After a pleasant stay in Solenzara, and
after much careful planning, we left at 10.30am Sunday morning, to cross the
125 miles from Solenzara to Porto Di Roma. Snow had fallen on the hills above
the marina, the air was crisp and the day looked fine.
After a cold and wet night, we arrived in
Porto Di Roma Monday morning at 9am thankful for a safe haven and relatively
calm waters.
Porto Di Roma is a huge tourist marina that
appears to be very popular for the local Romans during the summer season. Facilities are great, shops are
plentiful around the marina and the nearby restaurants give good affordable
service. We spent most mornings enjoying excellent coffee and croissants at the
bar for approximately $3 total for both of us. Happy hour gave much the same sort of pleasure ($6 for a
huge glass of wine or beer and all you can eat buffet). Eating has been a
highlight of our stay in Rome!
We found a “tappezzeria” at the marina and
were able to complete the new seating for the dining area of the boat. My blue
covers are now a great improvement on the old worn out pink covers!
Each day has been spent making small trips
into Rome, doing boat maintenance and generally taking it easy. Walking around grubby streets and
standing in lines for ages can become daunting and this is only the beginning
of the tourist season! Still, we did all the touristy things – Colosseum,
Spanish steps etc but this time we gave the Vatican a miss – just too hard.
 |
| The Steps |
 |
| The ultimate new age dad with child and toilet paper on the back |
 |
| Dave (blue cap) heading towards the Colosseum |
One
highlight of our visit to Rome was to see the Rose festival in the gardens
adjacent to Circo Massimo. Seeing so many in bloom brought back old OB Flat
memories.
 |
| The entrance to the 'Roseto Communale' |
 |
| The view from the rose garden across to Circo Massimo |
We avoided the temptation to visit every art gallery this time except one - 'The Modern Art Gallery of Rome'. All fairly ordinary but one triptych by Tato was interesting - showed the stages of Futurism.
We now have a reliable internet provider –
‘Wind’ which gives us great reception at a comparable Australian price. It
should also work in Greece.
The weather has not been as expected even
by local standards and so we’ve had to remain in port for longer than expected.
The Mistral is easing and we’re hoping to leave tomorrow (Sunday) for Anzio and
Circeo, weather permitting
