Hotel rooms in Rome are often slightly weird. Because they have to work with the existing building layout there can be some unusual layouts. Ours is long and winding, but the plus is the outside terrace and what comes with it.
Given the 30 degree heat, the sauna didn’t offer a lot of value, but the rest of the terrace was priceless.
After many hours travel we arrived in Rome yesterday. Everything went as it should – we made our connections, our bags arrived and all our transfers when smoothly although the final leg – a train from Milan to Rome and a taxi to the hotel was done with us largely asleep as the local time of 8pm meant our bodies had some catching up to do.
It was great to sleep in a real bed at Hotel Barocco – despite waking at about 6am with an overwhelming desire for dinner.
So soon after, we sat down to a three course dinner masquerading as the Barocco breakfast – pastries, cheeses and cold meats, fresh fruit, eggs, rolls and the inevitable cups of cappuccino.
The perfect way to start a day in Rome.
With our out-of-office notifications turned on, and bags and clothes strewn around our spare room the holiday is underway. We are in the middle of a weekend of packing. On one hand packing our bags. On the other, packing the girls off to their holiday retreat.
Prior to Covid our route to Italy was well trodden. Cathay Pacific to Rome via Hong Kong with a taste of Air New Zealand on the trip home – the last leg being a code share between the two airlines.
Given our combined height of 373 centimetres we like a bit of extra leg room – so when we have the opportunity we fly premium economy. Apart from the legroom, the bonus is a quieter cabin and nicer food and drink. All this for a price pitched midway between economy and business.
But when we came to book our trip this year things had changed.
Some routes weren’t being flown – so no Cathay leg from Hong Kong to Rome – and the prices of the alternatives had gone up – a lot. Some fares had almost doubled.
Enter Emirates and their new Premium Economy service which offered all we needed. The price also seemed reasonable when compared to the other options available.
We’ve read good things about it in various reviews so are looking forward to trying it – in two weeks time.
View from our verandah – Wellington Airport, Kilbirne, Evans Bay and Hataitai.
One thing that I’ve noticed over the last few weeks is the silence. Outside at night you can hear – nothing.
With virtually no cars on the roads and even fewer planes coming and going, the constant background city buzz has gone. To be replaced by silence, and at night, the call of our local Ruru.
Bella loves to bark at people passing our front gate. She sits and waits to hear someone approaching – then when they are level with the gate she lets loose – barking, barking barking.
Every morning and evening people on the way to and from work give her a “target rich environment” but in lockdown it’s different.
Here she is siting patiently, waiting for someone to walk past on Wednesday evening. But no one came.
Thank you gentle readers for the additions to the lockdown playlist. Happy lockdown day 9. And the extended playlist is:
Alone Again, Naturally – Gilbert O’Sullivan
The Chain – Fleetwood Mac
Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
Don’t Stand So Close To Me – The Police
It’s Oh So Quiet – Bjork
I Think We’re Alone Now – Tiffany
Staying Alive – Bee Gees
Is There Anybody Out There – Pink Floyd
So it’s day 7 of the Covid-19 lockdown. Our medical community is braced for an influx of virus sufferers and I’m ensconced in the safety of my home. What could possibly go wrong?
Quite a bit it seems.
It only took 7 days but I’ve done it – produced a sequel to the “nail through the foot” incident of last year. All it took was a blown lightbulb and a step ladder – well a kitchen step ladder to be honest.
Yes, another foot injury. This time it’s torn ligaments along the side of my left foot, swelling, pain and embarrassment – in equal measures.
I fell from the bottom step of the ladder and managed to sprain my foot to such an extent the doctor was impressed. “The bottom step? Really? The bottom step, are you sure?”, were his words while examining my swollen and rapidly blackening foot.
One x-ray later and I’m in a moon-boot with enough pain killers and steroids to treat a horse. Easy.
I’ll be spending the next week with my foot elevated, garnering as much sympathy and as many cups of tea as I can.
Top Tip: If you do something silly like this, now is an oddly good time to do it. When Jean called my doctor as I lay groaning on the ground she advised me to visit the after hours clinic (in Newtown for me) as they are “very quiet”. Apparently all the usual maladies that fill the clinic’s waiting room have mysteriously been cured. At 1pm I was the only person in the waiting room and when I had my x-ray I was the radiographers second customer – that day.
After 6 days of having us at home, Ellie has run out of things to keep her occupied. There’s only the office chair left.
Day two of the lockdown and it’s quiet out there – too quiet. Time for some music, and what could be better than a curated playlist to suit these odd times.
