June
2001
Beeston
Valley BC - We've been about a bit us!
Or
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Carlton Forum
It all started at the
end of 1999 with one of those throw away comments
'We'll all have
to go away somewhere for a weekend! Yeah great
what
a good
idea
yeah brilliant'. Of course, with us being a serious
badminton club, the intention was to play badminton 'somewhere'.
But after Dublin was chosen as the 'somewhere' and the phrase
'Mmmmmm
Guinness' kept cropping up (in much the same way that
Homer Simpson says ' Mmmmmm
Donuts')
the badminton 'sort of'
fell by the wayside. But needless to say a brilliant time
(and plenty of Guinness) was had by all who went.
Following the success of the Dublin trip there were the inevitable cries of 'Where next??'. 'Why not a little further this time?' came the unanimous reply. And so it was agreed that in October 2000, Beeston Valley's next short break would be to Rome! A party of thirteen signed up and thanks to sterling organisation by Paul Bexon and Ailsa Townley, flights, hotel and transport were all arranged.
And so to October 24th 2000, the morning of the trip. Unfortunately Louise and Andrew Finlay had to drop out, after Andrew had hurt his back playing badminton who says exercise is good for you!!!
A minibus took the eleven of us to Heathrow and the flight, of just under two hours, produced spectacular views of the Alps. We arrived early evening in a pleasantly warm Rome. The Hotel Romae, 5 minutes walk from Rome's Central Station was (thankfully) a delight.
After hurling the suitcases into the rooms, we dashed to the nearest restaurant and asked much to the shock of the waiter for a table for eleven. And so there we were sat outside a restaurant in the centre of Rome ... drinking red wine and eating pasta and being served by our new friend Dino when only 11 hours before we'd stood on Maid Marion Way in the cold and wet of the British Autumn.
The following morning
we set off on foot to see the Colosseum. Most of us had seen
the film 'Gladiator' and had an idea of what to expect, but the
reality was quite awesome. The building was constructed 2000
years ago, and held as many people as Wembley stadium. The
gate numbers can still be seen carved into the stone over the entrances.
We enjoyed a fascinating free guided tour of the outside of
the building, seeing the gates where the Gladiators entered (alive)
and exited (
mostly
dead). In the afternoon we took a two
and a half hour guided tour of Ancient Rome. It's really quite
amazing how much of the old city still exists
a tribute to the
genius of the Romans. After the tour it was back to the Colosseum,
for a breathtaking walk round the inside of the building. Some
of the girls were even hopeful of spotting Russell Crowe!
The plan for the second
day was 'everything we hadn't seen the previous day'. So off
we set on foot, past the Trevi Fountains, the Spanish Steps, a particularly
creepy chapel filled with the bones of monks, the Pantheon and onto
the Vatican. If you can think of the most impressive cathedral
you've ever seen
and then times that by ten
you can begin
to imagine what St Peter's Basilica is like. It is huge. The
building is full of people just standing and looking up in amazement
and we were no exceptions. Dave Groves, our Rome expert (he's
been once before) encouraged us to walk up the 300+ steps to the
top of the Basilica. After all
we're fit badminton players
right? We did get a stunning view right across Rome, so it
was worth it.
The end of the second day was completed with a wonderful meal at a small restaurant on the way back from the Vatican. Then, whilst some of the group took a taxi, a few of us braved the hour or so walk back to the hotel. We were rewarded with a wonderful view of Ancient Rome at night. Then it was off to bed, ready for the trip home in the morning.
Everyone agreed it was the most perfect short break. The weather was wonderful, the food and drink superb, and Rome was stunning. But I think most of all it was the great company.
And the future well we've already got a few ideas. Who knows we might even get round to arranging a Badminton match sometime!