Home » Italy » Potenza, 12 - 19 June 1999

Potenza, 12 - 19 June 1999

Potenza, 12 - 19 June 1999

Peter Cameron
2006-03-12 09:26:35

Displayed times (last time: )

London - Roma, Alitalia, 12 June, 12:15

Left home just before 9:00. Uneventful trip to Heathrow. Just one change from routine: I used Barons Court instead of Hammersmith to change from District to Piccadilly. This was because a man was importuning the passenger next to me to sign a petition against greyhound racing, and was then about to give him some anti-vivisection literature; I happen to think there are more serious problems than greyhound racing, so I skipped before he got to me.

At check-in, I found the flight 20 minutes delayed, and it ended up quite a bit more than that. While waiting, I managed to put my coat down and leave it behind. The service not so good: no explanation given for the delay; long wait for lunch, which was a lot of dry bread and no butter, and nothing to drink except a small plastic cup of water until afterwards.

Dina was at the airport. She had left her car at Tuscolana, which is both more accessible and cheaper than Termini. We drove out to her apartment, where I left my stuff and we drank some water (I was quite thirsty by then), and then went to the very good, though cheap and unassuming, fish restaurant near the university. After a huge and excellent dinner (no choices, it just kept coming), we went for a walk around Roma by night, something that Dina doesn't get much chance to do now: Villa Borghesi, Piazza Spagna, Quirinale, Trevi, Navona, etc. Covered quite a lot of ground! And so home.

In the morning I ventured out and got croissants for breakfast from the bar across the road. After breakfast, we went to the station to buy tickets. Just as well I'd done it in advance; the queues were dire, and of course several people desperate to catch trains wanted to go in front. Then we soothed our nerves by walking on the Gianiculo. The wonderful view of Rome from the top was mostly blocked by trees, but Dina knew another place to see it, near the Spanish embassy. We puzzled ...