New Year in Italy
The clock struck 12, the new year 2012 came, and with it came the realization that it could not continue like this. I try, I'm exhausted making everyone a holiday. And me, how am I? why no one asks "how would you like to celebrate the new year? " My dears, you can be offended by me, but we meet the next year in a narrow circle and far from home. If a holiday, then everyone! My husband did not object, and the events of the past year only strengthened my determination to do without Russian salad bowls and roast duck. The choice of location comes somehow by itself. Italy, well, of course, hospitable, Romantic Italy! After weighing all the pros and cons of the cost of the flight, the duration of connections between flights, I take tickets for three Kyiv-Pisa-Kyiv for 500 euros. It would be possible to give up to Spain, for example, to Barcelona, but the cost of hotel rooms was biting. Rome seemed more democratic in terms of prices, although it still had to be reached.
In the end, the trip plan was built as follows: on December 30, departure to Pisa, on December 31, moving to Florence. Meeting the New Year in Florence seemed to me a more romantic week in Pisa, and we will go to Rome on January 1 as we wake up and breathe in the air that nourished the minds and talents of the great masters. In Pisa, a hotel is booked opposite the railway station and a fifteen-minute walk from the terminal of the airport bearing the name of Galileo Galilei. The NHL Cavalieri hotel was taken with the expectation that if there is no way to get by public transport, then you can walk, given the relatively late arrival at 22:30, the measure is not superfluous. In Florence, we will be hosted by the Bruchianti Hotel, adjacent to the Cathedral of San Lorenzo and again within walking distance from the station. We stay here for a longer period, perhaps the choice fell on another hotel, but for New Year's Eve, the most suitable option. The most difficult thing was to decide on accommodation in Rome. Booking offered over 1.717 options, many of which seemed tempting. Some were rejected after reading the reviews, others were not suitable for the location. The ice of doubt was dissolved by a welcome letter from the Mecenat Palace hotel, which is opposite Santa Maria Maggiore and within five minutes of the train station. The manager greeted me kindly and confirmed my booking, offering airport transfers and a variety of tours of the eternal city. In the photos provided by the hotel, my attention was drawn to the terrace overlooking the surroundings. I want to come here, I said to myself and approved the penultimate refuge in the winter Italian fairy tale.
Postponing the time of the return flight at Alitalii violated my plans a little, but there was not much choice and all that was left was to pray and hope for good weather.
We can't live without adventure! The day before the trip, having lost my vigilance, I parted with my wallet, credit cards for which I booked hotels and a large amount of money. Thank God, this did not affect the settlement in any hotel.
On December 30, after waking up and having breakfast, they called a taxi. We flew safely, although the increasing gap between flights was very tiring. The NH Cavalieri hotel turned out to be a pretty building opposite the Pisa train station, from where we had to start to Florence. In the meantime, it was night outside and we slept, having fallen into a deep rest.
December 31.2012 In the morning, after breakfast, there was a small self-study tour of the city. The Campo dei Miracoli with a leaning tower and the small church of Santa Maria della Spina, which kept a thorn from a crown of thorns, were found without difficulty.
The one-hour train trip to Florence was not tiring and allowed us to recuperate before the New Year's festivities in the Tuscan capital.
The hotel, nestled between residential buildings, was not easy to find, but the room I saw exceeded my expectations. Beamed ceilings, vintage interior, fireplace, tiled roofs view. Max went to explore the surroundings in order to lay the New Year's table, my daughters and I stayed to enjoy the interior and relax after the road. On the eve of the holiday, all the shops were open and it was not difficult for my husband to collect food for a proper meeting of the New Year.
Seafood pizza 8.50, tuna stuffed peppers in olive oil 3.60, cheeses, sliced ham and sausages, baguette, Asti Cinzano, vodka, cherry tomatoes with the smell of autumn, grapes, apples, incredible raspberries, butter. . . Modestly , unpretentious and ready to use.
