Lucci Hotel Rome Blog

Picture this: finally, after all those months of saving you are in Rome. Of course, you feel great. You arrived a bit late to your hotel (My Hotel, of course), but after a shower in your comfortable room you feel wonderful and anxious to start seeing all what Rome has to offer. You’re planning all the nice things
you’ll do tomorrow when somehow (maybe the news, or through your hotel) you realize there will be a transport strike in the city.
Tragic coincidence, but it might happen. Actually many people are in that situation right now while I write this lines. That’s why I decided to make this small emergency guide that will be also useful if you just want to explore the city without taking the buses or the subway.

Walk the City
In Rome during a strike your feet are your best friends. Cabs will be hard to find and you will have to wait years for one, so grab a map and get ready to walk and watch.
From My Hotel you can get walking to the Colosseum, and on your way you’ll find two marvelous churches that you have to visit. The first one is Santa Maria Maggiore where you’ll see many works of Christian art, as a breathtaking mosaic from the fifth century. The main attraction in the second church, San Pietro in Vincoli (Saint Peter in Chains) is the world-famous statue of Moses, by Michelangelo that I’m sure you’ve seen a hundred times in many an art book.

 

 

Since the Colosseum is the first stop in many visitors’ itinerary you might not be interested in seeing it again. If that’s the case, another option within walking distance are the Spanish steps. The area is packed with restaurants and interesting things to see. Besides Via del Corso, the place to go shopping in Rome, is only a couple of steps away, so you’ll find it more than useful if you want to buy some nice souvenirs or if you are a shopping-maniac with a very high limit on your credit card.

Stormy Weather
But maybe you’re not the walking kind. Or maybe you’re so unlucky that you’re facing a strike and a rainy day at the same time. Well, don’t fear, there’s a solution for that too. Repubblica Square (10 minutes walking from My Hotel) has everything someone in your situation can ask for. There are two big bookshops (Mel Book Store, and Feltrinelli International) that sell books in English, so you can sit to read in one of the many cafes in the area, in the mysterious fashion of the spies in the movies. For the less sophisticated
there are two (yes, two) McDonald’s very near that will also make your children happy if you are travelling with them. If there adults only then a pub or a Rome wine bar would definetely be suitable, to get warm and make plans !
Walk down via Nazionale from Repubblica Square and discover the magnificent Palazzo delle Esposizoni, a museum that you’ll love if you are into contemporary and modern art (right now they have a Kubrick exposition that looks extremely interesting.)

Back in Repubblica Square there’s also a cinema where at least one movie in English is played every day. Add to that a nice dinner in a nearby restaurant (you have at least five of them near My Hotel) and the strike day is gone and you not even noticed it.

TIPS

-The Italian word for “strike” is “sciopero”, fear it and be alert if you see it in the newspapers or you overhear it in the streets.

-Ask in your hotel about the details of the strike, they are seldom 24 hours long.

-A pretty obvious solution is to book a bus tour. If it sounds good ask the staff in My Hotel, they will be more than happy to help you with that.

So how about renting one and have some fun driving around Rome. If you have never ridden a scooter before then go somewhere quiet first to learn how to. It is really great when you get the hang of it and once you have driven on one of these in traffic you wont want to drive anything else.

 

Its great when you are driving inbetween the cars and racing all the other scooters. Well don’t go too fast until you know what you are doing. I was a passenger on my friends scooter and she has been driving it for years so she has loads of experience.

The most common type of scooter is the 125 cc. Its popular because its small but powerful and fast enough in the traffic and it can take a passenger as long as the person isn’t too big. You also don’t have to have a seperate license for a scooter a normal car license will do as long as you are intending to use a 125cc or smaller.

Another friend of mine also gave me some advice about the size of the tyres on the scooter. The bigger they are the more comfortable the bike will be and it will be higher off the ground which will make the bike easier to manouvre and to turn. The cobblestones can also make for a bumpy ride so make sure your scooter has a good suspension too.

 

Obviously the most well known and loved is the Vespa. However there are now plenty of different makes to choose from. The most popular seem to be Piaggio, Honda and Yamaha. There are even some new off road looking scooters. They have two wheels at the front and one at the back. It looks really weird but I honestly think its a gimmick and that it doesn’t make a difference anyway. You have to stay awake however as Roman traffic is quite fast and usually aggressive. Look out for pedestrians and watch out for cyclists too and the odd little old lady that doesn’t see you when she is crossing the road or taking a sharp turn in her car.

 

So get your helmet put on your shades and start your engine. You definetly won’t forget this experience and if you live off adrenaline then its all the more better just use your noggin and make sure you know what you are doing.

 

Yes I have been here for nine months already and it feels like time has been flying. Let me just tell you a little about the impressions of Rome that I felt and some of the experiences I have had so far.

 

I arrived in September and the weather was pleasent. Not too hot and not too cold but just right. The first thing I did was a bit of sight-seeing and visiting my friends who I had not seen for about six months. The city was still pretty busy even though it was not peak [tag]tourist[/tag] season. To tell you the truth [tag]Rome[/tag] never has a peak or a trough. The flow of tourists seems constant and the city is always busy. Scooters are all over the place and in between all the cars jostling for the best spot until the lights turn green again. Cars are all over the place too. So as you can imagine and I am sure you will agree with me after a few days of being here that it certainly is hectic.

