I was thumbing through my copy of "Top 10: Rome" and one of the recommendations was a bike tour of the Appian Way on a Sunday. You can rent a mountain bike and helmet (to deal with the cobblestones).
"One day a week, part of the old Via Appia Antica is closed to all traffic except tour buses, making it perfect for a bucolic bike ride, or a very long walk if you want to cover it all. Lined with pines and cypresses, this is where the ancient Romans came to bury their dead, and many tombs still remain along the roadside."
Sounds like something I would love to do. The book also says that there are inexpensive 4-hour bike tours of the city available as well.
Italian phrase(s) of the day:
I said that I would start sharing some useful phrases in Italian as I learned them. This one seems appropriate.
I would like to rent a bicycle. How much is it?
Of course you could also say you wanted to rent a car with the same basic phrase ... "Vorrei noleggiare una macchina."
If you need to find your way there, you can ask someone ...
"Mi scusi. Puoi dirmi come arrivare alla Via Appia in bicicletta?"Excuse me. Can you tell me how to get to the Via Appia by bicycle?
You might also ask ...
Puoi mostrarmi sulla mappa?
Can you show me on the map?
A few more important things ... someone might answer:
Giri alla sinistra = turn left
Giri alla destra = turn right
Sulla destra = on the right
giri l'angolo = turn the corner
dritto = straight
di fronte a = in front of/opposite
accanto a = beside/next to
Italian is not always similar to Spanish and when it is it is not always pronounced the same way. So for those of you familiar or fluent, I am told that you can sometimes use the Spanish word for something if you are stuck and they might understand BUT if you want to at least familiarize yourself with the basics of vocabulary and pronunciation, you might like: Earworms Rapid Italian and the My Daily Phrase Italian podcast from Radio Lingua. Message me and I can help you find them.
Going bike riding sounds like fun!
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