After a little snack, we arm ourselves with photographic equipment and set off to get acquainted with the city. Streams of people are floating on the streets, we dive and move to the Christmas tree near Santa Maria Del Fiore. It should be noted, wherever we were, Christmas trees were simple and unpretentious, modest in their decoration, and from this there was some kind of aching sadness in the heart, childhood memories overcame.
Having circled a little at the cathedral, we set off in the wake of the human river to the Republic Square. A stage was mounted here and loud music sounded, children rode on a carousel. Nastyushka was sitting on her hands, her nose buried in my shoulder. New Year's Eve was marked by an endless series of salutes and fireworks, the children slept soundly, but we waited for 2013 in the approximate time zone to Russian relatives and called all our friends, drank Cinzano and crossed the European New Year's border already in a horizontal state. In the morning, slowly gathered, went down to the dining room. You can't raise your hand to call it a restaurant or any other word that characterizes a dining room. So, stunning tall carved wooden ceilings, round tables served with the finest porcelain. The manager helpfully offers coffee in different variations. It should be noted that in most of the hotels where we stayed, we were served coffee. A trifle, but nice.
There was a lot of time before the train to Rome and, leaving the suitcases at the reception, we again went to come into contact with the beautiful. On the morning of the first day of the thirteenth year, it was no longer so crowded. On the faces of people who meet in places, traces of a successful meeting of the new year are visible, but there are no drunks. The streets full of rubbish are already cleaning up city services and the city is again glad to meet the thirsty spectacles. The air is damp and chilly, +9, but it's chilly on the banks of the Arno. Little by little tourists flood the embankment. There is no crowding on the famous Ponte Vecchie, some eccentrics even started a New Year's bike ride through the capital of Tuscany. Leaving smoothly to the left of the river, we cross the courtyard of the Uffizi Gallery and exit to Piazza della Signori. It starts to rain, and you want to warm yourself with a cup of ristretto, which is made in Italy like nowhere else.
In the afternoon, the Eurostar rushes us south to warm and noisy Rome. The speed is felt in the blocked ears, but the run itself is smooth, more like sliding on perfect ice. A little more than an hour and a half and we landed from gloomy Tuscany in the spring-like sunny capital. Having overcome three metro stops, we are in a hurry to leave our belongings at the Cicerone Hotel on the street of the same name.
Max, as always, was sent breastfeeding to the Embrasure for provisions. A difficult, almost impossible task, given the New Year holidays. But not accustomed to retreat, the spouse somehow miraculously gets a completely edible dinner. The little one is satisfied with the mouth, grapes and bread and butter bought earlier by the yogi.
On January 02.2013, the morning turned out to be warm, but not very sunny. After a hearty breakfast, we went to the Castle of the Angels and further to the Vatican. It was 11 am and tourists flooded Rome, there was no queue except for the children's carousels, which Nastya loved so much. After taking pictures on the bridge and the Tiber embankment, we moved to the Bernini colonnade and St. Peter's Cathedral. Strangely, in 1998, when I first saw the cathedral, it seemed much larger. It was not possible to get inside, because all the tourists, who were accommodated by the square in front of the cathedral, rushed inside. A wise decision was made to take turns visiting the cathedral in the early morning, but for now, be content with a photo shoot with the Swiss guards of the Vatican and a walk along the colonnade of Bernini I adore. After lunch on Piazza Cavour, barely dragging our feet, we went to the hotel to walk in the evening towards Piazza Del Poppolo and Via Corso. Having exhausted herself, Nastena fell asleep safely in her father's arms and we finished our adventures until the morning.
On January 3.2013, without waiting for my children to wake up, I packed up my photographic equipment and moved to the Vatican in order to get to the cathedral before breakfast and look at the morning Rome from its roof. Services were going on in the cathedral, from the inside it remained as huge and secret grandeur as it was imprinted in my consciousness more than a dozen years ago. There were 521 steps leading to the roof. The test is not for the faint of heart, given the narrow spans where there is no place to rest and no point of return, just go ahead! You can pay a couple of euros more and take the elevator part of the way, but then am I here? The view from above is simply amazing: a peach dawn over Rome once dressed from a sleepy veil. But as it turns out, I ran only half way, bypassing the three domes surrounded on the inside and admiring the frescoes, I follow to the highest point of the ascent. There are no words, only delight, admiration and curiosity.
