Europe - Venture Magazine Issue #2 PAGES 24-25

Viva Roma!

Rome is a highlight whenever it appears on the itinerary. Richard Trillo describes how to make the most of a two-day stay in the Italian capital

Rome is near the top of most people’s lists of must-see cities. It should be number one: it deserves pole position, certainly in Europe, for it is simply one of the world’s greatest cities. Super-charged with cultural energy, with artworks and sculpture everywhere you look, Rome combines accessibility with awe-inspiring architecture and history, an approachable manner with sophistication and fun.

Unless you’re going to fret about not seeing everything it offers – and you won’t in a short stay, for you can’t, not even in months – you’re almost certain to have a good time here. Rome’s historical and religious sites are stupendous, its character charmingly off-the-wall, its crooked and ancient layout seductive, the shopping excellent and stylish (and mostly still independent), and the food and drink – the hospitality – at countless pavement cafés and restaurants second to none. Get a good night’s sleep, start early on day one, and make the most of it.

Grab breakfast out somewhere (much quicker than your hotel), standing (which is cheaper) at a counter with the Romans and their newspapers, for a coffee and a pastry. If you’re going to do the Vatican, do it now, as early as possible. Walk or get a cab across the Tiber (a surprisingly narrow, deep-set river in this great metropolis) and walk up the Via del Conciliazione to the massive space of Piazza San Pietro, facing St Peter’s Basilica. Get into the queue and get straight to the top of the colossal Dome, walking the 300-plus steps up weird, bent-over staircases: the view from this highest point is superb. Then, as the crowds build, you can go down and drift through the amazing cathedral itself, and the Vatican museums, at the far end of which is the incomparable Sistine Chapel (of Michelangelo’s ceiling and Last Judgment fame; remember?), with its officious guards reminding you to be quiet.

From here, grab a cab to the stirring slaughter circus of the Colosseum, the massive amphitheatre that, long before St Peter’s was built, would have held up to 50,000 Roman spectators, watching elaborate scenes of choreographed carnage unfolding for their entertainment. The structure combines original building with reconstruction, interpretation and just enough imagination to create a memorable impression. Get your picture taken with one of the authentic-looking legionnaires touting their muscles outside. If the queues look long to get in, opt for a guided tour – often the best plan anyway (Rome is no place to waste time).

The Colosseum is at the eastern end of the ancient Forum, the heart of the old Roman city, and you can march or dawdle through the park of lawns and ruins at whatever speed suits you. You emerge at the natural centre point of Rome, Piazza Venezia, in front of Il Vittoriano, the monument to Italian unification, a great hulk of a building from the 19th century, with huge statuary and soaring flights of steps everywhere.

By now you’ll be hungry, so head down towards the extraordinary Pantheon and dive into the first pizzeria you see (choose from the counter, and buy your squares by weight: easy). The Pantheon, a Roman temple and later church, is shaped like a massive cylinder, with a nine-metre hole in its dome through which the sunlight shines like a great lens onto the interior, creating bizarre shapes on the plasterwork. The building, over 2000 years old, is virtually intact.

It’s an easy walk from here across the Tiber, and immediately you’re out of the bustle and noise and in a more suburban environment, near a university where you may bump into American summer school students. Ahead, is Monte del Gianicolo, the Janiculum Hill, the heights that overlook Rome from the west. It’s an easy, fifteen-minute climb up the alley and steps to the tree-shaded viewpoints at the top, where you’re rewarded with great views. Back down again, stop in a pavement café to recharge your batteries or start the evening.

This area is Trastevere (“Across the Tiber”), the funkiest part of Rome close to the centre, with a nice, small-town feel and crammed with places to eat, cobbled squares, street entertainers and pavement traders. It’s worth dropping by the place where you fancy eating to reserve a table for an hour or two later. Dinner menus make few concessions to non-Italians or fussy foreigners – you eat local-style in Rome, with large portions and robust flavours – so it’s a good idea to have a phrasebook or someone to translate. Braised octopus stew, for example, is seriously tasty, but you need a sharp knife and a good appetite. If in doubt, pasta dishes are always excellent, washed down with a few large beers or a bottle of chianti.

Nightlife tends to be more drinks and people-watching, especially in the hot summer months, but there’s no shortage of clubs and music bars if you want to up the tempo a little. Just remember to order a wake-up call...

