Tag: Roma

The Retirees return to Rome – Terni to Roma

The train trip was without incident. We are getting well-travelled on Italian trains, but the secret is to never get complacent and think you know it all. We arrived at Roma Terminii and thought our accommodation was close by. Well it was stinking hot and we knew the general direction through Piazza della Republica down Via Nazionale. But finding the right door. Our hotel was a suite of rooms in a larger building which fronted Via Nazionale and we had to ring the bell and wait for an answer. This did not happen without error as the manager was off doing something for another guest and did not answer his phone. And it was hot. After what seemed an interminable wait someone opened the door and we got inside the courtyard out of the sun. When the manager arrived, and he pointed us toward a set of stairs Kerry asked about the lift and we were told it was at the top of the stairs. That was enough Kerry. Kerry was certain I was not able to climb the stairs particularly as we were staying a number of days. After some kerfuffle we were changed from one suite to another suite of rooms and all was well again save that we would have to change room again tomorrow. After all was said and done she was right, dragging my moon boot up the stairs would soon wear very thin.

After settling into our room we were off for our Segway tour of Rome. According to the tourist map the Segway tour office was just down the road – well not quite. Feeling adventurous we hailed a bus and guided by our tourist map, got off at Piazza Venezia and the Vittoriano. There’s no way to miss the hustle and bustle of Rome’s largest round-a-bout: the Piazza Venezia. On one side you can look down Rome’s longest street, the Via del Corso to the ancient northern gates of the city. From another angle, the ruins of the Imperial Forums lead the way to the Colosseum. Take a different road and you’ll end up in the Jewish Ghetto, on your way to Rome’s Trastevere neighbourhood and last but not least, towering over the piazza, is the unmistakable marble monument: Il Vittoriano.

This enormous monument derives from the name of Italy’s first king, Victorio Emanuele II of Savoy to whom it is dedicated.  Another name is “l’Altare della Patria” or “Altar of the Fatherland” as the monument was built to celebrate Italian unification and the birth of Italy as a nation at the end of the 19th century.  Most Romans aren’t a fan of the monument which they say doesn’t blend in with the rest of the city skyline.

The centre piece of the Vittoriano is the enormous bronze equestrian statue of the first king himself. Over the steps in the centre stand the actual “Altar of the fatherland”, containing the tomb of “The unknown soldier”, a symbolic reminder of all the unidentified deaths of WWI. In front of the altar’s relief, visitors can see the statue of the goddess Roma with the secret eternal flame, always guarded by soldiers.

Using Vittoriano as as landmark, we walked down Via del Theatro di Marcello and unknowingly past the street leading to Turtle Fountain and the Segway office. We walked down to the church of San Nicola in Carcere and s**t it was hot. We decided to give it up and crossed the road to catch a bus home. We would have had better luck finding hen’s teeth – nothing came along and we were roasting in the sun. So we hailed a cab and decided to ask the driver to take us to the Turtle Fountain – sure he knew where that is and under 5 euros we were there and the tour office was closed but not the bar beside it and we needed a drink.

So, we tumbled in sat down and ordered a gin and tonic and a beer and some water. That was it and there we remained until the tour office opened and I could try to recover the loss of the booking. this little bar feed and watered us for the rest of the afternoon. A short time later on another visit we would walk down the lane obscured by the fountain to the Jewish quarter.

Well the tour office finally opened. With a slight case of sunstroke and the power of a couple of gins and a beer I went to plead our case for a refund of the lost tour. To my amazement  our booking was not lost as I had mistaken the date and our booking was for the next day. However we had learnt our lesson and we shifted the tour to the evening due to the heat of the day. I returned to the bar and we stayed ultimately having dinner and making our way home after the sun had set.

The next day we went back to the Turtle Fountain area and explored the Jewish district. Evidence of the roman period was obvious all the walls above us. Roman writing to sculptures in niches in the wall to forgotten ruins in the middle of the residential neighbourhood.

From the Jewish quarter we strolled across Tiber Island. The only island in the Tiber that flows through Rome it is boat-shaped, approximately 270 metres (890 feet) long and 67 metres (220 feet) wide, and has been connected with bridges to both sides of the river since antiquity. Being a seat of the ancient temple of Asclepius and later a hospital, the island is associated with medicine and healing. The Fatebenefratelli Hospital founded in the 16th century, and the Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Island dating from the 10th century are located on the island. An ice cream was in order.

