40th Anniversay Trip Day 15

40^th Anniversary Trip Day 15 – Monday

Sadly we leave Venice today, but take with us wonderful memories I’ve enjoyed reliving as I share them with you.  But we still have more time in Italy.

We enjoy one last breakfast of pannacotta with all the trimmings, say goodbye (and huge thanks) to Ivan, then head for the station.  It’s cloudy and threatening rain, but we get the vaporetto behind the church and arrive with over 30 minutes to spare. The journey to Rome retraces our steps through Padua and Florence, and passes without incident.  I wish the US hadn’t all but abandoned passenger rail.  Here's my final photo from the room.  More snow on the hills!

The original plan had been to spend the last 2 nights at a spa hotel close to Fiumicino airport that I found online.  We actually drove past the entrance on our way to the B&B hotel on our first night, and it looks tranquil.  However, on Saturday I went onto their website to check details of how to get there, and discovered that recent reviews have been scathing.  Apparently their spa is open to the public, not just  guests.  It’s always crowded and difficult to get appointments, or so the reviews said.  Fortunately I was able to cancel the reservation and instead we’re staying at the Westin Excelsior, a venerable “Grand Dame” in the city, on the elegant Via Vittorio Veneto.

We take a taxi from the station and find it is indeed a traditional old-style hotel, though the facilities are completely modernized.  Many years ago, we stayed at Claridge’s in London and the Excelsior shares with it a feeling of tradition and also a certain stuffiness among the staff.  We’re using Marriott points for a free stay and chose this rather than the Marriott property up the street since we’ve never tried Westin and the brand was recently added to our options.  The usual friendly welcome is missing here.

I really can’t complain, though.  We have a nice, well equipped room, albeit with no view.  This may not be a bad thing since the outside rooms look out on a very busy street and could be noisy, while ours is very quiet.  The concierge desk is a big disappointment though.  Maybe Ivan has spoiled us, but while these people will do anything you ask, they’re not at all proactive with suggestions and only answer your specific questions.  Not what I would expect from a concierge, especially in a 5-star hotel.

We ask for a dinner suggestion and what is described sounds like it would break the bank.  We also ask about getting to the Palatine, the residence of emperors and senators in ancient Rome.  We’ve been to Rome before and seen most of the sights, but missed the Palatine.  We’re told we could walk (40 minutes) or take a taxi.  When I ask about public transportation it’s like pulling teeth to get info. 

We decide to go out for dinner.  It’s raining so we don’t want to go far.  We find an inexpensive place and Vicky orders a salad while I try a hamburger, mainly because it’s made of veal!  I have to send it back as it’s overcooked but they cheerfully replace it, and the meal is light and just what we wanted.  We return to the hotel and have gelato in the bar for dessert.  The hotel is beginning to grow on me.

We picked up some brochures and I do some online research, discovering that you can only visit the Palatine with a ticket that also includes the Colosseum and the Forum, and these are time specific.  However, we find a small group walking tour that will pick us up from the hotel and take us to all 3, skipping the ticket lines and including a commentary in English.  We decide to try for this tomorrow, and settle in for a very comfortable night’s sleep.

I love Rome so I’m happy we’re in the city for a couple of days, and the forecast for tomorrow is sunny.