Rome, Italy—The Land of History

With the travel anxiety out of the way, I was set to wholeheartedly immerse myself in what we had come for.

We had been informed earlier that we would not be checking into any hotel immediately. All check-ins were at night after seeing the sights, and check out's happened early in the morning. The only exceptions would be if we were doing two nights at a particular place.

My first impression of the airport was that it was like any other airport. Not fancy or big on 'let's show off our airport to attract tourists'. The second thing that stood out as an oasis in a desert was the 'Italian men'. They are just 'wow'! Good-looking, tall, flawless skin (not white, but a nice tan), dark eyes, and charming smiles. Beyond that, I would not know because language would be a barrier. But I will say that an Italian man speaking decent English to me is more appealing. Other than the obvious 'eye candy', travelling in a group, you are less likely to have conversations with anyone except the people you are with, the exception being at a mall or store.

We collected our luggage and waited at the baggage claim area for the guide to show up. The agency representative, who was our guide for the tour, was a very calm gentleman. His name is Melroy, and I got acquainted with him years ago through a common friend. However, I lost contact with him over the years. So it was nice reconnecting after all this time. He had good coordination skills and knew how to maintain a calm demeanour even in the face of a bad situation. The only feedback I had and told him was to talk and mingle with us more because several times during meals, we would see him sit alone. But it looked like he was trying to include everyone in the pack because, at times, he would sit with the drivers for meals. He was passionate about his job and everything he did, and it was visible in the way he carried himself.

We had a local tour guide in Italy, Mr. Giuseppe. He helped take us through the city. He is a historian and seemed to be very knowledgeable about Roman history. He was an elderly gentleman, well-built and active with big strides, so someone like me would have to run behind him if he were to walk continuously. Lucky for me, he stopped ever so often during our walks to describe or share some of his knowledge. He had a typical Italian accent, so, at times, it was a bit heavy for us, but most of the time, it was easy to understand.

Leaving the airport building and entering the parking area, we were warned against leaving baggage and trolleys unattended. There were other buses in the parking slots, but I guess those were there to load and unload luggage and passengers. I would imagine that there are rules to be followed, so we had to wait for our bus to arrive and park in one of the empty slots.

The agency promised us luxury buses, and they certainly delivered. The bus was grey with openings on either side at the lower level. It accommodated the entire group of 50+ people. The drivers immediately sprang into action and started loading the luggage onto the bus. That bus became a sort of temporary home for us for those 15 days. Everything else was a variable factor - the hotels, places we visited, and being on the move with our luggage always with us in the level below was what it was for that time. The seating was on the upper part of the bus with two entrances. The front entrance was a lot easier to climb and was used mostly by the front half of the bus passengers. The second entrance was a bit steep, but we got used to it. All in all, the bus was very comfortable. There was a loo that was not in use for reasons best known to the drivers. My guess would be for sanitary purposes. We were given instructions in advance not to throw stuff like garbage, wrappers, etc., on the bus, which we Indians tend to do.

There were two drivers (probably one was the driver and the other the assistant) who were efficient and good at what they did. But that's all I can say about them. I have a few comments about them, which I will save later. The first meeting with them was not too bad. They helped load our luggage onto the bus, and off we went to explore the city.

Right away, we started our agenda for the day. That commenced with a visit to St. Paul's Basilica. As the driver was cruising us through the city, the city tour guide introduced himself to us over the bus microphone. Since the bus was moving at the regular speed, we were told things like, 'To the right, you will see...' or 'To the left, you will come across ....'. Mostly a brief history or description of the streets, the structures and why things were the way they were. All I can say is that the churches and the city's history are beyond what I could imagine. I only wish I had more time. I will post some pictures below so you can see how we saw it.

Our first stop was St. Paul Basilica, which I will share more about in the next post. Enjoy the pictures and videos below.