It was goodbye to Naples this morning after a fabulous pizza dinner at Il Cerasiello last night (found it on the DS Pizza Point webpage, a place of much rejoicing for eaters of gluten free pizza!) The pizza dough was soft and tasty, without being hard or overly crunchy. Not quite as good taste-wise as Il Piazetta, but much better on the texture side.
Our first impressions of Rome weren’t terribly positive. We caught a taxi from Stazione Termini to our hotel, and were told the fare was 25E (highway robbery – the hotel webpage says it should be around 10E including baggage), to which R argued down to 20E (still highway robbery, but not quite as insulting). I found a 20E note in my purse to give to R, who passed it on to the taxi drivers (there were two – safety in numbers?) who then switched it for a 5E, squawking that we’d only given them 5. Since I’ve experienced this scam before, we told them in no uncertain terms that they had the 20. The main driver tried to start arguing, but gave it up quickly and left. Amazing, since the scammers who tried this on me in Luxor took 5 mins and calling for the police before they gave it up.
The hotel we’re in quickly transferred us to their “new addition” across the road (small rooms, hot, costs 10E/day for aircon, and teeny bathroom. Someone down the corridor is smoking, and it’s permeating the room now!) where you have to pay for the lift. The bathroom ha a definite drains odour, and we were greeted with the alternating sounds of drilling, and a very unhappy dog from our window. All this for the low low price of 130E/night! Do your research before staying at the Hotel Italia, people!
Once we’d checked in, we wandered out in search of a laundromat (told you we were mundane holiday makers!) which we found on Via Cavour, amongst lots of souvenir shops. We had lunch (mmm melangane alla parmigiana for me!), collected our washing and sauntered back via the Santa Maria Maggiore.
The trusty GF Guide to Italy seems to have given up on us in Rome – there are no places listed there or on the Pizza Point site within about a 20 min walk. We will go exploring for dinner instead.
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Later:
Found many ristaranti and chose one near the Piazza Repubblicca called Cucina Nazionale (on via nazionale). T and R had Roman Meat which ended up being veal scalloppini with ham, baked potatoes and salad. I had the grilled calamari, which was lovely, well cooked and not rubbery. Just needed a hint of seasoning. Yum! The other two had tiramisu for dessert, and I delayed in favour of a pistachio gelato down the street.
Early night tonight so we can go say hello to the Pope tomorrow!
Two Weeks Away 