Discovering More & More of Rome

"From the dome of St. Peter's one can see every notable object in Rome ...

a panorama that is varied, extensive, beautiful to the eye,

and more illustrious in history than any other in Europe."

Mark Twain

San Pietro, Città del Vaticano

We awoke to blue skies and perfect 70 degree temps.  Left the apartment after a quick Italian coffee, yogurt & fruit and headed back to St. Peter's Square where the security/entry line (at 7:50 am) was short and fast-moving.  (It gets impossibly long later in the day.). Bought tickets to take the elevator to the roof of the church and then climb the 320 narrow steps up to the dome and its magnificent view of the city.  On the way back down, stopped on the roof to view the enormous Christ & apostle statues up-close.

Toured the inside of St. Peter's Basilica on our own and saw Michelangelo's beautiful Pietà, Bernini's Baldichino, the tomb of JP II, and the countless amazing and enormous paintings-turned-mosaics.

No time to linger, however, since we had a 1km walk to a taxi stand and a ride to the northeast section of the city for our. 11 am English guided tour of the Galleria Borghese which houses the beautiful collection of 17th c. paintings (Caravaggio, Titian, Raphael, Rubens) and sculpture Bernini, Canova) collected by the Borghese family.  Our tour guide looked a bit disheveled (!) but was excellent; she taught us a great deal about the amazing Borghese collection and the beautiful gallery in which it is housed.

We picked up some tasty "take away" salads (maybe it was chicken salad, maybe it was liver salad ... we weren't quite sure!) and paninis at the Borghese "bar" as well as Paula's first VERY strong, black
and thick espresso. We ate it all on a park bench in the Borghese Gardens, watching young women
practice yoga and listening to a nearby accordionist.  Delightful!

Walked through the Borghese Gardens (Rome's largest and most beautiful park), past fountains and statues, the aquaorologico (water clock) and children chasing huge soap bubbles across the lovely Pincio Overlook.  Then down we went to the huge, traffic-free Piazza del Popolo with its imposing Egyptian obelisk & lion

fountains .. along the beautiful jasmine-covered Via Magrutta, and up (& down) the Spanish Steps.  Renovation of the facade of the French Church as the top of the Spanish Steps has finally been completed and it looks just beautiful.  (We've been fortunate this trip not to see much scaffolding covering major monuments!)

Then down, down, down to the Spanish Steps Metro stop where we bought one-way tickets to the Colosseum which we circumnavigated, admired, photographed.  Paula and Mary are terrific travelers ... interested in doing/seeing as much as possible and appreciating everything they encounter!  Mary
suggested since the Colosseum was not that far from St. Peter in Chains that we seek out that church  before heading home.  With her help (& ever-present map), we found it tucked away on a quiet street and got to see Michelangelo's most impressive statue of Moses.

Vino e Olio as seen
from our apartment window!

It will not come as any surprise to read that our feet were, at this point, beginning to tire - we'd walked another 9 miles today!  We headed back "home" to Via dei Banchi Vecchie by taxi.  (The Roman taxi drivers have provided quite a few "thrilling" rides, especially to me who somehow always ended up in the front seat.)  For our last Happy Hour in Rome, we decided to join the "Happy People" at Vino & Olio for some crisp white wine (Paula's been quite diligent keeping a wine diary for her daughter-in-law Susannah!) and a platter of tasty Italian meats and cheeses.  Our kind waiter explained that we were to eat the cheeses in the order on which they appeared on the platter!

Back to the apartment to relax for a bit ... then a quick walk around the corner to Trattoria da Luigi for our 2 entree / 3 plate dinner:  Pasta Carbonara and Eggplant Parmesan ... both delish!  End of another terrific day in Rome ... tomorrow we're heading to Tuscany and our lovely restored farmhouse at Chiarentana!