Road Trip Rome, Italy. (Aug 20)

So the second leg of our socially distanced mystery tour of Europe (well at least of those countries with a lower rate than the U.K.) brought us to Rome.
Yes Rome!

And no… I can’t find another British car anywhere. No one mad enough I hear you say! Having said that we hardly saw any Italian cars here either – the roads are pretty much empty. Not that we are complaining.
We drove into the city centre last night, just as the sun was setting and parked without any problem on the main drag by the Isla Tiberina. We managed a few sights before slowing down for a lovely meal in a very quiet restaurant next to the The Victor Emmanuel II Monument (that’s a mouthful. No wonder it’s known as the wedding cake monument). We ate al-fresco again in the 30 degree heat. Only four tables taken – so lots of room.

On Saturday morning we woke up early. We didn’t want to risk public transport or a taxi so my first task was to hatch a plan to get Emma to cycle in… and it worked, thanks to the help of the hotel manger… “you see there is a public park nearby containing the Catacombs of San Sebastian just up the road”… So off we went and before you knew it we were within a hair’s breadth of the Coliseum. 35km later and we’d managed most of the sights.

Rome is as magnificent as they say. Better even than I had imagined. Well worth the visit. How have I managed not to come here before?
Every corner hides a major surprise and glimpse into a different world and it feels really safe here – even when we got mugged into buying a bracelet from a street trader; we knew we were being conned as he deployed the oldest trick in the book… lots of smiles. a few Euros lighter and everyone was happy.

Love this place👍👍👍. Off tomorrow to find a beach somewhere. Still heading south!