Italy On The Cheap
It’s
hard to have a Roman holiday on a slim budget. But plan smart, and the country
of pizzas and piazzas will take you further than you expected
We made our way into the Colosseum
via the Palatine Hill
AT SOME point of time, a cold
drizzle crumbled the September heat in ‘the eternal city’ of Rome. And three
days into my stay in central Italy (where ancient empire meets urban-sprawl), a
couple of things about the Roman lifestyle left me puzzled. Did these guys go
to work at all? Or did they know what the indubitable peak hour traffic was all
about?
As day four drew in, my wife and I
forced ourselves out of bed at our B&B in the eastern part of the city to
catch a morning train to Florence.
The sun was barely up as we
sauntered out with our baggage and an umbrella. Answers to my questions flashed
by as we walked out at 6 am, the very start of the Roman peak hour, with packed
trams and ever-courteous traffic moving smoothly like a jaded assembly line.
This revelation set the tone for what was to come: an encounter with an Italian
vendor who spoke broken Malayalam, squeezing through the network of
subterranean Naples and wandering through the ruins of a dead city.
Italy has the most number of UNESCO
heritage sites. Why? They just love to dig up ruins. They dig. People pay to
see. Money goes into maintenance. They dig some more. It works like clockwork.
Apparently, over 60 per cent of ancient Rome is still underground.
ROME & THE VATICAN
In terms of advice, an oldie but
goodie is to explore any unfamiliar city on foot. And it works wonderfully in
Europe. But even when you’re not paying for fuel, getting a bottle of water or
surprising your palates with an Italian spread can be an expensive deal.
However, you should know that the numerous public drinking water fountains
sourcing water from ancient Roman aqueducts can take care of your hydration for
free.
Instead of joining the long queues
to enter the Colosseum, we made our way through the less crowded Palatine Hill
– where the birthplace of the Roman Empire was born – and the Forum to the
Colosseum entrance. We walked right in, with the ticket purchased from Palatine
Hill. The 60,000 strong elliptical amphitheatre, with its intricate mazes, had
witnessed the bloodiest and goriest showdowns between men and beasts. It gives
you food for thought. And then you hear some puzzled tourist asking his
companion, “Idhar kaise jhagda karenge log?” it makes you think some more.
The Vatican, with the river Tiber
snaking through it, can be an incredible part of your visit with the towering
St Peter’s Basilica looking down at St Peter’s Square. I don’t know who taught
them geometry, but pssst… the Square is a circle.
The Vatican museums navigate through
the Stanze della Segnatura and Sistine Chapel, ending at the famed double helix
spiral staircase. Here’s some trivia: the staircase was designed years before
the discovery of the double helical DNA strand. The afternoon is a better time
to visit as it’s less crowded.
After we gaped at the room decorated
by Raphael and the artful overdose spawned by Michelangelo’s works inside the
Sistine Chapel, we made our way to the juggernaut of a square. If you’re not in
the mood for a guide cracking jokes about gladiators, opt for the audio guides.
We stuck to Google and Wikipedia. Good enough, but not the best thing to do, as
you might not even know what you missed. We still don’t.
FLORENCE
Florence was pleasantly cold when we
rolled in, announcing ourselves with the clunking of our suitcase trolley on
the cobbled roads. A bridge, being one among the leg-
endary Ponte Vecchio, took us to the
other side of the Arno river to our host’s place. Unlike Rome, most of Florence
can be enjoyed on foot. Water, food, even souvenirs and interesting curios come
cheap across the river. And yes, the Bata stores. They’re everywhere! And the
Italian arm of the Czech-born , Swiss-based very international brand actually
has hip designs.
From discovering the music of
Italian rocker Piero Pelù to catching local acts such as Travolta’s Disco
Explosion on a Friday night, you will discover the otherwise tranquil Florence
opening up its wild side.
