Riding to Rome

[alaskier]

I am just wondering whether any of you have any recent (post pandemic) experience of Rome? I have booked an hotel in Rome that Booking.com blithely tells me has parking facilities. Having booked the entire holiday I now find that Rome is much more anti-traffic than good old London as it appears that it has large completely private traffic  free areas. Needless to say my hotel is in one of those areas however there is a parking garage less than a mile away. So my question is have any of you used the International Garage at Via Parigi which is close to the main railway station? Will  I be able to put the Garage in my satnav and follow it there without any problems?

And for God’s sake don’t anybody tell Sadiq Khan about Rome’s ZTL otherwise the whole of the City, West End and South Bank will be entirely traffic free apart from busses!

I look forward to hearing from you

[richtea]

Ah, you're looking for a plenary indulgence. 

If you're a Catholic, check these important dates:
https://aleteia.org/2024/10/31/jubilee-2025-official-calendar-of-major-events

If you're not a Catholic, what were you thinking -  visiting on [insert date here]! Madness.

The above was brought to my attention by a Rome resident over Christmas, so it seems they (the resident) are expecting some serious disruption.
Then again, Rome has planned this for many years, so it will probably be fun. Or whatever Catholics do for fun.

Expect raised prices all round.

[EDIT: I haven't been since 2019 - so apols for not being able to give garage guidance, other than Google should be up to date in terms of reaching the garage. You can't offer a parking service if you can't ride there, right!]

[alaskier]

Thanks Rich. As it happens I was baptised a Catholic. However, bless me father for I have sinned it has been well over 52 years since my last confession, so a somewhat lapsed one. And I had completely forgotten about Holy Years as well!

I am sure the pope will be pleased when he hears that I shall be riding to Rome on my plenary indulgence and if it wasn’t for the stupid TLZ I might even have ridden it to see him in St Mark’s Square. 

I have since heard from my hotel and they have assured me that the International Garage is outside the TLZ area so it looks as though my trip to Rome is still on.

Wish me luck and may your god go with you,

Tony

[richtea]

Lovely reply!

If you haven't been to Rome before, I recommend taking a half-day guided cycling tour. Italians appear to drive somewhat excitedly but they respect bicycles, and it's a great way to get a feel for multiple sights which are beyond walking distance. Then you can go back later to your favourites. And if you don't fancy the excercise they'll have electric bikes.

Two wheels good, four wheels bad, etc.

[Matt]

Lovely reply!

If you haven't been to Rome before, I recommend taking a half-day guided cycling tour. Italians appear to drive somewhat excitedly but they respect bicycles, and it's a great way to get a feel for multiple sights which are beyond walking distance. Then you can go back later to your favourites. And if you don't fancy the excercise they'll have electric bikes.

Two wheels good, four wheels bad, etc.

That sounds like a good idea! Tony, will you be on the K1600? I really do hope so as I want some photos of it just trundling over the plethora of scooters as if they were matchbox models .

I last went to Rome a couple of years before the pandé. It was a bit of a work trip and somehow our walk for dinner went on until 11pm, and then due to language barriers, one of our group asking for vegetarian food ended in all 12 of us eating vegetarian food. Most distressing!

Pro-Tip: Those fools on flying carpets distracting you whilst someone goes through your pockets: pretending.

[richtea]

It was a bit of a work trip and somehow our walk for dinner went on until 11pm, and then due to language barriers, one of our group asking for vegetarian food ended in all 12 of us eating vegetarian food. Most distressing!

How do you tell if someone is vegetarian?
Don't worry - they'll tell you.


I'm here all week.

[raesewell]

I thought it was just Vegans that kept banging on about it. You live and learn.

[chriscanning]

As all our trips to Italy were down on the east coast to race meetings cannot help with the Rome question,but always made sure we went via the Grand StBernard pass which is very speacial.

