Rome, a wonder of the ancient world, ...and very expensive

Advantages: Beautiful City, lots of English speaking Italians, good food and excellent wine
Disadvantages: Highly overpriced and expensive, not good with the current economic climate

...the week we left, so i would recommend an umbrella, coat and good walking shoes for this time of year. The Flight and Arriving in Rome Our flight from Gatwick with easyjet lasted less than two hours and was very clean and pleasent overall. We encountered no real problems, we had to wait a little while for our bags at the other end, and on exiting the airport struggled to find our driver to take us to our hotel (it was packed with male drivers, holding signs up with people's names on). However once we had found him, we had a fifteen minute drive to our hotel and it was exciting to go through the city looking at all the ancient ruins surrounding the modern roads and buildings. The Hotel: StarHotel, Metropole, Rome I was so glad that I decided to upgrade my hotel for a 4* and selected its a good position in the centre of Rome, and because...

becky_tredget 10.04.2009 (07.03.2009) · Read review
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Review of Rome (Italy)

The harbour city of ancient rome

Advantages: See the past
Disadvantages: none

...Ostia Antica is an ancient archeological site. One of the best preserved site in Rome. Ostia antica was the harbour city of ancient Rome. I am telling about a site of nearly 2000 years ago: walking along its stretts, u can se the way of life of the ancient Romans. The site was built on the mouth of the Tiber river: today the whole site is very farer than in the past: the sand trasported by the waters in the centuries, created new lands. Today Ostia Antica is far about 3-4 chilometers from the sea. The name "Ostium" means infact "mouth of the river". In the ancient times, Ostia was one of the most vivacious cities of the roman empire: it was built in the middle of important commercial paths. Its importance grow under Adriano when in Ostia were till 100.000 inhabitants. The ruins are exceptionally conserved: the site, as i can know, is...

poeta73 15.07.2008 · Read review
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Review of Ostia Antica, Rome

Justified and Ancient

Advantages: Well paced
Disadvantages: Little character development

...Justified and Ancient (The Ancient - R.A. Salvatore) IainWear Name: IainWear Product: The Ancient - R.A. Salvatore Date: 17/06/09 (33 review reads) Rating: Advantages: Good story, with plenty of action Disadvantages: Too many plot strands early on One of the first fantasy trilogies I ever read was R. A. Salvatore's "Forgotten Realms: Icewind Dale" trilogy, featuring the dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden. All this time later and Salvatore is still writing novels with fighting high on the agenda and I find that I can still enjoy them, although not quite as much as I did in my younger years. In the Northern land of Alpinadoon, the leader of the Samhaist religion, Ancient Badden, has reclaimed the holy lake of Mithranidoon. Out in the waters of this holy lake, he is dismayed to find that barbarians, powrie dwarves and - even worse...

Soho_Black 23.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Ancient - R.A. Salvatore

Political Intrigue in Ancient Rome

Advantages: Fascinating insight into Roman politics
Disadvantages: No orgies!

...Ancient Rome is back in vogue, maybe this stems from huge success of the film 'Gladiator' a few years ago but more recently this fascination has spread to TV and books. The highly enjoyable TV romp Rome presented us with the more common vision of the ancient capitol featuring plenty or orgies, assassinations and torture... an adult Roman soap opera if you like. In the sphere of literature there have been many historically based fantasy fictions such as the Emperor series by Conn Iggulden or the books by Valerio Massimo Manfredi one of which 'The Last Legion' has also been made into a film. Some authors however has attempted to bring a more realistic vision of ancient Rome to us and Robert Harris in his previous book 'Pompeii' and in this book 'Imperium' has given us a literary version of the docu/drama, blending real life historical...

Mauri 18.09.2007 · Read review
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Review of Imperium - Robert Harris

Stay in Ancient Wells

Advantages: Amazing period features, friendly staff, great food, four-poster bed
Disadvantages: Could be expensive, not much parking, small beds

...found that the day we wanted to go came at a discount! We ended up paying around £70 for two of us to stay in The Ancient Gatehouse Hotel which was on the doorstep of Cathedral Green! I have to say that the website wasn't all that easy to navigate as it seemed as though there was very little content and a massive page about hotel disclaimers and what they could charge you for if you broke things! But booking was pretty straightforward (its always in their interests to make that easy I guess) and we didn't even need out E-receipt when we turned up at the hotel as they had our booking and were happy to let us in. Parking Parking could have been an issue as the Ancient Gatehouse doesn't have any parking spaces of its own. The nearest car parks in town were fairly expensive and almost always full, but we were lucky enough to be...

