Back in UK

Our European leg had come to an end ! We'd checked out our friendly b&b with it's claustrophobic lift and navigated our way back to Via Travestere train station along narrow footpaths with 2 unco-operative suitcases !

Barely 30 minutes later we were at Rome airport settling in for a long 5 hour wait for our Squeezy jet departure. 

After a 2 1/2 hour flight (about all that is bearable on a budget fligh !) we stepped off our plane to a cool and overcast UK evening and set about driving to Devon via a services stop near Taunton.

After a long day on the go we finally arrived in Honiton (our 2nd home) to be warmly welcomed by Monikas family. One week to go !

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Rome

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Rome

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Rome

As far as city touring plans go this one was pretty laid back ! Head in the general direction or Rome, find the Tiber, walk to the nearest identifiable ruin then continue walking in the direction of the Vatican hopefully not getting lost down one of the myriad of narrow alleyways before finally looping back to our starting point in Trastervere.

The first part of the plan worked well. From our accommodation in Trastervere we made our way on to Via Trastervere before crossing the beautiful Tiber river on a sunny morning. From here we soon picked up the amazing Circus Maximus now a park for wandering locals but then a 200, 000 seat amphitheater for racing chariots the obvious forerunner of todays Italian car driving habits.

From CM it was just a short distance up the road to the famous Palantino and Coluseum easily identified by the thousands of holidaying tourists queueing for entry. Trying to take a picture here without people stepping into the camera shot was almost impossible !

Our real joy in Rome though was simply just wandering down the narrow alleyways and past the squares / piazzas with architectural gems seemingly on every corner !

With some lucky navigation we made our way on to Fort de Angelo and then on to St Peters where the day before the Pontiff had delivered his Easter message to thousands of Pilgrims

Taking in our surrounds we finally left St Peters and walked back to Trastervere (admittedly a fairly lengthy walk) to complete a tiring but hugely rewarding 15km circuit !

Trastervere

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Rome

How could you not know that you were in Rome  / Italy ! The accordion player playing romantic tunes from his open shuttered 3rd floor appartment window gave you a strong enough clue as did the chaotic abondoment (called parking in some countries) of small bodied cars but the real give away as we perused the lovely Travestere district were in fact a pair of Granny's extra "large's" fluttering around like a huge main sail in a stiff ocean breeze on a washing line outside an appartment window !

We'd sadly disembarked our cruise ship mid morning having arrived at Citivecchia port an hour outside Rome and set about enduring the trials and tribulations of travel on an Easter Sunday to Rome central.

2 buses and 1 train later we somehow made central Rome bidding farewell to our Australian travelling buddies Nicci and Jamie and made our way again by train to the Travestere district where a 2km walk and a claustrophobic 5 floor lift ride we finally arrived at our homely b&b our refuge for the next 3 nights !

After a short rest we set about re-energising ourselves by taking a walk to the nearby historic Garibaldi Monument with its fabulous panoramic views over old Rome !

On a sunny holiday afternoon the vantage areas iincluding nearby fountains and grassed areas, were pretty well packed with locals lazing around amidst piles of rubbish that would not have qualified the area as 3rd rate back home, !

Still the views well and truly made up for it with terra cotta roofs and the domed churches of nearby Rome providing a timeless landscape.

Walking the area we even secured a distant view of St.Peters before turning back having well orientated ourselves for future explorations!!

After 2weeks of being waited on hand and foot we had to find our own meal for the evening not too difficult an exercise with restaurants and cafes every 20 or so metres in the Travestere area. Although the food may not have been that great the atmosphere of dining alfresco amidst the old style buildings and squares of made us look forward to savouring our time to be spent in Rome !

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Malaga

One of the worlds oldest cities (2800 +years) and the centrepiece of Spains famed Costa del Sol, Malaga welcomed us into port on a beautiful sunny Easter morning.

We disembarked following a lovely seaside promenade into downtown Malaga. It was respectfully quiet, today being good Friday, with only a handful of the many coffee shops and restaurant's en route open. Walking into the city centre on impulse we jumped on board a horse carriage for an orientation ride around the citys' s parkland and water front areas. With everything momentarily quiet this was an enjoyable experience as our driver in broken english pointed out the many areas of interest !

With our bearings sorted and our carriage driver happily paid, we walked past Malaga's imposing cathedral and begun our climb up steep marble style paths to the Gilbralfaro fort (originally a light house)  a 10th century design with outstanding views over the port of Malaga !

After numerous pics we descended to find that the city had awoken in our short absence and become a teeming mass of humanity enjoying the holiday and Easter celebrations.

As the hordes appeared so did the heat with temperatures quickly climbing as we made our way back to our ship past shops and one very poignant photographic display of images taken during the refugee crisis when families put themselves at risk trying to make landfall in Europe. Anyone seeing these images could not be anything but compassionate to their plight !

Back on deck it was time for a late lunch and a couple of berry smoothies as we set sail from our last port en route to Rome !

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