Monthly Archives: August 2019

Tina was desperate for a latte but the shops were all closed at Trastevere Stazione. We had two ways to get to the Infinity. To Civitavecchia on the regional train or on the super fast Frecciarossa. We decided to head to Termini on the slow train and what a nutty decision that was. We couldn’t get a train for two hours so had to jump back on the train and go back the way we came minus a latte. The train trip to the Roman port was easy and then a couple of buses to board the Infinity. I had imagined great long lines to board but we just strolled in, grabbed a champagne, and our holiday began

After having my head pretty well in my laptop for the last couple of days it was lovely to go roaming the streets of Roma with Tina. I decided that Tina really should start a travel blog focused on loos as after each loo stop, I got a report on the bathroom. We had a lovely day wandering in the Roman heat. For an Aussie, the heat was just bearable (only just I might point out) but for a Canadian from Winnipeg, Tina just went redder and redder. The day started out OK with lovely latte macchiato (yes my usual children’s milk) but after wandering for what seemed ages in the Roman sunshine Tina spotted what she thought would be a very grand loo. Must admit, I too was getting damn hot by that point. We walked into the very cool, very swish St Regis Roma on Via Vittorio E. Orlando with the singular aim of going to the loo – well that was until Tina spotted the bar. They have just spent 45 million dollars spiffing up the place and the price of our cocktails went some way to paying off the debt. We shut our eyes, ignored the price, scoffed down two and then staggered out the door after another loo stop. Well Tina is usually pretty sedate, but give a Winnipeg girl two delicious cocktails and what else is there to do but take a swim in a fountain. I stood waiting for the Carabinieri to come blowing their whistles and thought our next loo stop might be in the Tullianum.

I just loved my few days of working in Trastevere. The apartment was light filled but thankfully had the most brilliant airconditioning. There was an aircon in each room and I did do a bit of destroying of the planet as the aircon blared. Greta was reducing her carbon footprint by traveling on a boat and I was wrecking mine via Dreamliner travel and aircon with terracotta tiled roofs outside my shuttered windows .
It was 36c outside for my whole stay and the Roman sun blazed down from the bluest sky imaginable. Tina arrived on my third day and it was lovely to walk down and meet her at Trastevere Stazione. It was an easy walk over the river to pay homage to Bernini, but it was wonderful to escape the crowds to the cobblestone streets and winding alleys of the apartment. I had to go throw a coin into the fountain to make sure I return, but if I wasn’t superstitious, I would have given it a miss. The crowds and incredibly annoying men with roses made me desperate to hike back over Ponte Garibaldi.

I thought flying in a plane called Jillaroo with two female pilots in the main seats was a wonderful omen for the start of this adventure. I did find it slightly ironic. The Dreamliner was flown by two very competent women and there was a whole male flight attendant crew in my lovely bit of the plane. The flight to Perth was super efficient and we took off Heathrow bound on time. I had a really lovely dinner and then settled down with a G&T to watch Chernobyl. Tom had said it was fantastic and his fantastic was probably an undersell. I just loved it. Of course I remember Chernobyl, but it was something a little vague happening on the other side of the world. In pre social media and 24 hour news times the whole world did seem a little simpler. We could live oblivious to the enormity of what might have been happening in some people’s lives. I was pregnant with Tom and would have been running around with a two year old who was excited to blow out my birthday candles. While we sat and ate cake, thousands of people were having their lives destroyed by power hungry men in suits. Chernobyl was so sobering but also was a reminder to live each day – as Leigh Sales writes, any ordinary day can turn to total crap within a couple of minutes.

Heathrow passport control is now fully automated with none of those pesky forms to fill out. I can never find a pen and always have my passport tucked in the wrong place to grab quickly. I was reading that soon we will not even have to carry passports. Our faces will enable us to cross borders and move freely around the world. My arrival into Trastevere was super easy. A train ride on the regional train, four stops on a very efficient and cool tram, and then out into the blazing Roman sun. I met Vanina outside the apartment and she showed me into my home for the next few days. A beautiful apartment in the middle of the most fantastic part of Rome.