9 am, and I have already run around the floor of the city, my sleepyheads are only piercing their eyes, and a powerful fountain of emotions is already pouring out of me, but those who have not seen will not understand... After breakfast, we go by metro to the Colosseum. Preparing for the trip, I came across some interesting information: the Colosseum in the world is the only one in Rome, the rest is just amphitheatres. And again, 11 am and the city is flooded with crowds, the snail encircles the building in a tight ring. No - fire me, my curiosity is not so strong, during the standing time you can do a lot of useful things. For example, climb the Palatine Hill, passing by the Altar of the Fatherland, climb the Capitoline Hill, say hello to the Capitoline Wolf and go north to the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. Which is what we do. At the final point of sights, I come to an unambiguous conclusion about the correct choice of the hotel. There are many hotels in Rome, but most of them are located in very crowded and noisy places. This I mean that there was a great temptation to stay in a hotel on Piazza Navona, but God took it away. The square, which once served as an arena for sports competitions, was filled with Chinese tinsel and more than commemorated the fair, rather than that beautiful square with magnificent fountains of four rivers. Having got out of the noisy crowd, we found ourselves on the Tiber embankment and returned home again along the bridge near the Castle of the Angels with the obligatory ritual of ice cream making and carousel rides.
On January 4.2013, the last full day in the city, it was decided to take a run along the famous fountains: from the fountain in Piazza Del Popolo to the Bernini Barque, which is at the Spanish Steps, and only then to the Trevi Fountain. And then it was proposed to visit the more democratic area of Rome - Trastevere in order to get acquainted with the architectural features and life of ordinary Romans outside the tourist zone. Having passed along Via Corso through the temptation to put a nickel in the sale and buying almost nothing, we safely get to the drowned woman. There are a lot of people on the Spanish stairs: tourists and locals, everyone! But that doesn't annoy anyone. The photographer is eager for memory, checking to see if the Babington tea shop is in place, making sure that everything is in place, like many years ago, heading for Trevi. When you look at a map of Rome, the city seems big, but all its sights are collected so compactly that a healthy person can get around everything in a day, well, or most, but this is not going into details, i. e. Gallop. Given the presence of a child of 4 years old in our company, it was not possible to strike such a thing, but we walked a lot and saw, respectively, too.
Trastevere turned out to be a nice quiet area, living with its measured rhythm and a much cheaper check in a cafe. Having fairly walked along the embankment, we got to the hotel closer to seven in the evening and did not plan anything, but only reread yours and rethought what they saw. My legs were buzzing, reminding me of the steps of the Vatican Cathedral, and my head was buzzing with emotion. Overcoming the noise with a glass of Asti, I pack my bags, because January 05 is just around the corner and Pisa and the flight home are waiting for us again. I liked winter Rome more than Rome at the beginning of autumn. The second visit made this city more understandable, when you could take a photo without looking around at the escaping guide, just sit, look at certain places in detail and it was no longer so garden and noisy.
On January 05, the suitcases are packed and after the usual breakfast in the usual four-star hotel restaurant, our loaded crew sets off on the return journey. Check-out from the hotel is scheduled at 10:00, and the train to Florence is only at 12, in order to pass the time, leaving the children on their suitcases, I go to see the majestic Cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore. At the same time, I am once again convinced of the correct choice of a hotel away from the station area. If the Mecenat palace hotel had not canceled our reservation a week before departure, and I had not had to take urgent measures to rebook and reschedule, we would have lived opposite Santa Maria, but this was not given to happen and thank God! But the cathedral is magnificent nonetheless. On the way back, I buy chicken and kebab at a fast food place - it's time for the children to have a bite to eat. The road to Florence and further to Pisa is smooth and smooth. Pre-purchased tickets are cheaper and save a lot of time. It’s enough for me to get off in Pisa not at the central station, but to go to the final one, which is under the airport, in fact, where our last Italian haven, B&B Gate 52, is waiting for us.
