Day 18 - Friday 29 September - Rome to Malta

We had an afternoon flight to Malta so had a leisurely morning and finished packing before checking out at 10am. Our plan - walk to Colosseo Metro station and catch the train to Termini train station where we would catch the Leonardo Express train to the airport. We had plenty of time so we walked around the Roman ruins we saw every day from our windows so we could read the sign that said what they once were. We discovered that each day we been looking at and passing the Gladiators Training Academy which was connected to the Colosseum by tunnels to get the gladiators there. There were training rooms,  change rooms and an oval. Only part of the oval's bricked wall ruins can be seen, the rest appears to be under the block of buildings that includes our apartment. How about that! So we had an easy downhill walk to the Metro station but dreading the stairs we knew were coming to get down to the trains. Well, wouldn't you know it, there was a Metro strike and the station was all closed up! John had seen a sign came up on a tv screen in one of the trains about a strike but we never saw any other details and didn't know when that was to be. So change of plans. We trudged up the hill this time to the taxi stand just around the corner from our apartment block, hopped in a taxi that was waiting and got to Termini without any trouble. We bought our tickets and got on the Leonardo Express. Because it's an express to the airport it has large luggage racks in each section of each carriage, so it was easy to stow our suitcases. Brilliant! In 32 minutes we were there.  Much earlier than we thought we'd get there so we bought a panino alla caprese for lunch and watched the world of travellers go by. Finally our flight came up on the board, we checked in and got rid of our suitcases, went through security and headed to the gate lounge where we continued to watch the world of travellers. The flight was only about an hour so we were in the country of Malta before we knew it. The taxi system is great - you queue inside at the taxi booth where you tell them where you want to go, pay the flat fare and they assign a taxi to you, you look for that taxi and off you go. We had precise directions from our AirBnb landlord to give the driver. We had to go to the top of St Ursola Street at the top of the stairs. We had let the housekeeper,  Kim, know we had left the airport so she could meet us at the apartment. We dragged the suitcases down some (a lot of) steps to get to the front door and we waited for her to get there. Inside the front door she opened the door to our apartment and we were faced with a steep flight of marble stairs. John carried one case up at a time because we both knew I just couldn't do it. We don't worry too much about stairs when booking because we always say that we only have to carry the cases up once and down once. Who knew my accident would throw a spanner in the works. Kim showed us around this be very well planned 2-room apartment with 15 foot marble (or perhaps white stone) ceilings. There's a large bedroom with a traditional Maltese enclosed balcony, large living area with sofa, table and chairs and this room also has one of the balconies. The kitchen is on a mezzanine floor, accessed by a steep set of stairs and the bathroom is under the kitchen and in a cupboard under the kitchen is the washing machine.  We mentioned to Kim that I needed to go to a hospital because I was still in so much pain from my fall and she suggested we catch a taxi to the Mater Dei Hospital emergency department. We walked to the top of our street and found some taxis, got in the first one and off we went. The driver informed us that it would cost €25! I suggested it looked closer than the airport on the map. He asked if we needed a receipt because if we didn't he'd make it €20. Dodgy McDodgy but you're trapped really like we were in Palermo with the taxi driver who slugged us with a ridiculous fare and the only option you have is to pay or who knows what they'd do. Anyway we got to the hospital eventually after he missed the turn off and we drove up lots of side streets to get there. I went to the reception desk and explained my woes. Unlike my hospital visit in Vienna  they took a photocopy of my passport here. We took a seat in the waiting area which seemed quite packed. Luckily we were able to sit away from the sick. There was one woman wailing in pain, fortunately she went in not long after we got there. We weren't waiting all that long before i was called to Triage Door 2. I saw what I think was a paramedic, from her uniform. She asked me some questions, gave me a slip of paper and said to follow the yellow line to the Minor Care Department. When we got there a burly security lady took my paper and gave it to a nurse in room 2. We were the only ones waiting so it wasn't long til the nurse called us in and a doctor asked me some questions about my accident, poked at but didn't look at my foot and said they would xray it. We had to follow the black line this time to xray and tell them I was there. Lots of people waiting here so we took a seat and we could hear another person wailing. It was a lady on a trolley waiting to go into xray. She was with a young Australian woman with a Monash University bag and a fellow with a diving organisation tshirt. It's awful to hear someone clearly in such pain. Anyway I got called quite quickly, they did the xrays and then we had to follow the yellow line back to the Minor Care Dept. Other people waiting and no guard to say we were back but the nurse saw me and we went in when someone came out. New doctor this time, an English chappy who did examine my foot and poked it and made it hurt more, checked the xrays and said nothing was broken. Thank goodness for that! He said I had severe soft tissue damage. Treatment - rest it and keep it up. Hahahaha funny. He said to get an elasticised ankle bandage from the chemist, wear supportive shoes and be careful on stairs. John asked him how long I could expect to be in pain and his reply was 'you're 10 days into it'. No mention of 10 days of how long. Anyway we thanked him and followed the yellow line back to where we came from and left. No mention of cost at all. We now needed a taxi and the security guard pointed to a black van that was dropping a woman off. The nice young man said he'dcheck with his office to see if he could take us because this was a 'executive' transport vehicle and we had not booked it. In the mean time a real taxi arrived with someone so we hopped in that one. It seems that €20 was the going rate.  He dropped us at the very top of St Ursola Street where we saw a restaurant Storie e Sapori. Tired, relieved and hungry we decided that would do very well. The head waiter was very exuberant and ordered all his staff around. We both had Risotto Marinara, which was super delicious and he talked us into getting a bottle of wine because it was better value than 2 glasses and we could take what we didn't drink home. It was a beautiful balmy evening so we ate, chatted and drank the whole bottle of white wine. After dinner we went for a wander down a few streets and pretty squares all lit up then made our way home for a rest after a very long day.