Through Rome to Umbertide

Margaret generally doesn't like me to mention her getting disability assistance, but there's enough of a story from the continuation of the Düsseldorf stop that she agrees to have it mentioned.  Backtracking to our arrival there, her having a wheelchair assistant helped us slip past people in line in narrow hallways, and we had chair lifts next to short steps.

When it was time to leave the lounge for the flight to Rome, I first had the lounge agent tell me it was too early, but when boarding time was close we got the same friendly attendant.  Like many  German airports, this one has gates on multiple levels atop one another, and our gate would call for walkimg down three flights to get on a bus to the remote stand where the plane was parked.  The elevator by that gate was out of order, and we went to the opposite corner to  get a working elevator, to get to a van that our attendant drove to the plane.

We were the first on board, as other busloads followed.  This intra-Europe flight charged for soft drinks and bottled water.  Having gotten no sleep on the transatlantic flight, I slept for most of this 2-hour flight.

We arrived in Rome at a jetway gate.  We were pleased to see that our checked bags made it, and we were taken to the taxi to get into Rome.  We got to our hotel, the Cesàri, in central Rome.  I'd heard of it as a good deal in that area.  It was nice enough, but behind the times in their giving a key that was to be turned in when going out and, although there was an elevator, there was an extra half-flight of stairs to get to our room.

I went out to the TIM store around the corner: it being right there saved me from stopping at their store at the airport, as I'd considered doing.  This was to put my iPhone on that provider, using my established Italian number.  The store had a "take a number" system: the person ahead of me and I missed that people were being helped in two rooms and they'd passed over our numbers.  When I got help, the lady was rather abrupt, getting it done but I needed help after she said it was done, to understand the scratch-off PIN system.

Margaret was reluctant to go out to eat, but I could finally persuade her to go as I wanted to Ristorante Abruzzi.  We had a nice meal of Carbonara and Saltimbocca, and talked to an interesting young man near us comparing our multinational life experiences.

The next day was a landmark birthday for me, and we had imprecise plans for a certain amount of wandering.  Margaret wasn't well, and I first went alone to the rooftop  breakfast area for their buffet. Then, while regularly checking in on Margaret, I went on some walks, starting with our being on the busy pedestrian route between the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain. I found refreshing drinks to bring back to Margaret.  I did one walk up via della Scrofa, and got packaged salads to bring back.

With Margaret still not up to go out, I made my own determination of something new to see, and chose the Centrale Montemartini.  Going on my own, I was ready to take the city bus: the mobile version of the city transport site wasn't working well, but I found better advice on Google Maps.  There was a tabacchi place near the hotel to get tickets, and I could follow my progress on the map.  Still, the stop I wanted hadn't been rung for, and I got off at the next stop.

The Centrale Montemartini is an old power plant that has been redesigned to hold Roman antiquities, an interesting setup, also including Pope Pius IX's train.

After this, I decided that I might as well go to Trastevere, which Margaret and I had talked of wandering and where I hadn't been in 30 years.  I took a bus, getting to Ponte Sisto which has become a pedestrian bridge, and going through familiar small streets.

I got back to the hotel and Margaret still wasn't up to going out.  I went to the hotel's rooftop bar, and to an unmemorable place for dinner.

In the night Margaret's health had me worried, but in the morning she was well enough to get to breakfast and check out.  In fact first I went to the location off Piazza Venezia to pick up a portable Wi-Fi device.  While I'd tried to review the things she was at risk of forgetting, when we were at checkout the desk got a call: the housekeeper had gone right in and found Margaret's passport: we were lucky to get that notice.

We had a cab called to take us to Hertz on via Sardegna.  The problem was that the driver took us to the return garage, rather than the office a couple of blocks back.  He circled to get there, I arranged the rental, and we were sent back to the garage.  We waited on the muddy garage floor while the car was washed: I got the car and made the drive to Umbertide without problems.

Now we're in Umbertide and have had restful times including the local feast day, and there's been a fiera with market stands.  This post has covered a lot of ground.