We kept our tour appointment. We had about 20 mins to reacquaint ourselves with the segway. Then we started our tour with a mixture of six other tourists all from the USA. The sun was settling into the horizon and the lights of the city rising. But my camera battery gave up the ghost just as we arrived at the first stop. It turned out to be unscheduled to allow some late comers to join us. I felt we could not object. It was a brilliant tour spoilt somewhat by some novices who were not quick learners on the Segway. But to see the city in the cool of the evening travel the laneways full of shoppers cafes full of diners and see the lights from Capitoline Hill was all wonderful.

Details of the tour:

Campo de’ Fiori and its several bars and restaurants. Then we head for the river to arrive at Castel Sant’Angelo, the former Mausoleum of Hadrian, used in many different ways over the centuries. From the Angels’ bridge to an amazing night view of St. Peter’s Basilica  (The Vatican). Next stop is the Piazza Navona with the stunning Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers, also inspiration for the construction of the Trevi fountain. Over to the Pantheon – the majestic ancient temple devoted to all the gods, passing by the Temple of Hadrian and finally reaching the Trevi Fountain. Seeing the Trevi Fountain at night is something you will never forget. The next stop Piazza Venezia with the imposing Vittoriano. Thereafter we zip through the ancient Capitoline Hill, for a last view of the ancient city from above, and return to the office at Piazza Mattei (Turtle Fountain).

Our little pub in Piazza Mattei was closed. Fortunately our accommodation was well located and across the road we found an Irish Pub for dinner that evening (our pub at the Turtle fountain was closed for some reason). The pub was full of antiques including bicycles motor scooter and cameras.

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The Retirees Home in Brisbane – Saturday in Roma

Breakfast was a Rotary BBQ held in the grounds of the Big Rig a museum on the Gas and Petroleum Exploration Industry. It was basic but a good way to start the conference. At the breakfast there was an old slab hut (Slab Hut Museum) giving us the chance for a group (minus 1). Leroy’s Hut built in 1893 by Thomas Keegan for his family of wife and 9 children was moved to Roma for preservation.

Originally home to the Mandandanji Aboriginal people and visited twice by explorer Ludwig Leichhardt, Roma was settled after Sir Thomas Mitchell reported glowingly on the country in 1846. Looking down from nearby Mount Abundance, Mitchell wrote, “I … beheld the finest country I had ever seen in a primeval state – a champaign (meaning ‘undulating country’ in archaic French dialect) region, spotted with wood, stretching as far as human vision or even the telescope would reach.”

The Conference was being held in the Maranoa Shire Council Chambers which includes a Community Hall. Walking there I found the foundation stone from the foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. It had been buried for a number of years and the development of the Shire chambers had unearthed it. Members of the Mandandanji performed the traditional smoke ceremony so we had to pass through the eucalypt and sandalwood smoke to leave the bad spirits outside. Inside the conference commenced with the Mandandanji welcome to the land performed by the local indigenous representative.

Of course Shane arrived just in time.

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Our Master of Ceremonies Murray Hartin was an able MC. Coming from Moree he knew the west well and threw in a mixture of his poems which were both humorous and moving. The RI President’s Representative PDG Allan Jagger (OBE) comes from the Rotary Club of Elland West Yorkshire and was a refreshing speaker. We introduced ourselves to Allan and gave him greetings from President Shane at Woolloongabba and President John Bendall at our other Club in Nottingham. After Allan we toured through the booths for Rotary activities before taking lunch.

After lunch there were 4 further speakers all of whom delivered interesting presentations. Jeremy Scott was particularly interesting having toured 52,000 klms over 2 ½ years (London to Auckland) alone without support team. The Saturday session closed and we head for the showers. The Conference dinner was held at the Racecourse with the meals cooked in camp stoves (lots of them) – not a real success in my view. Watered and fed we headed for bed.

The Retirees Home in Brisbane – Roma

 

We are staying at the Starlight Motor Inn a group of 15 or so motel rooms a short walk from McDowell St the Main Street of Roma. The conference is being held over at the Maranoa Region Town Hall where we register and pick up the conference bag and our tickets for breakfast and the conference dinner on Saturday night.

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Kerry has some child hood memories of Roma and tracks down one of her relations on whom we spring a surprise visit. After our visit we walk to the Maranoa Regional Council Chambers where we register and then we take a walk through McDowell St and see some of the historic buildings of Roma. The Western Star building, The School of Arts former hotel, The Commonwealth Hotel to name a few.

After a bit of a kip we join Ros and Julie for drinks then a walk to the nearest pub for dinner. Early to bed as we have a big day tomorrow.