tac20 01.06.2008 (05.07.2008) · Read review
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Review of The Ancient Gatehouse Hotel, Wells, Somerset

Ciao Bella! - The Best of Rome

Advantages: A lifetime of sights to see, excellent transport, amazing ice cream
Disadvantages: Very busy

...to it's shear size. It looks unnaturally huge, situated in a small square surrounded by the umbrellas of several restaurants. It is the last complete building of ancient Rome, and it really brought home to me what amazing architects and engineers the Romans were. It is a perfect sphere resting on a perfect cylinder, and was begun by Hadrian (of wall fame) in 120AD, so is a whopping 1900 years old, and served as the burial place of ancient rulers, Raphael, and a site of animal sacrifice. There is not a vast deal to do once inside, but it is free to enter, and worth the time just to marvel at the huge vastness of the construction. The Coloseum (Via dei Fori Imperiali): the 2000 year old structure is still magnificent even though its marble has been pilfered to build churches around the city. It is still very easy to imagine...

VC81 30.09.2005 · Read review
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Review of Rome (Italy)

Highlight of Rome

Advantages: Bags of history, fantastic tour guides, beautiful views
Disadvantages: None noticable

...The immensity of these historical remains took my breath away before I had even begun to learn about the depth and horror of its history. Those of you who have seen Gladiator or studied Ancient Rome in history lessons may be aware of the basic features and uses of the Colosseum in its days of glory but the amount of information given during the tour intrigued and enlightened me to the full extent of its history. Getting to the Colosseum could not be easier. It is situated in the centre of Rome quite literally with main roads running meters away from its ancient structure. The Metro station is situated within meters of the entrance with a zebra crossing leading across the road to the cobbled pathway that ran around the Colosseum. However if you do chose to take the metro be careful when traveling to keep any belongings in front of you...

smbeeson 19.02.2006 · Read review
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Review of Colosseum, Rome

When In Rome...

Advantages: Great Location, Great Room, Friendly Staff
Disadvantages: Lack of Wardrobe Space

...distance. On the whole we were very pleased with the hotel. We paid £300 each, for a week in August, sharing a double room. This was paid on departure from the hotel. What To See: = There's a lot to see in Rome, we had a week and that was just enough to take it all in. The Colosseum is the most famous of all the ancient monuments in Rome, and the good news is that it's pretty much around the corner from the hotel. It's probably about a ten minute walk to get to there from the hotel. On your way you will walk alongside the Forum, a vast area of ancient ruins. Entry to the Colosseum costs nine Euros and it includes entrance to the Palatino (the highest part of the Forum). The Colosseum feeds the imagination. Vatican City, to get there easily and save your legs a little head down to road to the Via Nationale...

lilmsnaughty1979 11.10.2006 · Read review
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Review of Hiberia Hotel, Rome

Rome rocked

Advantages: Excellent strategy game
Disadvantages: Not for those without time on their hands.

...This is the game who's engine was used recently on one of the bbc's programs, it featured historical battles being fought by teams of people, and the public wanted to try it themselves. Thus, Rome:Total War was born and many people, including me, were and are hooked onto it. As i hurried home with the game in my hand, and a few points on my game card, i couldnt wait to play it. The cellophane was ripped off, and the cd placed in the drive, i couldnt contain my excitement. The installation was relatively simple, no hiccups, just changing cd's every now and again. And then suddenly, the question was popped " Would you like to run Rome:Total War now". I ticked the box, and pressed ok, the red loading screen opened up before me. The small red bar at the bottom of the screen filled up and i had started my journey into the past. The list...

gsdlover 25.10.2004 (02.03.2007) · Read review
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Review of Rome: Total War (PC)

Best Location In Rome

Advantages: Location, space, staff are friendly, air con
Disadvantages: None

.... The Emmaus hotel (three star), centrally located, with plenty of amenities on its door step, spacious rooms and friendly, helpful staff, makes a fantastic hotel. Whether a short break in Rome or a few weeks holiday, Emmaus has so many advantages that it makes any length of stay a stress free and pleasant visit. It's located on Via delle Fornaci (25), which is practically in the Pope's lap. To get to it you can take the Via Di Ciampino road, turning right onto Via Appia Nuova for 8km and then you'll find yourself in the city. Just follow the signs to the centre and head north . Emmaus is minutes away from the Vatican (one hundred yards to be exact), so once you see that then you're almost there. Or you could take the train from Ciampino airport (Ciampino FS) to Stazione Termini. The fare is ?2 and you'll be able to buy your...

Ottavia 29.08.2008 (26.08.2008) · Read review
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Review of Emmaus, Rome