold beverages … easy access to facilities by scanning our purchase receipts. It was quiet until about 20 minutes before we had to go back to the station proper … at which point, several groups of young adults descended on the place.

Our Frecciarossa train, which originated at Reggio Calabria … at the bottom of Italy, departed on time at 11:35a. Once again, the train was packed. At the time we booked our tickets, only premium seats were available, so this time we were in carrozza 4 … same row of seats as before … going backwards pretty much until we got to Firenze. The ride was half as long as our outbound train … following a route further inland since the train was destined for Venice … Bologna the next stop after Firenze.

We were just 2 minutes late when we detrained at Bologna Centrale at 2:00p … but otherwise the ride was uneventful. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long for bus #30 to pull into the station as it was hot, hot, hot. That this bus had working A/C was a godsend.

By 2:30p, we were home. First order of business … crank on the A/C. Second order of business … shopping for groceries. Mui took care of that at the nearby Coop while I unpacked. Having done a load of laundry at the apartment in Roma, what few things that need laundering can wait.

Now, we have a few days at home before we head back out for what we hope will be our “Escape the Heat” trip for August. 🤞🏻the temperatures cooperate!Read more