Day 75. 8.6.23.
Ercolano to Rome (speed tourism!)
Once again it was a very hot start to the day, I don’t think the temperature in the van has been below 25° at anytime of the day for a week or so 
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After a lot of trawling through the various campsites and Sosta’s near to Rome, we had decided not to go there, mainly for Meg’s sake and a relatively long journey in.
But then we spotted a Sosta with the tram service right outside and thought why not try it.
We opted, where possible for the toll roads just because the non tolls can be very bad and at times you feel as if you are just about holding all the van pieces together 
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It’s called LPG Rome and it’s in a great location.
This is a great spot. There are plenty of places to park, some are quite tight but the spot we were allocated didn’t have a neighbour, so we had lots of room 
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We sorted the van and then sat in the shade until about 4pm before making our way into Rome. The guys on reception are very helpful, they give you a map, advise you on how to seen the best bits and also sell you the bus and tram tickets , that certainly took a lot of the pressure off.
We waited about 10 mins for the next tram and then had to get the 70 bus to Piazza Venizia.
My goodness! You don’t have to walk far to be wowed here. This is where you will see the Roman forums and then if you walk further down the road you come to the Coliseum. Typically for us, there are hoardings around the front of the building but you can get a good view by walking around it. We were there at about 5pm, it was busy still so I can imagine what it’s like during peak time.
From here you can go to the Palatine Gardens and get a great view over the city, we asked and Meg wasn’t allowed in. No problem, it’s what we expected.
Walking back past the Forums – there’s one on each side of the road, you also see bronze statues of the Caesars. I couldn’t believe how big these areas were! Just by the Peace Forum we stopped and listened to a busker playing chilled music. He was very popular as the choice of tune was perfect, it matched the magic in the air as the sun started it’s journey west over this awesome site. The day was beginning to cool off as we walked back past the Huge monument dedicated to the first King of Italy. You also have to watch were you walk as every now and again the original Roman road is still used. How they managed to get animals and carts along them I’ll never know. In some places the stones are the size of an album cover 
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We knew we weren’t going to be able to see everything so we next plumbed for the Trevi Fountain. It was only about 7mins from Piazza Venizia though you do have to negotiate the road. Our Vietnam road crossing skills came in quite handy and generally, the drivers did stop for you 
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Vehicles still use the little roads so you have to be very aware, they don’t drive slowly either. We could hear the fountain before we turned the corner to see it and we could also hear the hubbub of tourists already there! The place was packed!
Blimey, I had to just set my sights on a spot at the edge of the fountain and go for it. Legend says you have to throw a coin from your right hand, over your left shoulder into the fountain to ensure you return to Rome .
I took a video of the scene before us as I couldn’t quite believe how mad it was.
This did, in no way, marr our visit. The fountain is beautiful 
, I can guess if there was silence around it, the sound would have been amazing. We didn’t stay long as the crowd was constantly moving and though Meg was doing an amazing job we didn’t want to put her through too much more.
Coming away from the fountain we wandered down some lovely little lanes in the Quirinales looking to have dinner. It took a while to find a free table. We opted for a lovely little restaurant called Vos who have a secret garden if you don’t want to eat in the street, just up from the Temple of Adriano, now just a facade but with impressive Corinthian columns still visible.
For dinner we tried the Carbonara and the Porcini Tonnarelli. Accompanied by a glass of Montepulciano red for Gareth and a Rosé for me. Deeeeelissshus 
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After dinner we walked down past the Temple of Adriano and started working our way back to the bus stop when all of a sudden we came upon the Pantheon 
wow, wow, wow what a sight. Imposing itself on the Piazza Della Rondo, it is one of the best preserved ancient Roman monuments. We would have been disappointed had we missed it.
Getting the bus back was a bit confusing to start with but we finally found our stop and didn’t have to wait long. We also had to get off at the end of the line – the train station so that helped as well . The trams run until about 10.30pm so we were in good time and arrived back at the van at about 10pm.
Sadly we didn’t get to see everything and only scratched the surface, but we did very well in the few hours we did have and now know of a great spot to do the rest when we come back.
To enjoy it at its best we really need to come back for a weekend and immerse ourselves – another for the flight holiday list without Meg.
PS, on our way to Paestum on the motorway we realised we were running alongside a huge pipeline, it went on for miles. I looked it up and it’s the Trans Med natural gas pipeline which comes all the way from Algeria!!
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