Day 18 * On our way home via Rome * 6/6/08

Well it was a good sleep. I didn’t wake til just before 7.30 and we started the final packing from Katy’s place. A simple toast and coffee breakfast, and tidying then it was goodbye to Sofia and into Mr Tiripelli’s car. Again it decided not to start and Katy gt Grant to come back to drive us into town. All the while Sofia was standing on the step with this look of “I thought you guys said goodbye and were going.” We transferred our luggage while Grant and Katy wondered what to do with Mr T’s car, as Grant had managed to get it started.
Final goodbyes to Katy and it was off to Figline station via Camping Village Girasole where Grant is based, then "ciao ciao" to Grant. We had a coffee and bought some filled rolls to have on the train and waited for our connection, which was 10–15 mins late. We left just before noon.
The trip down to Rome was interesting, first going through Tuscany and past a number of villages with old castles. Interesting to see also the changing building styles and the harvesting practices – fields of wheat with patches cut down and harvested while the rest of the field was still growing.
At one stop the carbinieri wandered through looking at faces but no one in first class matched who they might have been after. We took a list of the towns we went through to try and match some of the photos we took along the way.
Our carriage was supposed to be air-conditioned, but for that to work the doors and windows were supposed to be closed. Did that happen? Not on your nelly! At least 6 windows were open most of the time – especially during the tunnels, where everyone’s eardrums got pulverised, and then some when a train happened to be going past the other way.
We got into Rome about three and started looking for Katy’s instructions to get to Camping Village Roma, part of the chain that Grant is working for. We had to take the Metro which meant a couple of flights of escalators and me with my baggage train again making the locals laugh - especially some pretty young teenage ones!. Got our Metro ticket and then realised I couldn’t fit through the turnstile til they pointed out the wheelchair access way. I managed to leave my ticket in the machine which caused Denise to call me back, otherwise I wouldn’t have had a chance if the inspectors had caught me. Down some more escalators and onto the Metro - then seven stops later we were at Il Cipro station. I took the elevator up which totally disoriented me as I couldn’t see the bus stop at first. we re-read the instructions –carefully – looked up to the left and there were the buses including one which looked like the shuttle. Asked a young man by the door Camp Roma, and there it was. On with the luggage and us and off to the camping ground.
They were expecting us and apart from not taking proper care in reading the camp map we found our serviceable little bungalow – 2 beds & a bunk, toilet and shower in a separate bathroom. Reading the brochures, seeing Italy through these camping grounds (plusted.com) would be a very convenient cheap & comfortable holiday. I was able to hire towels, shop at the camp supermarket - better stocked than some of our corner dairies, then Denise and I went to the camp restaurant Sunset Hills for a superb final dinner in Italy – antipasto, fettucine and fish for me, antipasto, canneloni and veal for Denise, followed by fruit salad and coffee and a grappe to salute the trip for me.
A next to final pack and its lights out.
Wonderful thanks to Grant and Katy for their hospitality in Ponte Agli Stolli and their extended help to us in Rome. It just helped finish the trip off nicely!