[Phmode]

And I've only ridden through Italy in a fairly straight line from sort of Como to Rimini and back. Apart from the antics of the local two-wheeled brigades, including the official, uniformed ones, there was little to recommend the journey.

I have always thought that capital cities (in fact cities in general) were vastly overrated and to be avoided at most costs. Apart from work ventures, I think I have only ever been to London about half a dozen times in my life.

Good luck with Rome...

[richtea]

I have always thought that capital cities (in fact cities in general) were vastly overrated and to be avoided at most costs.

If you appreciate Romans (as in the ancient ones), architecture or food then Rome is something special, I promise. You just have to know where to go - hence the bike tour suggestion. Compare this to London or any other major city:

Just a quarter mile from the city centre:


Tasteful shop window:


Backstreet in the centre of Rome:


Tasteful Ducati:


Carabinieri, with matching helmet positions:


Meats!


An average residential house, but incorporating 2,000 year old Ionic columns:


Pyramid! 2,000 years old, pristine, not Egyptian, and much bigger than the photo suggests, Dougal:


Tasty cream-filled pastries:


Very plain ravioli, but so much tastier than you get in the UK:


Arch of Constantine, half-mile south of the city centre:


Amphitheatre converted into flats. Crazy:


How to use a Roman fountain: close the hole to get an upward shot of drinking Water. It's all potable, just take an empty bottle and never pay for water:


Amazing ancient aqueduct, just 5 miles from the centre, which used to supply Rome:


Working sheep cheese farm 4 miles from centre:



Needless to say it's my favourite city. Venice is a close second, but it's a bit too crowded.

[Matt]

Aha I am pretty sure I have a photo of that MV too!

And yeah I liked the place once we got away from the magic carpet lot, which was around that massive monstrosity that dictator fella had created, I think.

I stayed with a friend the first time I visited, and when those metal roller shutters were activated I briefly thought that Will Smith film was happening.

Bad Boys.

No wait. I Am Legend. The book was better. Hashtag Humbrol Brog.

[alaskier]

Thanks for the photos Rich. They are far better than my rather dull attempts and have whetted my appetite for my coming trip!

I have been to Italy a few times but never to Rome and I am now wondering whether 3 days will be long enough!

Whilst in Italy we are  also spending a day each in Milan and Genoa, both of which have these irritating ZTLs.  Fines for accidentally infringing a ZTL can be as high as EUR300. If I had known that before booking my hotels etc. I would probably have left the bike at home and flown there but where’s the fun in that? Now that it is all booked and arranged I think the Roman expression “copulatum expensorium” comes to mind.

Cheers all,
Tony

[Phmode]

See! Excellent piccies and now I have seen everything that Rome has to offer!

Yet another capital city that I don't need to visit 

PS Gloucester has similar excavations under a glass walkway (now railed off  )

As has Cahors in the Lot in France, beautifully restored and displayed on the second(?) storey of the underground car park in the old market square.

[richtea]

I have been to Italy a few times but never to Rome and I am now wondering whether 3 days will be long enough!

3 days is enough - to whet your appetite for another visit!

I purposefully didn't even show the main tourist drag (Treviso fountain, Spanish Steps, Colosseum, Pantheon, etc) which are still all very interesting.

One solid recommendation - if you do visit the Colosseum be sure to book the 'full experience' guided tour where you get extra time to visit:
- underground where the elephants were held before being raised up to the arena
- onto a small portion of the arena floor, and see some of the original marble seats
- go to the top level, above normal ticket holders (although in the latest blurb I can't see it mentioned, but we got taken up 'in the gods')

See here for details:
https://mamalovesrome.com/colosseum-underground-and-top-tier/

It seems they may have split the 'attico' and 'underground' experiences, but both will be fantastic if you're forced to choose one or the other.

Attico view (not available in Gloucester ):



Oh, and watch Gladiator first. 

[alaskier]

Thanks Rich. Our hotel is quite close to the Colosseum so I will bear your recommendation in mind