Az's Cruising Nana

All you would need is a case of sepsis to set in a few days into your cruise. You don't want a life threatening infection to be treated while at sea let alone in another country where health care is second rate.

Sue

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I should have checked. search Bill McCall Bonaire

There you are!

Sue

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Going back to my dive in Bonaire again, The Go pro in 4k High res can only record 17 minutes before it has to write the file and start another file so my dive is broke up into 17 minute segments. Here is one.

 

 

If you have a youtube app on your TV, watch it there. I viewed it on my laptop, but watching it on a 60" screen is amazing!

You can probably find it by searching wmccall vip diving Bonaire and sort by recent dates.

We just looked on you tube for your video could not find it.

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I saw them earlier they take a long time to load.

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I guess I should clarify. I am not looking for a rental for the ship. I am looking for some mobility assistance while in Rome. My husband is mobility challenged. He can walk I am not worried about the actual tours but trying to figure out how to get him from place to place without having to walk a long distance. I am thinking about a cane with a stool so he can sit and rest if he needs to. I am trying to figure out if a wheelchair or scooter would be the best if our group decides to walk from site to site. The other issue is having a place to leave it while on tour. Luckily we have until October to figure out the details.

Sue

I have not used a scooter or a wheelchair in Rome, but have travelled there several times and walked all over the city. If I were faced with your choice, I would recommend a scooter. Some of the streets in places you may want to visit are uneven and some are paved with cobbles or paving stones with gaps between the stones. The scooter would roll over surfaces and obstacles that a wheelchair may get caught or stuck in.

 

We had quite a show one evening watching a woman try to walk down a cobble stone street in high heels without getting her heels caught between the stones.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

LOL note to self don't wear heels .....I bet that was amusing. Thanks for the input will take it into consideration.

I have been doing some research of handicap accessibility in Rome. If you google handicap accessible tours in Rome I am sure it will popup for you.

Sue

Has anyone rented any mobility equipment in Rome? What company did you use? What was your experiance on getting around Rome?

Sue

Using a skycap helps also, best money spent . They get you to the front of the line in no time. Since we have started doing this it has shortened our time in line. Also having prearranged transportation is another plus.

Sue

Thanks for all the reply's. This VRBO experience is frustrating yet I enjoy the research and planning part . Not knowing the areas makes it hard. I have noticed more and more of the landlords are requesting payment up front . I am not sure if people have been flaking out on them or what the reason but since I started looking several months ago I have noticed an increase in this practice. I would not have a problem with it but feel more comfortable if a place has some reviews and has been renting for several years. It seems the newer landlords are the ones requesting the upfront payment. I also feel better if I can secure with a credit card. I think we have found some viable options but unfortunately we cannot book for a few more months until we get airfare. Happy Cruising!

Sue

The one near the Angels bridge will be good. That's close to the piazza Navona and is a nice little neighborhood.

 

The Borghese one will be a bit far out.

 

 

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Thanks this is exactly what I needed to know.

Sue

A great neighborhood is Prati, east of the Vatican. It is lively at night and has great restaurants. Not touristy. You can easily walk to the Piazza Del Popolo or walk across the bridge next to the Castel Saint Angelo and be in the Piazza Navona in minutes. Nice accommodations in this area as well. I would stay in this neighborhood again gladly.

So it sounds like Prati is the area we found the one apartment in

I will have to pull out my maps again.

Sue

We are still looking at VRBO for our stay in Rome. I was given good advice last time I asked so here goes. We would ideally like to stay in Campo di Fiori/ Pantheon area. Plan B is close to the Vatican. We have found 2 apartments but are a little unsure of the neighborhoods. The first is Located in close proximity of the Museo e Galleria Borghese. The second is in an area I believe it is called Rione V Ponte. I know these are not right next to Campo di Fiori and Pantheon but look to be reasonablly close. The one is across the river from Angels Castle it looks like there is a bridge that you go over and than are close to the Vatican.

Also if anyone has used VRBO I am noticing most are requesting the entire rental upfront where as I was not noticing this as much as when I first started looking.

Thanks in advance,

Sue

Totally agree that Bernard's tours (especially with "Milkman" guide) are the best!

It is the mailman.....pretty close they both deliver! I third Bernards tour.

Sue

Hi Sue. I don't know if you saw, but I have now had 2 roll call members named Lisa injur themselves pre-cruise. At least the 2nd one didn't involve me in it! ;)

If my name was Lisa I would definately think twice about cruising with you......... :)

Sue

Thanks for letting me sail virtually with you. No cruise for us this year due to the big one in Oct 2017 so this will have to suffice. One of these years we will have to sail with you and Gina again. You definately know how to keep a roll call amusing.......

Sue

What a happy occasion for you and your family. That is a tough cancer to beat! ):

Part of the confusion is real estate lingo - I'm always a little suspicious about how hotels or apartment owners describe a location as they have been known to stretch the definition of "near". (I used to own a house that was advertised as having an ocean view ... it did, but only if you went up on the third floor deck and stood on a chair.)