I start the day at 5.30 am with a walk around the town for an hour. I walk past the Commonwealth Hotel around to the Courthouse and two interesting old houses, down the main street and check out the biggest bottle tree in Roma (9m around its girth). From there I walked down to the park by the Big Rig and spotted the Roma Rotarians setting up for breakfast in the grounds of the Big Rig. I also encountered a flock of Red Rumped Parrots, a flock of Apostle birds and a Crested Pidgeon. By the time I got back to our motel the Sun was well and truly risen and the atmosphere was heating up.

Breakfast was a Rotary BBQ held in the grounds of the Big Rig a museum on the Gas and Petroleum Exploration Industry. It was basic but a good way to start the conference. At the breakfast there was an old slab hut (Slab Hut Museum) giving us the chance for a group photo (minus 1). Lenroy’s Hut built in 1893 by Thomas Keegan for his family of wife and 9 children was moved to Roma for preservation.

The Retirees Home in Brisbane – Brisbane to Roma and the points in Between

 

We have been home now for 4 and a bit months. After some unexpected health issues for Kerry our plans have been thrown into disarray. But come March we are committed to attend the District 9630 Rotary conference in Roma.

For those of my readers who do not know, Roma is the main town in the Maranoa Region of South West Queensland some 515 klms (320 miles) west north west of Brisbane. It is a rich agricultural and grazing area and enjoying the economic benefits of coal seam gas mining presently. Famous for its Bottle trees and Romavilla winery, it was founded in 1867 and named after Lady Diamantina Bowen (née Roma) wife of the Governor of Queensland at the time. the rotary district 9630 incorporates the south east and south west portions of the state of Queensland. So this year we are going to the country. It is not part of the “Outback” per se but west of Roma is accepted to be where the Outback commences.

Romavilla Winery looks very derelict and closed. So I searched on the internet and it has closed but not forever. See http://www.westernstarnews.com.au/news/romas-historical-romavilla-winery-gets-makeover/1841054/

Our journey starts at 7.00 am Friday morning. It will take at least 6 hours driving to reach Roma and we plan 1 or two stops on the way. The first stop is at the top of the Great Dividing Range and the capital of the Darling Downs – Toowoomba. Located 125 klm (78 miles) from Brisbane Toowoomba is the largest inland city after our capital Canberra. Known as the Garden City because of its beautiful public gardens and parks. It is perched on top of the range 700 metres (2,700 ft) above sea level and enjoys milder weather than Brisbane. Our stop involves meeting Kerry’s relation Liz at the Parkhouse Cafe in Margaret St across the road from one of the city’s famous parks for breakfast. I can recommend the cafe for its tasty breakfasts and beautiful surrounds.

Liz can talk so we don’t get away until 10.00 am. Fortunately we had allowed for the delay but soon found ourselves out on the highway travelling through grassy plains and chasing trucks. Even though this area is at a higher altitude it can still get quite warm and today it has claimed to 34 degrees C and the heat haze hangs over the plains. The barley is ripe and ready to harvest. The next main town is Dalby.

 

Dalby is 208 klms (128 miles) west of Brisbane and the administrative centre of the Western Downs with approx. 13,000 inhabitants. The main Highway – the Warrego Hwy – skirts past the main town and we moved quickly onto Macalister which is mainly made up of silos over the rail line. This is grain country and broad acres and large silos are with us for the next couple of hours. then follows Warra, Brigalow, Boongarra and then Chinchilla 300 klms west of Brisbane. Chinchilla is the melon capital of Queensland and road side melon stall shot the road side. Although its residents only number in the order of 5,500 people it is a powerhouse of agriculture, beef and pork production. Kogan Creek Coal Mine has brought a diversity of wealth to the area. Just outside of Chinchilla we spot the SW Qld version of the Tour Eiffel in the form of a modern micro wave tower.

After a milkshake and a break we resume driving west through Goombi, Columboola, and onto Miles 340 klm west of Brisbane. Formerly known as Dogwood Crossing it was renamed in honour of the Queensland Colonial Secretary William Miles and is home to just under 2,000 people. It has a great example of a historic village well worth a visit. Our journey continued through Drillham, Dulacca, Jackson, Yuleba, and Wallumbilla. Jackson is the remains of what was thought to be Queensland big oil industry but now it is 7 houses and “Roo” box (where Kangaroo shooters hang the Roo carcasses awaiting collection) and it is somewhat of a ghost town. We are getting close now to our final destination – Roma. we pass through Blythedale and shortly enter Roma at 2.30 pm just 7 and a half hours driving.