3 May
Sadly we had fly to Munchen this afternoon, but we still wanted to make the most of the morning. We wanted to get to the Largo di Torre Argentina where around about 250 cats live amongst the ruins in what has become a cat sanctuary run by volunteers. We walked back to the bus station at Termini to catch the bus. We noticed the tram station along the way, but we made it to the bus station before the tram moved. There were cats of all colours and degrees of injuries. Many came quite close and seemed to trust humans. It was a very endearing sight and I took lots of pictures. From here we popped into the church of Gesu, the first Jesuit church in Rome. Its interior is staggeringly rich. I saw the sign “toilets” and aimed for them, but I discovered that they were closed, because the man with the key had not arrived for work! Oh dear! We decided to have another look at the former Jewish area which was not far away and before we realized it, we were back at the Tiber and across from the Isola Tiberina. We wandered through the very narrow and fascinating ancient streets and to our surprise came across the famous Turtle Fountain (Fontana delle Tartarughe) in the tiny Piazza Matthei. This was really a hidden treasure right in the middle of a dense residential area (formerly the Jewish Ghetto). We caught a bus which brought us close to the Spanish Steps once more. It was now not raining and we got a chance to see this charming, but very also very upmarket shopping area in better light. The flowers at the Spanish Steps were all wilted and there was hardly any colour left. So we were lucky to have seen this iconic tourist attraction just after the rain. We were getting a bit stressed about getting back to our room, because we still had to pick up our luggage and make it to the bus to take us back to the airport. We could work out which bus to take and started walking towards the Piazza Popolo, where we at least knew that there was a subway that took us back to Termini. Back at Aria, our luggage was still in our room, but the room was already cleaned. We now had to get back to the airport transfer bus station with all our luggage again. We still hoped to take the tram, but in the end it was faster to just walk. As we approached the bus station, we noticed a Schiaffini bus waiting. We were the first to be allowed to board and choose the front seat. It was sad to leave Rome, especially since there was still so much to see. There were no traffic jams and we arrived well in time for our flight. We walked into the terminal and confidently checked the information board to find our flight. To our horror our flight did not appear on the board. It was very puzzling. I started to realize that there were no Alitalia flights on the board at all and this started to ring a bell. I went to the information desk and to our relief we discovered that Alitalia had its own terminal next door! Pfew!! The terminal was not far away and we soon were at the correct place. But the flight was not on the board yet, because it was still too early. We found a little cafeteria and enjoyed coffee and a snack. Eventually the Gate number appeared and we found the desk to check in. This time the flight was on time. We had also got a Whatsapp from Manfred and Colleen to let us know that they would be at the airport to pick us up! This was a great relief. We were not looking forward to having to drag our luggage to the station. We would also have to change trains on the way to Starnberg. The flight was uneventful and soon we had landed in Munich. We had some stressful moments when our luggage was the last to arrive. I was desperately trying to send a message to the Illenbergers, but suddenly they were there. We had not realized that the airport at Munich is actually quite small and compact – a bit like in Port Elizabeth. Soon we were on our way to Starnberg. They had to drop off a friend near the airport and therefore decided to make a little detour to pick us up. It was wonderful. We were delighted to arrive at their lovely home on the edge of Starnberg, a town about 60km south west from Munich. We enjoyed a lovely meal with them and we got to see our “home” for the next three weeks – bigger than we had hoped for, but still a great camper!

Geschreven door Leartravels