And, of course, anything by Small Spaces. All suggestions for additional songs are welcome.
We live in extraordinary times. In the next 24 hours we will give up our freedom willingly (for at least 4 weeks and possibly longer) and retreat to the relative safety of our homes, isolated, socially impotent and very likely bored out of our minds.
Today and tomorrow are the days to tidy things up – to sort all that life admin that needs to be done for a month in isolation. Not wanting to appear shallow, but top of my list was to purchase some of the delicious SmokeHouse Salmon Pate that New World stock. Ok, not earth shattering but just something that seemed important at the time.
Of course if I’d thought for another moment I’d have realised that it was possibly the least important thing I could have done in the day. But my brain ended up fixated on this damn pate.
So off I went to Chaffers New World to buy my limit of 2 pots. A llimit we can blame on all those who panic bought toilet paper, hand sanitiser, coffee, chocolate, baked beans and whatever else was panic buy of the day over the last few weeks.
I was expecting the supermarket to be chaos, queues out the door, police in attendance, possibly some tear gas being fired around but – no. It was quieter than any time I’ve been there recently – from a certain angle the store almost seemed empty.
Never one to miss an opportunity, I went in for some good old fashioned panic buying – well as much as you can do with a two item limit. When Jean saw my purchases she said I’d missed the point.
Poor women, she’s now stuck with me for 4 weeks – alone, together.
For someone who is used to Christmas being summer days, shorts, a tee shirt and barbecues, Christmas in Steamboat Springs, Colorado was a bit different – as it was for the whole team who travelled from a New Zealand summer to a Colorado winter.
We were treated to a white Christmas with about 3 inches of snow falling on Christmas Day, all of which led to a magical day. Dinner was roasted chicken and duck with all the trappings. Presents were under the tree and the kids played outside building a snowman.
Andre also continued a Christmas tradition of barbecuing the breakfast – despite the temperature.
Skiing? There has been some of that as well. Steamboat is vast with 169 trails spread over 3,000 acres. No matter what your skiing level, there are multiple runs for you.
And when you need to take a break there are bars, restaurants and cafes at the base of the mountain for that whole apres ski thingy.
Today – Friday 27th in the early evening it’s -17 degrees celsius. That’s 17 degrees below zero. That’s quite cold, with more snow forecast over the weekend.
I’d like to say that this post is all about Jean’s first lunch on a train.
The trip from Firenze to Napoli included lunch as we rocketed through the countryside north of Roma at 275km/h. Compared to typical airline food this was a feast of pasta, ragu and buffalo mozzarella all washed down with a Sicilian Chardonnay.
But really this post is just an excuse to use the title.
View from our villa – hazy weather means Capri is shrouded in the distance
Yesterday we travelled from Camogli (south of Genova) to Positano (just south of Napoli). The 2 hour drive to Firenze to catch the train south was negotiated successfully – including the Firenze one way system which is always a challenge.
It felt like it was going to be a good day.
As it was Saturday the rental car office was frantic (most villa rentals run for a week from Saturday to Saturday) with tourist picking up cars. The queue went out of the office and down the street – quite hard work for those waiting in the 32 degree heat.
We drove past all this chaos, into the garage, was met by a lovely Avis rep who checked the car (no dents this time), helped with our bags, ordered a taxi for us and handed me a receipt in about 3 minutes flat.
It was really looking like a good day.
The taxi dropped us at the organised chaos that is Firenze train station with time to spare for our train. Luckily we could escape the chaos as our tickets included access to the Frecciarossa lounge – an air-conditioned haven of peace, tranquility, free beverages and snacks.
Jean discovered the shopping mall under the station and disappeared for a few minutes returning successfully with “that t-shirt top she’d been looking for” and “something to wear by the pool”.
The train trip south was 3 hours. We arrived in Napoli at 5pm and were greeted by our driver Enzo on the platform. An hour later we were in a warm and slightly muggy Positano being greeted by the Eden Roc team.
Definitely a good day.
Today we leave Camogli and head south to Positano. We have thoroughly enjoyed both our time here at Cenobio Dei Dogi and our time exploring the village.
Would we come back – like a shot.
As always it’s about the place but also the people you meet. After 6 days of turning up at the same places for meals and drinks, exploring the village on foot (it’s not a big village so there’s not much walking involved) and generally settling in we are starting to be recognised. The fact that we are from New Zealand is a surprise and the start of a conversation. And that’s what it’s all about.
La dolce far niente 