I was on an Air Canada flight from Toronto to Rome. We left Toronto at 6:30PM, so daylight fairly quickly faded out - before we reached the Atlantic Ocean. We flew a little south of the St. Lawrence River, and sitting on the left side of the plane, I had a view of it. Not quite able to photograph it, though.
Next thing I knew, the view out the window was this - the Alps. Well, presuming we were still on course! I'm not sure where the flight path from Toronto to Rome crosses, but I'd guess this is south eastern France, or perhaps Switzerland.
I think Mt. Blanc is down there - the steward on the plane walked past, and seeing me with a camera, said that it was Mt. Blanc.
Another view of the mountains, with the sun a little higher in the sky. And clearly visible valleys - very rugged terrain.
Leaving the snow capped mountains now. From here on, the terrain flattened out as we flew along the southern coast of Italy. It was hard to photograph, as the view was almost directly below the window.
The plane arrived about 9AM, so Rome's traffic was full on by the time I hit the city. I was booked into the same hotel as my brother and sister-in-law would be staying when they arrived in Rome in two days. And so would their son Keiran when he arrived from London a day later. Italian driving is definitely a fine spectator sport, and is fascinating to watch. Rules are, at best, a guide, and certainly subject to negotiation. Ideas that would be confirmed later...
After a shower and cleaing up, it was time to hit some of the nearby area. The Hotel Ateneo Garden Palace is located very close to Rome's Termini (main train station; current building dating back to Mussolini's era). The hotel seems to be uncertain about its name; sometimes the "Garden" is in the name; other times not! It's a nice hotel, having obviously recently had a make over. As has been my experience with Italian hotels, anything that does not work cannot be fixed. Ever. In this case, it was the safe in my room. My guess is that it needed new batteries because when it tried to drive the locking bolts home, it just made a clicking sound. If I'd had a screwdriver with me, I would have opened it and replaced the batteries. When I mentioned this to the front desk, they offered me another room (which I didn't want, as I liked the room I had - it opened onto the courtyard - and packing/unpacking is not top of my favourite things to do). However, I would still recommend this hotel, as it is quite nice. AND, as I later discovered, is within a few blocks of a motorcycle rental company!
Then it was time for a walk, to get the blood flowing etc. This map shows the location of the hotel, and the path of my walk (the yellow line), which was basically around Termini, and past the first hotel (The Morgana) I stayed in. The area south of Termini seems to have become Rome's Chinatown, which was new to me. Somehow seemed amusing to see a Chinese section of Rome - it just didn't seem right!
As I was walking towards the Radisson Hotel, I could see this rather strange sight. At first it was hard to see what exactly was on the side of the building.
But closer up, it was "surfing motor scooters"! Vespa is alive and well! Certainly an eye catching display, and perhaps the theme of some new promotion.
But then it was time to head back to the hotel and have a bit of a snooze while the heat of the afternoon developed. And it was approaching dinner time. The front desk recommended a nearby restaurant; I arrived there about 6PM, but being Rome, they didn't open until after 7PM. Ah, yes, I'd forgotten about that. So I went walkabout, exploring nearby streets and shops, and just soaking up the atmosphere.
By the time I returned, the restaurant was open, and I enjoyed a delightful meal - outside, of course! But then it was time to return for the night and catch up on some of the missing sleep from the previous night's flight. And also some time zone adjustment - about 6 hours worth.
Italy In July