Tom W Backpacking Europe 2014

Segway tour of ancient Rome. I have been wanting to ride one for years and finally did. It's amazingly intuitive. You think where you want to go and as a result you then put more weight on your toes and the slight shift in balance tells the Segway to go that way. More weight on your toes as if to walk faster and it goes faster. More weight on your heels and it slows, then even balance and it stops. The more confident you are on it the better it responds almost like a horse. In no time I was driving it backwards and spinning it in circles. It was incredibly efficient for seeing Rome's ancient sites as they are spread out and the Segway's are quick. In a way they are perfect for Rome like a modern day mini-chariot.

I went with Rex Tours www.rex-tours.com as they were the highest rated on Trip Advisor and Lorenzo the tour guide was an amazing Segway instructor, tour guide and friend to all. At one point we stopped at a small bar the locals frequent for espresso and gelato and had whatever we wanted at no additional cost go us. It was an unexpected surprise for me and nice taste of local Roman culture. If you go to Rome, go on this tour. Of the 2 times I have spent time in Rome this was the best thing I did.

I think the pic of me in front of the The Colosseum on a Segway is my favorite of my European trek so far. To give you some idea of how above and beyond Lorenzo went he insisted on laying down on the dirty street to get the best angle of me in front of The Colosseum. The second pic is Lorenzo and I on the banks above where they held the chariot races 2000 years ago. From those banks he had us pick ruccola growing wild and wash it in the nearby fountain and taste it. It was incredibly spicy. I asked why they have all of these fountains that just run continuously and he said they feed off the aqueduct system and just drain back down and come back up again. The third pic is me in front of the Tiber river that will rise to nearly the level of the bridge behind me each year.Läs mer