Roaming holiday
DAWN COLLINSON jumps on a Vespa to emulate her movie heroine on a tour of the Eternal City
AS a reason not to do something, the possibility of death is a difficult one to argue against.
But being a keen Audrey Hepburn fan, I wasn’t about to let such a small concern stand in the way of a Roman Holiday-style Vespa tour of Italy’s capital city.
“I’ve read the reviews and not a single one mentions dying,” I offered, by way of reassurance as husband broke out into a light sweat.
It was flawed, at best. Dead men tell no tales and they don’t post on TripAdvisor either.
Somehow, though, my hopes of seeing the Eternal City from the pillion of a vintage scooter, just like Audrey and Gregory Peck, made it beyond the planning stages.
And with a tour booked for three of us – me, husband and our 18-year-old son – we set our sights on a post-A level trip to Rome.
After winning the battle of the Vespas, our second excellent decision came before we’d even left the UK. With an early flight from Manchester, we decided to pass on a still-dark wake-up call and the spectre of M62 jams and opt instead for a Park and Fly package at Hilton Manchester Airport.
Five minutes from the terminals, it meant we could get a very decent night’s sleep in a huge comfy bed – rooms are all soundproofed for perfect peace – set the alarm for 6am, jump in the courtesy shuttle bus and be at bag-drop in plenty of time for a 7.30am departure.
It seemed like a positive omen: stage one complete and nobody dead.
The good decisions kept on coming when we arrived at Rome Fiumicino Airport, thanks to a quick internet search which recommended a SIT airport bus for the journey to the city centre.
SIT buses run every half hour, cost six euros per person and a stop at Vaticano – before the main one at Termini – was just a few minutes’ walk from our hotel, the NH Collection Roma Centro. The buses have Wi-Fi too so 40 minutes passed easily, scrolling nearby restaurants.
The 257-room Roma Centro has undergone a very stylish refurbishment, first evidenced in the lobby which now has a sleek reception area and lounge with colourful over-sized arty-looking chairs, and the bar and restaurant – where the enormous hot and cold buffet breakfast is served – which has had a contemporary mustard and teal makeover.
Bedrooms are equally tasteful, in crisp white and neutral tones with standout design features here and there to remind you that a deal of thought has gone into creating the subtlety.
But décor aside, the NH Roma Centro has two major plus points on its side – first is its location: turn left, walk for 10 minutes and you reach the Piazza del Popolo, turn right for just a little longer and you’ll arrive at the Vatican. Now, there’s quite a decision to make…
Second is the views: book a room on the sixth, seventh or eighth and you’ll be rewarded, as we were, with incredible views of the city’s skyline including the world-famous dome of St Peter’s Basilica.
They proved a taster of things to come and meant that the Vatican came out top on our first day to-do list. As we’d been before to the museums, we decided instead to just visit St Peter’s.
And here, three tips – firstly, don’t believe the countless tour guide salesmen who tell you that there are huge queues and you should buy their fast passes to jump them.
“Two hours, two hours at least,” warned one, waving a doom-laden finger towards some non-specific point in the distance. “I can see the end of the queue from here”. He couldn’t.
We took a chance and waited about 15 minutes to get into the basilica for free.
Second tip – take plenty of water, you’re standing without shade and in summer it’s boiling hot in the square. And lastly – remember this is a place of worship so you’ll need to cover your shoulders, take off hats and switch mobiles onto silent. Reminders from security guards are gentle but unyielding.
Rome, of course, isn’t just about ancient monuments. It’s about pasta and pizza and aperitivo hour, which basically equates to a happy hour of cheap Aperol spritz and free nibbles (ranging from olives and crisps to pizza slices and deli boards), usually from about 6pm.
Italian restaurateurs no longer balk at the prospect of serving tourists just one or two courses instead of the traditional three so don’t shy away from ordering only pasta if that’s what you fancy. Our best restaurant find came just off the lively Campo de Fiori where queues nightly led us to Osteria da Fortunata.
Here, pasta chefs roll out their speciality from an open window table so you can watch dinner literally being made while you wait. For authenticity, choose the Roman staple tomato, bacon and pecorino Amatriciana, or the Cacio e Pepe, made simply with pecorino and black pepper.
Trastevere, with its winding narrow streets all lined with restaurant tables, is another great place to head if you want to avoid
the heaving tourist traps. Once one of Rome’s poorest districts, it’s become a hub for creatives so there are some lovely little art and craft shops there too.
But there was only ever going to be one highlight of our trip. We’d booked our Vintage Vespa experience through Airbnb and a guy called Francesco who has been running scooter tours for the past three years.
Our guides, Marco, Giorgio and Leonardo arrived to pick us up on Sunday morning and, after fitting our helmets we were on our way.
The first 10 minutes were spent wondering how embarrassing/ life-limiting it would be to go flying backwards into traffic but once I found my balance it wasn’t long before I was filming on my phone and hands-free like a pro.
Our tour lasted three hours, and at each stop Marco walked with us and chatted about its history, throwing in lots of local colour and quirky facts along the way. He spoke excellent English and had the kind of easy charm which seems to come naturally to anyone who gets to live in glorious sunshine for most of the year.
They were happy to make detours (including to the underground cat sanctuary in Largo di Torre Argentina, where Caesar was killed – at the site, not the cat’s home) and take endless snaps of us, on and off the Vespas. They even produced a bottle of chilled prosecco and three glasses midway through.
Of course, there had to be a visit to the Trevi Fountain, backdrop of the classic Fellini film La Dolce Vita, where legend dictates you throw coins in the cascading waters.
One will ensure you return, two will bring romance. And three? Well, three meant I didn’t have to write that really awkward TripAdvisor review …