 

Another part of the confusion could be elevation as this neighborhood is up on the hill while Trevi isn't. There's a great shortcut from Piazza Quirinale, a big staircase alongside the palace building from the piazza that leaves you just around the corner from the fountain.

LOL isn't it the truth? The price just seemed a little to good. Will put this one way down on the list of possibilities. Thanks again.

Sue

Yes and no. There are no major grocers but several small ones, including many different ethnic shops as the southeastern part of this area is an immigrant neighborhood. Probably the biggest grocer in the area is on the lower level of Termini station.

 

There are restaurants near the opera house, which is the southernmost part of the rione (district). There are a lot of government and university offices along the northernmost part of the rione and they eat up a lot of the area, which means there are few small businesses on those blocks.

It sounds like it is close to the opera house as the location is Trevi/ opera house which confuses me because I relate Trevi to the fountain. Thanks for your expertise in helping me figure out the geography....

Sue

Castro Pretorio is the area around Termini Station at the top of the Equilline hill. It's a very busy area, dense with hotels and can be a little seedy in limited spots, but it's fine.

 

From a mobility standpoint having the main train station and bus depot right in the neighborhood is good. While it's certainly possible for the able-bodied to walk to most of the key sights from this neighborhood I doubt many will want to walk home, back up the hill, at the end of the day.

We plan on booking tours with a group to avoid the excess walking for the mobility challenged. Do you know if there are places to eat and markets in the area? I am going to surmise if in an area with hotels there are places to eat.

Sue

Hi!

 

I'm sorry to hear there are mobility issues but transit should help you both be able to manage getting around in Rome - glad you're still getting out and about :)

 

There are many bus lines running along the Via Veneto, each of course going to different sections of the city. There are maps of the Rome bus service online - the one I am looking at right now is a bit cluttered but there are trip planners that make it easy - which might probably help you work out the details. The Metro is fairly nearby but I'm thinking that would likely be too difficult to manage - the buses should work out alright.

 

Planning the days by quadrant or section definitely made it much more manageable and enjoyable. The city isn't so very large but there IS quite a lot to take in - of course one must never get overwhelmed trying to see it all but just choose whatever feels most alluring and stick to it, allowing for a bit of spontaneous discovery along the way.

 

Hope you find a convenient, well priced apartment near transit to enjoy this glorious city. Buona Fortuna

Host Bonjour,

since you seem knowledgeable about Rome I am going to ask you another question. What do you know about the Castro Pretorio area? I have found an apartment in this neighborhood to accomodate our group of 10. However it almost seems to good to be true pricewise. What can you tell me about the area? Anyone else familiar with this neighborhood please jump in here.

Thanks,

Sue

Hi Sue,

 

I stayed in an apartment near the Villa Borghese, right off the Via Veneto on Via Lombardia. For me it felt possible to divide the city into equ-distant segments that I could walk to each day and devote my time to...I never had to use mass transit but I was able to manage the walking (of course I took breaks) each day. It was May, the weather was brilliant. There were restaurants/shops in the area of the apartment so dinner was always easy to take care of. Definitely quiet around the Vatican, but then it is it's own city and rather set apart by the river - scenic, but quiet - except in St. Peter's Square which of course is quite busy during the day. Castel Sant'Angelo is something to see, though, at night - it's lit up and looks glorious. Don't think I'd want to stay in that area....just a bit too remote BUT if it saves a LOT of money - I might consider it.

 

Rome is a busy European city and it's especially busy near the most popular attractions but you are traveling in October which means it won't be dreadfully crowded, but...it won't be quiet..weekdays are always more quiet than weekends, if that helps. In any event, you'll love it...it's one of the greatest, most fascinating cities in the world :) Enjoy and have fun planning your holiday.

Unfortunately my husband is mobility challenged so a lot of walking is out. We will be saving the walking for the sites we are visiting. How close was the mass transit to where you stayed? I like the idea of breaking the city into 4 quadrants might make the sightseeing decisions a little easier. Thanks!

You could look into VRBO some of the apartments are handicap accessible at a fairly reasonable rate.

Sue

I would not, in general, recommend the Vatican area if you want to be in the center of things. The Vatican is sort of the "outlier" in terms of major Rome sites. You're much better off looking for somewhere near the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona or Campo di Fiori.

 

I'm curious why you ask about traffic -- are you planning to have a car? That's something I wouldn't really recommend in Rome..... it's not needed, can be difficult and expensive to find parking, and there are a lot of "no go" areas in the city for cars.

People traffic.....no NOT renting a car! I just figured some areas would be busier foot traffic wise then others.

Sue

We rented an apartment in Rome for this coming fall. After extensive research we decided we wanted to be in the area of the Pantheon, Plaza Navona and Campo de'Fiori (central and easiliy walkable). I searched on a numbr of sites, VRBO, TripAdvisor, etc., and chose a charming apartment with a balcony that directly overlooks Plaza Navonna. It costs no more than some of the mid to upper range hotels, and the view alone is a huge bonus.

Some websites do have maps that make it a little easire to narrow your options.

Hopefully you'll come back and let us know how it was. Sounds magnificent!

Sue