Kumuka often takes travellers on an optional trip to the ruined city of Pompeii, outside Naples, a couple of hours south of Rome on the slopes of the brooding volcano Vesuvius. It’s a highly recommended trip if you’re not too tired of travelling – the physical reality of the streets and houses, many standing much as they were when smothered with hot ash from the eruption of 79AD, is unforgettable – but if you stay in Rome, there’s no shortage of things to do on day two.

For a start, you’ve got to go to the Spanish Steps and hang out like scooter kids from the sixties. Equally, and with a similar vibe, you mustn’t miss the famous coin-toss spot, the magnificent Trevi Fountain. Then you’ve got to go to Piazza Navona and check out the talent before choosing a street artist to sketch your features (going rate €30).

If you have time, visit the Capuchin Monks’ Crypt in the church of Santa Maria della Concezione, furnished and decorated with monks’ bones – on the walls, in the ceilings and in the altars, not forgetting the leg bone chandeliers... Their motto: “What you are, we once were; what we are now, you will be.”

Most important of all, you’ve got to devote a little time to shopping. The best browsing and window-shopping is in Tridente, the spear-shaped trio of largely pedestrianised streets pointing up to Piazza del Popolo. All the great labels have main outlets here – Gucci, Prada, Moschino – but if you’re after value rather than designer gear you can find really good Italian clothes and accessories all over, at decent prices.

Rome is such an unselfconsciously cool city that it can be hard to tear yourself away. Throw that coin in the Fontana Trevi and they say you’re guaranteed to return one day.

Life on the Road

Susan Burn, 10 YEARS a europe tour leader, describes life on one of Kumuka’s trips.

A typical driving day starts off with everybody bringing their bags to the coach. We emphasise leaving on time, as the tours are worked out to try to take in as much as possible. I tell everyone what the itinerary is for the next three days. We put on music and everybody relaxes until the first rest stop, which roll up on average every couple of hours. At noon-ish we make a lunch stop – which could be at anything from a sandwich counter to a full size café.

In the afternoon, I usually put on a film or we might make a scheduled stop in a village or at a site. For instance, on the way from Nice to Florence, we stop at a French perfumerie in the morning, and visit Pisa in the afternoon. I also give talks on new countries or cities we're about to visit. I always tell them how to use the public transport system and hand out maps and info on the major sites, so people can make the most of their free time.

The next morning, they can either be up with the roosters, or get up just in time for the last breakfast. Everybody uses public transport, like trams and metro systems, or occasionally cabs, and they go to the sites that interest them. They then have the choice of where to eat, and how much they want to spend. If they want an early night they can head back to the hotel, or alternatively they can group together and find a nightspot. As long as they’re back on the coach when we are ready to leave, that’s fine by me!

I’ve definitely noticed changes since I’ve been running tours. For example, there are more coach restrictions in big cities like Rome and Paris, so they’re not overrun with buses as they used to be. The Euro has made travel much easier and there are ATMs everywhere, so everyone has easy access to funds. Internet cafés and mobiles make it easy to keep in contact with the folks back home.

Less positive, some cities are much more congested than they used to be, with the sheer numbers of tourists from all over the world. From this breeds the increase in “feed ’em and get ’em out” restaurants, and tacky souvenir stalls. But Kevin and I (Kevin’s my husband, and drives the coach on my tours) know our cities so well that we wouldn’t dream of pointing our people at these places.

At Kumuka we’ve brought together European coach travel with the overland adventure aspect. We do this by giving people full days or half days of free time, with no schedule to follow. We find that gives people a real buzz and makes the trip much more personal for them. They feel they’ve really experienced a city, not just looked at it through a coach window; and they can get around anywhere on their own. It gives them tremendous confidence while travelling and sightseeing, which I don’t think any other company does.

With other companies we’ve travelled with, every day is planned, calculated and busy, so we never got to see much of anything off the major tourist trail. Now, by having free days, we can explore and not have to worry about being here for a coach transfer, or there for a restaurant meal. So even from the staff’s point of view, it’s opened up our world as well!

Kumuka travellers tend to get a lot of respect from local people. They tend to be more mature travellers. They like a drink, but not the drink-until-you’re-sick kind of mentality. And they’re generally more respectful than your average traveller. Kumuka does carry a lot of Aussies and Kiwis, who are laid-back, friendly, polite, and know how to have a good time without peeing everybody off. We also get a good selection of singles and couples.