The city is fashionable and moves at
a slower pace than Rome. The hues and shades of the red-tiled skyline seize the
mood of the city and its numerous gardens and vantage points, like the
Michelangelo point. A bus strike busted our chances of visiting it, but we
definitely witnessed Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, David, at the Accademia
delle Arti del Disegno. What’s the big deal about David, we’d wondered. Well,
he’s nothing short of spectacular!
The following day had us making a
beeline for the Uffizi gallery, one of the finest museums in the world, which
has enough master strokes delivered by the da Vincis, Botticellis and
Caravaggios to make any artist go weak at the knees.
NAPLES
The fag end of our trip took us to
the blink-and-you-get-robbed Naples. I don’t want to get into the details.
First, we explored the tourist spots around the city. A train took us to our
B&B in the sleepy beach town of Piano Di Sorrento, where we found the
coziest of stays. A steep walk down from the town, overlooking a cove and the
azure waters of the Mediterranean, took us to the beach and a seafood platter
of juicy shrimps and grilled squid. And definitely try the famed limoncello,
which is quite potent.
A trip to Pompeii, an ancient city
destroyed when Mt Vesuvius went crazy in AD 79, is huge and may take several
hours to explore. Pompeii time warped us with its delicate ruins and several
amphitheatres of which one was used to shoot the legendary
Live at Pompeii video of Pink Floyd.
The final day took us back to Naples for a night’s stay. The city is relatively
chaotic and our stay in a hostel near the university area took us through
graffiti-laden streets – mostly political, with an almost communist feeling to
it.
We embarked on locating Michele
pizzeria where apparently the Margherita pizza was invented. Framed photos of
celebrity customers such as Julia Roberts and legendary footballers adorn the
white walls. Kind of reminds you of Britannia in south Mumbai.
Exploring the subterranean network
is a guided tour affair. “It was discovered just 15 years ago when
archaeologists found a way down a trap door to a wine cellar under the bed in a
residential house. Time to think what lies under your beds,” our guide remarked
to the group.
SAVE YOUR EUROS
GRAB YOUR FOOD and enjoy it at a
piazza or public square instead of ordering in a café or restaurant.
DO NOT BUY expensive bottled waters;
quench your thirst at the water fountains instead. LOOK FOR places that offer aperitivo.
MAKE THE BEST use of public
transport passes for local commutes.
SAVE TIME by heading to the
Colosseum through the Palatine Hill entry gate.
PUT YOUR ADOLESCENT LOOKS to good
use and charm your way to a discounted entry to the Vatican.
DON’T HAVE SECOND THOUGHTS about
climbing to the top of the St Peter’s Basilica Duomo that is worth all the 320
steps you climb. Once you have scaled your way up, you can extol in the sucker
punch of a view of the square and the city.
AVOID THE ELEVATOR to the Dome and
save yourself a decent amount.
SHUTTLING BETWEEN the Fiumicino
airport and the city by bus works out cheaper than the train.
SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE is the largest
in the world made of brick and mortar. Scale it for a view. It is worth the
pain.
SHOP FOR SOUVENIRS on the other side
of the Arno river. Food and beverage are also cheaper on the other side.
GET A GUIDE only if you want to know
every detail about Pompeii. The less expensive audio guide works just fine.
PACK FOOD AND WATER for your Pompeii
trip.
THE NAPOLI SOTTERRANEA can be quite
a challenge for claustrophobics and for those who’ve grown in circumference.
TRAVEL BOX
Book flight tickets and inter-city
train tickets well in advance for a neat little saving. For inter-city travel,
tickets can be booked through Trenitalia websites.
Book your stays through Airbnb, a
homestay website (think paid Couchsurfing, and beds for a couch) that made our
stay homely and richer with local tips thrown in by our hosts that saved both
time and money.
Google Maps can be handy in helping
you determine the distance between your B&B and the tourist spots you wish
to see.
Make sure you read reviews posted by
travellers who have already stayed at the B&B you are planning to choose.
These reviews will give you a good idea about the place, the hosts and their
hospitality.
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