Sitting innocently on the loo first thing in the morning and I knocked some knob on the wall with my knee. The knob was a lever to turn on the toilet’s previously un-noticed internal bidet system. The knb/lever had a series of intensity levels and I must have pushed it to ‘clean this hot mess up’.
Three jets of warm water hit me at belly button level and down, spraying all the walls and flooding the bathroom itself!!
I didn’t realize this had all started because I knocked the knob. It took me 30 seconds to find and turn the knob off and 3 towels to mop up the bathroom floor.
Try to top that start to the morning dear reader.
I was kind of dreading today. Vatican City Day.
Because I was trying to avoid queues, I had booked us in for a 2:30 pm time slot online from the comfort of an Autumn day in Australia.
Now in the reality of the blistering heat, I was regretting this plan.
We filled up the water bottles, I put the backpack on my front as tourists on packed Italian trains are easy pickings for pick-pockets.
Off we went. A 5 minute walk brought us to the large Termini station. The trains are extremely packet, but they are beautifully air-conditioned.
Three stops later and we spilled out into the steamy Spagna station to see the Spanish Steps.
I had previously envisioned taking great images of some of these iconic Italian sights. However, due to backpack size allowance at the Vatican, my camera wouldn’t fit in the backpack with all the necessary water bottles. Plus all the people seething up and down the steps and around the Fountain and all vying for images and selfies was crazy.
The vendors here are a whole level pushier than any we had met before. First Jara and then I had single red roses thrust upon us, with simpering sweetness. We tried to give them back, but ‘no, you keep!’
Well, ok then. We thanked him and walked off. Blow me down, if he isn’t back a couple seconds later asking for a little money for the free roses.
Nope, we don’t have money. Have your roses back!!!
We walked a few minutes along to experience Magnum Pleasure Store.
I am so glad we did!
You get to choose from vanilla or chocolate ice cream. Then, your ice cream is dipped in milk, dark or white chocolate. There is a buffet of different toppings from which you choose 3. Half this mix I sprinkled on one side, the flipped over and the rest sprinkled on the top.
Your final choice is the warm drizzle flavor. I kind of wish I had chosen rose petals as the photogenic option, but I went for yum.
If you get a chance, make your own Magnum for the novelty factor.
We had one more site on our agenda before we went to the Vatican. Trevi Fountain. For all the walking in the blistering heat, this was a disappointment as out of all the sites we have seen under construction in Europe, this was the most extreme.
We finally made it to the Vatican. It’s true, 2:40 is a good time for lines if you have an online booking. We got straight in, exchanged our online printout for tickets and collected our audio guides .
The 10 yr old was well past walking any further. We filled our empty water bottles at the drinking fountain and then Kara and I sat with him while the others did a circuit with the audio guide.
Once he had recovered a little, the 10 yr old came with us for a peek into the Sistine Chapel. It and the parts that we saw going there, are absolutely breathtaking. Despite the huge crowds, out was very special to see.
We were all haggard with heat and exhaustion when we got home. I had a nana nap which is unheard of.
We order more amazing flavors from the pizza place. Even yummier than we remembered!
Packing up is not much fun at any time, but the most annoying part of the evening was trying to check in our flight with Ryan Air. I was rejected twice after painstakingly putting in all the passport information of every single one of us.
No matter, deep breaths- went to the main site and did it all again. I pressed ‘continue’ and it said I had them too long and my session had logged out. This after being warned constantly that if I entered a number or name wrong, I couldn’t change it. !!!!!! Grrrrr!!!
I went to the mobile site and finally got it done.
Now for the mobile boarding passes…..
Nope- they couldn’t do it at this time.
To get a reprint was going to cost €15 per person, and I was not going to waste precious Euro on that!!
I looked to see if they had a live chat help line. Yes!!
The lady I chatted to could not help with the app issues, but she let the airport know the situation and they were going to wave the reprint fee. Thanks Jennifer!!!
I was rue-ing my booking of a 6:10 am flight. I must have thought the family was a lot more intrepid and gung-ho than the reality. This meant a 3:10 am wake up. Arghh!!
Dory the Explorer 