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We landed in Rome at 9:15 a.m. local time this morning, tired enough that we didn’t even mind simply robotically standing in line with almost 1000 other people waiting to use the airport’s automated passport verification machines. Once through those, we presented our physical passports to an immigration officer, got them stamped (specifically on page 8, although we don’t know why) with our Schengen entry date, collected our bags, and met the driver who chauffeured us the 20 minute/25 km/15 mile drive to our hotel.

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We shared our transfer van with two young Chinese men, Leo and Evan (the “day to day” names they took on during their English language educations in Shanghai) who have been living and working in Montreal since 2022 (having prior to that studied at the University of Alberta) and Leo’s parents, whom he had gifted this Italian tour because “we couldn’t have them travel all the way from China and only see Montreal.” What a good son. They’ll be doing the included tour activities with us, but a lot of independent exploration too.

We have 3 nights here at the Hotel Marc’Aurelio on Via Gregorio XI. On most of their trips, Exoticca offers a choice between hotel categories designated “charm”, “superior”, and “luxury”, but for this tour only the superior category was offered – described as “hotels that go beyond the standard, you may be in a room with a better view or could enjoy more square feet for a more comfortable stay.” Those particular hotel holds an Italian 4 star rating, which simply means it has amenities like included breakfast, a bar, someone at the desk at least 12 hours per day, laundry service, and ensuite bathrooms. Google rates it 3.9/5, Expedia at 7.6/10. I’d say those were fair numbers.

The hotel description made no mention of the spotty wi-fi, the overworked staff, or the fact that despite booking our flights to arrive well before noon there was no accommodation made by Exoticca with the hotel to have rooms ready earlier than the usual 3 p.m. The lone gentleman manning the front desk was clearly on his last nerve; compounded by understandable but less than fluent English, his repeated entreaties to early arrivals to “be patient, I am only one person” sounded – unintentionally I’m sure – angry.

We simply assured him it was no problem and sat down. We were in our room by 11:00.

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Our priorities were a shower and a nap before going out to explore the local neighbourhood in search of food. The other thing the tour company failed to highlight – although we certainly could have Googled it – was how far from downtown the hotel was located. The front desk had maps for us, showing the bus and Metro stops. Uber as we know it is not available in Rome, although the app can be used to book a regular taxi. We’d been hoping that at least we’d be able to caffeinate ourselves in a lovely nearby piazza (memories of our stay in Trieste came to mind), but our hotel is in a neighbourhood of multiple low-rise apartments, near a school but not a public square.

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After a 3 hour nap, it was time for a short walk. I’d read about Rome’s unique and iconic “pinsa” pizza with its 4-flour crust leavened over 72 hours and stretched into an oval shape. Fortunately just a 3 minute walk away was Piotto Boccea, known specifically for that specialty. We made a reservation for one of their outdoor tables at 7:30, when the temperature was still a glorious 23°C/73°F.

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We called it an early night, since tomorrow will be an early breakfast and our first chance to meet our tour director and the rest of our travel companions. Our first “real” day in Rome awaits!