Day Fifty - Manarola to Rome

The bells woke us up at seven o’clock and we still hadn’t managed to find out why they struck thirty-five times. The best answer we got was that the bells were computer driven and that’s what they did! We caught the eight thirty train to La Spezia. This only took twenty minutes then we waited for the ten o’clock train to Roma Termini. Although the trip was four and a half hours it went quickly as we had good views of the countryside.
Arriving at Roma Termini train station was such a contract to the little villages of Cinque Terre. There were thousands of people all dashing everywhere. We made our way to the underground metro and quickly worked out which train to catch. During the past week Henk and I frequently have been eavesdropping on conversations at the little railway stations whilst waiting for the train. There were often discussions on the gypsies and their pick pocketing tactics in Rome. When Henk went to buy the tickets from the automatic ticket machine each machine except for one had a gypsy waiting offering assistance. On the train a gypsy accordion player and a little girl walked through begging. It can be tricky!
We only had to go five stops and walk six hundred metres to our apartment called ‘Strange Days’. We arrived at the arranged time between three and four o’clock and our agent was waiting for us on his scooter. He quickly showed us around the apartment and all its idiosyncrasies and then asked to be paid. We had very little money as the ATM at Manarola had been out of service for a day. No problems! He told us of three banks nearby and after an episode of Keystone Cops with the agent on his scooter and Henk and I walking the yet unknown streets Henk finally made the payment near a very busy roundabout. It looked like a drug deal!
The apartment is in a good position to the many sites of Rome. It is old; large with two main rooms; one is a bedroom and one a large sitting room, a kitchen and bathroom. There are two balconies; one overlooks the street and one over the many other apartments in the complex. The apartment walls are covered in large paintings. In our bedroom we have twenty-four and most are painted by an amateur artist who just doesn’t quite make it. I find it jarring!
We bought dinner provisions at a local grocers and had dinner at the apartment. We then walked the blocks nearby to get our bearings. There were many Italians sitting on the pavements having dinner at the local cafes and we have quite a few to choose from.
It was an early night for us and we start our six days of sightseeing tomorrow.
Photos: The view from our back balcony; the paintings in the apartment!