Arrividerci Firenze, buonasera Roma

The morning got off to a good start, packing up and heading off to the station to catch the train to Rome. Had no problems buying the tickets and managed to get a station employee to take Marghe's phone charger to the information counter for her to pick up a little while later.  Things went a little pear shaped when we were waiting for the platform number to appear next to our train number and the entire arrivals/departures board went haywire. Nobody knew where there trains were leaving from. The printed version said ours was leaving from platform 16 but I knew from experience not to totally trust that. Once the station staff worked out that there was pandemonium going on at the platforms they turned out in droves, directing people to where they should be. As it turns out, our train was leaving from platform 15 which meant we had to make a run for the far end of the train as everyone else was jumping on at the nearest door. 

The pear shaped part was when some gypsies saw us making a run for it so they bolted too, grabbed our bags and threw them up on the train. The thing is, they then expect payment for their unsolicited help and are excruciating to discourage I can see Nick and Marghe shaking their heads as I write this, but we parted with about €10 (five each, not realising that the other had already paid). Truth be told, they sort of were helpful lol. 

Three and a half hours later we arrive in Rome. The trip was long because I bought the cheapo tickets. The accomodation is pretty close to the station but boy oh boy was it tricky to find. It does not have a shop front of which to speak. In fact, it really is only a series of rooms contained within what appears to be a residential apartment block. We walked past it a couple of times and it was only due to Madi going into a corner shop and asking the Indian guy behind the counter that we found it. He actually came out of the shop and called us back when we walked past it again. Initially I was thinking, "holy crap, what have I got us in to?" Once we got inside, did the checkin and got our bearings, it's a nice little place and pretty well priced. When we were about to venture out for an early dinner (since we didn't get lunch), the first thing Rick said as we came around the corner was, "this looks like the opening scene from Get Smart."

The plan was to have an early dinner then wander down to the Colosseum, scoping out where our tour to Naples and Pompeii leaves from tomorrow morning and where Maccas is for an early brekkie. We stumbled upon an absolutely sensational trattoria called Gallomatto, on Via Cavour, which I highly recommend to anyone travelling to Rome who wants a great Italian feed for a great price. 

As our meal progressed the place filled up. There was Italian music playing in the background, nfi what it was but it certainly contributed to the atmosphere. With full bellies we downed a shot of limoncello each, on the house, and headed down to the colosseum. We missed out on getting in by 2 mins so we contented ourselves with wandering around the outside. We'll go back on Tuesday and go inside properly. Ben was in 7th heaven. I can only imagine his level of euphoria when we actually go in or maybe do a tour.