Rome — Unplanned
A travel adventure to be remembered.
My first trip to Rome was in January of 1976. My wife and I planned to spend time in London before flying home to Kuala Lumpur via Delhi. However, while in London, we decided to add Rome to our trip home. In those days, if you flew with an “around-the-world” air ticket, you could change your flight dates and layovers, without charge, as long as they were along the same route.
We landed in Rome from London on New Year’s Day without any plans or hotel reservations. At the airport, a short stocky Italian asked if we needed a taxi. Not knowing what to expect, we said yes and he quickly lugged our suitcases onto his back and proceeded to run ahead of us to an unknown destination. We desperately ran after him, thinking he was taking off with our bags. He came to a stop at a small Fiat 500 parked some distance away from the regular and legal taxis. He strapped our bags onto the car’s roof and asked us where we were going. When I asked for an economical hotel recommendation he said, “I take you my cousin brother place — very good!” We were then driven, cramped in the back seat of the FIAT, wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. We soon arrived at a hotel which I remember as the Traiano. It was within sight and walking distance of the Roman Forum. For the sum of US$20 a night, we got a private room with bath on the first floor and…
