[Note. Work on this diary was underway on and off over several yeays and the text was finally assembled neary 60 years after the trip. Although receipts, photographs and personal notes were available, for some reason they did not invoke the plentiful memories they had for most comparable trips. It will probably take a great deal of time to add the photographs.]

Introduction. At her mother's request, we had invited our niece Sharon, 17, to stay several weeks with us in Italy. We had been stationed with SETAF in Verona, Italy, for almost two years when she arrived in August 1961. Sharon had seen much of Europe during her stay, but not Rome. Now her visit was winding down, and we figured she certainly had to see Rome before she left. Actually, we had waited until October to try to miss the worst of the tourist season.

Darrell had already been to Rome four times on business. There was a duty roster for officers below Major to serve as couriers between Verona and Rome, and his turn came up every several months. As courier, he was armed and had a private compartment on the overnight train, leaving Veona about 11 p.m and arriving in Rome shortly after 5:00 a.m. Sometimes the “dispatches” would be meager, only a few envelopes. Other times there were so many large packages that they filled his whole compartment on the train, even the bed he was supposed to sleep on. A sedan met the train and the driver transported Darrell and his cargo to the U.S. Embassy on Via Veneto. There he delivered the dispatches, checked his .32 caliber revolver, and had a quick breakfast in the snack bar. By 7:00 a.m. he was on a streetcar headed for the Vatican, always his first stop on these trips because it opened before most other tourist sites. He did not have to be back at the Embassy for the return trip until 9:00 p.m., giving his 14 hours to explore the city. Darrell enjoyed these trips so much that he sometimes volunteered to take the duty for other officers who preferred not to go. With the familiarity with Rome that he gained on these trips, he felt confident in serving as guide for Jane and Sharon.

We elected to make the trip by train to avoid having to store our car somewhere if we drove down. Rail fares were quite reasonable. Our second class round-trip tickets were about $24 each after a military discount.

Monday, October 22. We said good-bye to Rosa, our nanny, and our four young sons about 9:00 a,m. and drove our huge 1953 Pontiac station wagon to Verona’s Porta Nuova train station. We parked in the public lot, bought our tickets, and waited for the 9:30 train. As ususal, it was right on time.

We were surprised to find that our second class coach only had open rows of wooden seats with no padding. Usually the coaches had six-passenger closed compartments just like first class. That is why we had seen no need to travel first class. Fortunately we were able to switch to such a coach when we got to Bologna a couple of hours later. The train also stopped at Florence and Arezzo. As was common then, not all the cars on the train were going to Rome. Cars were separated from or added to the train at each major stop. In Bologna, we moved to a car going to Rome, so we did not have to change again. We had packed a lunch and ate that after we left Bologna.

The trip took about six hours and we got off the train at Rome’s Termini Station around 3:30 p.m. We took a taxi to the pensione where we were staying. It was just a few short blocks from the Station. We unpacked and decided to rest in our rooms before going out for dinner.

Having rooms close to the Station had two major advantages. The Station was the transportation hub of the city. Almost all the bus and streetcar routes started and ended there, and since Rome’s Metro (subway) opened in 1955, the center of its only line was there. The other advantage is that the Station had two excellent restaurants that were less expensive than similar restaurants elsewhere.

We left our pensione about 5:00 p.m. and spent an hour exploring the area before heading for the Station for dinner. Eating traditional Italian three-course dinner (pasta, meat with vegetable, then dessert) took at least an hour, so it was nearing twilight by the time we finished. We were all glad to get to bed early.

 

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