 

Then there is the difficulty of trying to get used to the pace at which everything is done. The only thing that seems fast then is the traffic. Welcome to the home of beurocracy. That is the one thing that the Romans invented all on their own. You are always told to wait, hold on, just a minute, after a while, in a few minutes ,soon and my favourite one, come back tomorrow. Nothing seems to work in this city but somehow it does. I don’t know how but with all the strikes, politics and the care free attitude I have seen, it does.

 

Then there was another strange thing I started to see. Everyone started to wear orange. Orange scarves, hats, gloves, trousers, skirts, shirts, shoes and any other kind of clothing. I think the craze has started to die down a bit because there seems to be less of it around now. It was amazing. For a minute I felt like i was in the Netherlands. I was also surprised by how many foreigners are actually living and working here. Rome is just as cosomopolitan as London and you hear quite a lot of different languages while you walk down the street.

 

In comparison to other cities the centre of Rome is a lot smaller than others. From the hotel it takes between 20 to 40 minutes to walk to most of the sites that you will probably want to go to while you are here. Rome has a truly rich and [tag]colourful history[/tag]. Rome has been the seat of power for one of the largest empires on earth, it has also been a republic, a kingdom, was ruled under Mussolini as a fascist state and is now a democracy. Its great to see all the evidence of the different periods of history all mixed together with the period architecture. I am extremely fortunate because I get to see this everyday.

 

Rome is a colourful mixture of different people and cultures. It is like a pot always boiling with surprises bubbling out. There is so much to see here you will never have enough time and a return visit is always recommended and guarantedd by throwing your coins into Trevi Fountain. Rome is a place for everybody. From artists to party goers. This city will have something to sattisfy your appetite.

The food is also another great attraction. From the famous tiramissu to the best gelato around and the other countless Roman specialties and delicacies. This is also a food lovers paradise. Before you know it you will have started your holiday and then it will be finished. Enjoy your time here and relax a little. Rome looks busy but things always seem to take longer than expected. Come on book the ticket get on the plane and come over the city is waiting.

On vacation in Rome,in the central hotel My Hotel Rome most people tend to bring back the typical souvenir “Rosary Beads” “Miniature Statues” etc, but it’s the more creative person who decides to bring back, a little something of what Rome and the Roman people are about today, which is… Style…Trend…Fashion!.
Milan is known as the fashion capital of the world, but some people just as I, disagree and say that this title belongs to Rome.

      Rome has its Prada, Gucci, Versace and Armani boutiques closely located to our B&B Jonella,  buts it’s the boutiques you find in the more secluded streets hidden away, where you will be able to find some of the best fashion and accessories.  This doesn’t take long to discover where they are, but the only clue I will give you is to look near by main tourist attractions.Whilst in Rome you will notice the large majority of people elegantly dressed the majority of the time. 

                                  

 

It may appear as though they have somewhere important to be, maybe a fancy party, fashion show, a meeting.  But in many cases you will discover that they may just be going to the local supermarket and that this is the everyday attire, Maybe the Roman people believe they are in a fashion show themselves?The main fashion streets to visit are: Via Del Corso, which is also by Piazza Spagna, also Via Cola Di Rienzo close to the Vatican.
Shops are open through out the week, but majorities of shops are closed on Sunday. 

 

 

Well maybe there are no normal days in Rome but out of the chaos that you will usually see on the streets and in every general direction you may spot a moment of normality.

Rome is always busy, crowded and noisy. Everything that you would expect from a city. Except this one has certain flair about it. From the carabinieri strutting about in their Armani designed uniforms to the barmen and waiters in the coffee shops. Nothing is done without a lot of talking and wild gesturing with their hands or any other body part if their hands are full.

Then there is the constant and seemingly never ending flow of traffic and the non flow of traffic usually referred to as the traffic jam. Lots of hooters and more mad gesticulating can be found here. Also to be seen are literally hundreds of scooters everywhere. Racing in between cars and taking the numerous one way streets when the police are not around.

Yes and then there are the police. Well they don’t really seem to do much at all really. They just sit around and drink coffee and smoke cigarettes most of the time. You can usually see a great example of this in the centre near Via Del Corso or near metro Piramide. Well in my opinion if the police don’t do much then that must mean they have either caught all the baddies or that there aren’t that many of them around.

Then when you walk into the numerous piazzas you will without a doubt see mimes. The usual ones being the statue of liberty and Egyptian statues. Both are very boring and don’t really do much except change position or bow when you put money in their bowl. If you want to quite a good mime look for the ones all painted in gold or black. There is a gold painted cameraman sometimes in Piazza Del Popolo and a black painted figure with a sword, who must be Cola Di Rienzo, down Via Del Corso. They are the best .If you spot them drop a couple of coins in their bowl.

There are also loads buskers and bands that play on the street too. The city is always humming with some kind of activity.

Come have a look for yourself and see the funny guys dressed up as centurions and gladiators outside the Coloseum and the funny drunk one that always gets on the metro afterwards or who can also be seen walking around Piazza  Di  Spagna  and Trinita Dei  Monti. Come to Rome because you won’t see this anywhere else.

My Hotel Rome Blog is the guide for travellers that are planning a vacation trip to Rome.

If you love Rome or if you would like to visit the ethernal city this is the right place for you