Continuing our 3-day city guides, Bill Orde takes to Rome; by foot, Fiat, and something all the more contemporary, while lapping up luxury at the unrivalled Jumeirah Grand Via Veneto hotel…
Rome. Known historically by its ubiquitous acronym SPQR, which, as we classical scholars will immediately know, stands for Senatus Populusque Romanus – The Senate and the People of Rome. It’s everywhere, a reminder of the accessibility to all of this magnificent city. So ubiquitous, in fact, it’s even cast on their manhole covers.
A person of Rome I might be for the next three days but in slightly more palatial surrounds among the absolute luxury of the Jumeirah Grand Hotel on the Via Veneto; the only place to stay in my book. A welcome respite after the charmless Luton Airport – though thankfully via a stress-free flight by Monarch – it’s been some time since I have stayed anywhere quite so spectacular. And, if you haven’t experienced the newest of hotel mod cons before (I’m showing my age here), acclimatising to my room needed some considerable skill and dexterity. All the luxury in the world can’t save you when you’re in the shower and you’ve forgotten to put your key card in the light slot by the door as you enter.
But, following my pitch black bathroom gymnastics – there’s a new craze in there, I’m sure – showered and spruced it was time for Time, one of the hotel’s restaurants, for a magnificent plate of tagliatelle ai gamberi e zuccine to load up on carbs for an action-packed day ahead.
So, ’When in Rome’ and all that; never has the phrase been more applicable than when getting behind the wheel of a Fiat Cinquecento (a 1970 edition, if you please) to see the city. Worshipped by Romans, they stop traffic, get cheered by tourists, and we are virtually red-carpeted as we carve our way through the mid-day rush hour, complete with traffic lights being “negotiable”, as our fearless driver Mauro announces, cruising through every other red light without stopping.
But it is not all about dicing with the Roman rush hour. This is the cradle of civilisation and there is a culture fix at every turn; the Circus Maximus, the Colosseum, Monte Dei Cocci, Janiculum Hill, Tempietto, Piazza Venezia, the list is endless. Three days is impossible without wearing out your shoes. Thankfully, aching limbs can be kneaded back to life in a steam bath in the Jumeirah spa, ready again to be dined to divinity, this time in the hotel’s Magnolia restaurant. With its evocative gallery, arched dining rooms, paintings by famous Italian artists, handmade crystal chandeliers and open air courtyard, it was as much a feast for the eyes as for the stomach.
The endless profusion of culture is no understatement. If you begin to list what you could see in Rome, you realise you need a week, but I shall furnish you, dear reader, with a selection; selflessly ticking them off for you to decide on when you come.
Day Two began on the ancient Appian Way, where Julius Caesar once stood and admired his conquest of the city. The original artery into the capital it still shows the tracks of the chariots that made their way to the Colosseum. It was then on to the famous aqueduct Aquedutto Claudia, commissioned by The Emperor Claudius in 10 BC, with another parallel to it and both leading to the Forum. If you believe our guide, Claudius had one built for still water and the other for sparkling. Oh, the jolly wit of the Roman guide.
It’s not all ancient culture either; if you’ve 10,000 Euros to spare, splash out on a ring like that bought by Richard Burton for Elizabeth Taylor at Bulgari. A shop that’s become so synonymous with the city’s dolce vita, it almost eclipses the Trevi Fountain for its iconic Italian elegance. Hepburn, Lollobrigida, Loren, Bergman, Andress, Douglas, Wayne, Curtis, Monroe, all regulars at this infamous store. Never mind Tiffany’s on Fifth Avenue, it’s Breakfast at Bulgari that’s craving to be made into a picture. For Burton, when he gave Liz Taylor that ring during the filming of Cleopatra in 1963, visiting the Bulgari premises was something of an epiphany. “I introduced her to beer,” he is known to have said, “and she introduced me to Bulgari.”
To finish the day off it had to be pizza at Taverna Trilussa in Trastevere. Literally, “the other side of the river”, Trastevere is the antithesis of modern Rome; a maze of narrow cobbled streets lined by medieval houses where, at night, natives and tourists alike flock to its many pubs and restaurants. Here is Roman culture unchanged in centuries; a chance to participate rather than simply peruse.
By now less fleet of foot than footsore, the final day was in many ways the best. Still with an itinerary to shame the most ardent tourist, we took on the city centre – but this time on a Segway. Calm my weary feet, this is the only way to travel. Virtually silent and easy to master, we slid through the throngs of tourists like Mauro in his Fiat, cutting a way through the mob in a manner akin to a downhill skier. Pedestrian crossings proved no problem, one way streets were a trifle, and traffic parted for us as if we had Moses at the helm. We were, however, limited to sites on the flat, and in close proximity. So it was the Trevi Fountain, Piazza de Populo, and the Spanish Steps…ahem, without the ascent.
Who better to summarise the joys and delights of Rome than the poet, Horace, who so aptly put it in 42 BC, “dum loquimur, fugiterit invida aetas; carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero”. No, that’s not filler for text to come. He said, so eloquently, “While we are talking, envious time is fleeing; seize the day, put no trust in the future.” A sentiment that rings true more than 2000 years later. Though perhaps he meant, ”get on you bike – or Segway – and get to Rome…pronto!”.
For your next Roman holiday, book a stay at the five-star Jumeirah Grand Hotel Via Veneto with Luxury Link for 3-7 nights from £671, based on two people sharing. Your stay includes private roundtrip airport transfers, VIP welcome upon arrival including a bottle of Prosecco, daily full English breakfast for two, complimentary wireless internet, early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability. For more information, including details of how to book, visit www.luxurylink.co.uk or call 0808 189 0029.
About Luxury Link
The Luxury Link Travel Group is a collection of luxury travel websites offering value-added, immersive experiences at five-star accommodation around the world at insider prices. LuxuryLink.co.uk features luxury experiences from over 700 deluxe and five-star hotels in more than 80 countries. For 17 years, the trusted luxury hotel experts at Luxury Link have worked directly with the world’s top properties to create premium, hand-picked travel experiences not available anywhere else.
Monarch, the scheduled leisure airline, operates flights to Rome from Birmingham and London Luton airports with fares, including taxes, starting from £32.99 one way (£87.98 return). For further information, including details for booking flights, Monarch holidays and hotels, visit www.monarch.co.uk.
For the Fiat Cinquecento experience, contact Alvise di Giulio at www.rome500exp.com, and hire your Segway 5 minutes’ walk from The Jumeirah in Borghese Park at www.segwayrometours.com. Both of which can be arranged through the hotel.
