Gym's Ramblings: Revealing Rome

I have quite a bit of material from our visit to Rome so in this first post I will describe the setting and our temporary home in Rome and we follow up with sightseeing in subsequent blogs.

We left our suite on Oceania's Newest ship, the Riviera, on October 30, 2015 and moved our luggage inland to a new base camp at the Rome Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria Hotel. This turned out to be a great place from which to discover the capital. Cabs from this hotel to all the major sites in Rome were no more than 10-15 Euros. So we were close to all the sites but because of its geographical location the Cavalieri was also a restful oasis that you could retreat to, from the city. This hotel is located high up on a hill overlooking Rome and has wonderful views of the city both day and night. It seemed removed from the hustle and bustle of the city as much of the noise is blocked out by the lush vegetation that grows all around the hotel on the sides of the slopes. In the morning, you can see the sunrise over the city to the east and at night you can see the lights of the city from your balcony. The hotel has a fantastic outdoor pool and the largest indoor spa of any hotel in Rome. In terms of room rates, you could get good deals on the internet if you pay up front. You want to ensure though that you get a room with a view.

The only downside to the hotel was the pricey menus of all of the hotel's dining options that made it impossible to have your meals in the hotel and stay on a budget. Fortunately, there is affordable dining only a short cab ride away. Additionally, within walking distance, there is a very highly-rated Sicilian Restaurant called the I Vespri Siciliani that we wanted to try but take note that it is closed on Sundays, as are many establishments in Rome.

Mrs. Gym couldn't check in right away, so we explored the hotel grounds and then when our room was ready, we settled in. Later on we went down to the spa and got our metabolism's up so we could have a nice meal at the main restaurant in the hotel. The service was great. We retired reasonable early as we had arranged two, 4-hour semi-private tours the next day.

Please read on. The Roma Antica post relates to the first tour and the Visiting the Vatican post relates to the second.