A LETTER TO MY GREAT-NIECE, TRAVELLING TO ROME

Dear Ella,
As you may be aware, I am incredibly geeky, and you are incredibly cool, so when I offered to advise you on your upcoming visit to Rome I think was with the obvious proviso that this would be advice from a geek's point of view, and may be somewhat skewed in the direction of anxiety, awkwardness, and uncertainty. But somebody's gotta do it.

I know nothing about your circumstances, whether or not you are travelling solo, or with an army, who knows. This is just what I've picked up recently about travelling through Rome, and contributes nothing at all useful about sightseeing, or being a tourist in Rome, as those joys have yet to come, for me.

Incidentally, the above is a picture of me in Frosinone train station trying to figure out what to do because our scheduled train was ninety minutes late. The delightful lady next to me is our taxi driver friend Graziella, who knows all of the best food shops in the region, helps us cope with our limited Italian, and whose impressive, multi-tasking driving skills puts Lewis Hamilton to shame .

SHOES
Since you're travelling in July wear something cool, breathable, lightweight, but with good cushioned soles for lots of tramping on pavement. (See: I told you this would be sensible and geeky....) Those dainty flat-footed leather sandals with barely-there straps and a flourish of diamante aren't enough support, and your feet will ache. Also, if someone steps on your foot or worse, parks their suitcase on your foot, you will suffer, and possibly bleed. Getting blood out of diamante is a bitch. (I read the advice about closed-toe shoes in somebody else's blog and it hasn't happened to me, fingers crossed, but it could happen to anybody).
Also, every female in Italy seems to varnish their nails. Except me. Because I am a geek. (I'm too cheap to buy a pedicure, and when I tried to paint my nails myself, as a little kid, it drove me to distraction because I cannot seem to paint within the lines). Sensible shoes keep my secret a secret. But if you are, as it were, bearing the foot-flesh in a cunning little shoe with dreamy detailing around the ankle, and all ten toes exposed, then by all means, paint away. People will notice, and admire.

RAIL TRAVEL
I love the Italian rail network. We just had the most delightful, cool, and comfortable journey yesterday, marred only by one thing. The train we were destined to catch was delayed by 90 minutes, but when an earlier one came along, to the same destination, we jumped on it with delight. It wasn't until we had nearly arrived in Rome that the ticket inspector caught up with us, and looked annoyed.

"Why are you on this train?" he demanded, in not-too-terrible English.

We stammered something about delayed trains and alternative trains and "windows of opportunity" but he was having none of it. Having lived in New York for many years, he had perfected the art of irate. Apparently, if you're on the Leonardo Express rail service from Rome Termini to the airport, and you miss your desired train, you do indeed have a 90-minute window of opportunity in which to catch a later train without buying another ticket. And on all other TrenItalia rail services you have a four hour window. But you cannot take an earlier train than the one you have bought your ticket for, because their insurance cover for your journey doesn't kick-in until the train that you have bought a ticket for. We had to buy a completely new set of tickets, two minutes from our destination.

By the way, nearly every train in Italy seems to go into, or out of, Roma Termini. It's just a part of everybody's journey. That's probably why they have such a whacking great food court there. They don't appear to have food service on Italian trains, or at least they didn't on the ones we've been using, but there are often snack shops and cafes at the individual stations.

ASKING FOR HELP
There are people in the train terminal with official TrenItalia uniforms on, and there is an information desk at Rome Termini station. Be careful about just asking some guy with a nice face. We were stood standing by the big information screen trying to find our train platform, when a kindly looking grandfatherly gentleman came up to us and asked if we needed information about our journey. He had a nifty little low-slung leather wallet at his hip, which looked like an official ticket-inspector's bag, and he looked about Peter's age. He took us across to the ticket machine and looked up our train for us, and when Peter took the tickets out of the machine,  he thanked the gentleman for his help. The guy held out his hand in expectation of money. Cash was tight for us, as we needed to find a bank as well, and this was really not an option. Peter refused, and the guy got a bit nasty-looking. We were firm and walked away but it was uncomfortable, and if he had been a bit younger and heftier, we would have really been worried. Also, if you take a taxi, only use taxis with the little white box on the roof because they are the legitimate ones. There will be a taxi rank at the airport, and the train station.

SAFETY
My first visit to Rome was scarred by a blogpost I read, about how much crime and theft there is in Rome, and how everybody is a pickpocket or worse. The waiters'll rip you off, the taxis will rip you off, the hotels will really rip you off: I was petrified. I practically held my breath the entire time we were passing through, and I clutched my handbag so close to my chest the entire time, I nearly suffocated. This is geek-based survival mode. We've been through about five times now, since reading that post, and I've decided that you're more likely to become a target if you exude terror and vulnerability, than if you adopt the air of savvy traveller, out on a lark. 

Apparently, common-sense is the order of the day. I have none, unfortunately, so I needed to learn this by rote, but it does sink in after a while, and is a skill which can be taught. For example, you will be vulnerable while you are standing under the big sign with all of the platform listings, because you will be concentrating on a scramble of slowly-moving Italian place-names, trying to find out if anything even remotely pertains to you. Just develop a sixth sense for where your valuables are, and make sure you can feel your luggage touching you at all times, even if it is just your leg. I use a Healthy Back Bag, which allow me to sling it across one shoulder and have the internal pocket with my wallet in it facing towards me, pressed up against my stomach. Don't even think about putting anything in a back pocket, apart from possibly a really snotty used tissue, just for fun.

You may also be vulnerable getting on and off of trains, and in transition at airports. Everybody is. Just act confident, like you know where you're going, and if you don't know where you're going, step out of the mainstream for a moment, park on a bench, and figure it out, instead of wandering about looking helpless and a little bit fragile.

I have found the most incredible grace and charm in the Italians I have met, and so when you are dealing with the right person in the right job I think you will find it will be a very pleasant experience.

Allow more time than you think you need. This is true everywhere you travel. Once we missed the last train of the night and had to, on spec, check into a hotel for the night. Luckily there is a very nice one called NH Collection hotel, just outside the Roma Termini, with a stellar breakfast spread, and right behind it is a Best Western. No need for taxis or faffing about; it's right next door. There were three of us travelling, and they made up a sofa bed in a Junior Suite for us which made a very comfortable double bedroom configuration.

When we missed the last train, and my anxiety levels were at their peak, we asked a female ticket inspector what to do and she directed us to go out of the train station (to the right, which is safer, not to the left) and we would find something , which of course we did.

If you are going to do the sights there is plenty of online information about Rome. We haven't done the city sights yet because we want the crowds and temperatures to go down first. I have read several times that there are dress codes for some attractions and sites, and this is essential to read up on. As an amateur people-watcher, I have my own likes and dislikes. I love watching elegantly-dressed travellers in airports and hotels, and have never ceased to be amazed by the number of people who think they can fit very large bodies into very tiny clothes and think they can manoevre into, and out of, public transportation, without things wiggling and going awol. Dressing for hot weather is an art form.

I'm going to stop now. Have a great trip!

With love,
Great-Aunt Marcie