Rome, Day 1...Fountains, Obelisks, and Food, oh my

Amici Buona Sera ~

Well...our 2nd day in Rome is complete and quite a fun time we have had.  I have sorted out the internet 'issues' and so will not be so rushed in my posting this time around.  There are all these new rules about how long one can be on the internet and that you have to be 'registered' to be on the internet, etc. (due to security concerns), so I have permission to be on the internet for 24 hours if I'd like this time.  Don't think it will take me that long to post, but at least I don't have to rush.

Arrived in Rome at about 10p on Wednesday, October 5th, after a very uneventful flight from London.  Waited about 30-45 minutes for our luggage to show-up (we are so grateful it arrived!!) and then hopped in a speedily-driven cab to our lovely hotel for this leg, the Rome Cavalieri Hilton.  It is not in the city-center, but atop a hill and takes about 20 minutes to get to the city from here.  It's nice to be away from the city-center at night and the beds are super-comfy, so that's fantastic as well.

Here's my cozy bed...with lovely linen sheets and super-large, cozy pillows!!  Makes for such a nice place to sleep after walking all day long.  :)




The hotel offers a free shuttle to/fro the city-center, beginning at 8a and ending at 8p every day.  A super-fantastic way to get back/forth without a lot of difficulty and they drop us at Piazza Barberini, which is fairly close to everything we have wanted to see. 

This is Bernini's famous Fontan del Tritone, which is located in the center of the Piazza Barberini.  This is one of MANY fountains that we have seen so far.  Fountains are big here.





Leah took the map and we began walking along, very happily enjoying the most beautiful weather with magnificently blue skies.  We made our way 2-4 blocks to the top of the Spanish Steps.  There is a French church atop the Steps that was quite lovely, as are many of the many churches, but we were blown away by the variability of the marble colors, patterns and uniqueness, as well as the beauty of the mosaics telling the various stories of the Bible and/or history of the church.

Trinita dei Monti

We then traveled down the Steps, noticing the variability in their heights and dodging the vendors selling these 'blob-like' toys that are thrown onto a hard surface, make a squeaking noise, and then spread out and slowly return to shape.  These are incredibly offered at every turn, but so far we have resisted the temptation to purchase.  We hung-out on the steps for a bit to people-watch and this is what we saw...

Piazza di Spagna

Apparently we didn't get the memo to wear our red baseball caps like this group.  ;)

I think there was a little Lemoni Granita for me and Lemoni Gelatto for Leah as we were strolling along to the Trevi Fountain.  This was super-cool...just beautiful...and such a fun place to hang-out and people-watch.  We sat upon the steps and took in the enormity and beauty of this gorgeous and fascinating fountain.  We both threw a coin into the fountain over our shoulder, making a wish.  Here's hopin' it comes true!!  We then passed by it later in the evening on our way back to the shuttle bus, so here are photos from day and night.  You decide which is more beautiful!?!?

Upper part of Fontan di Trevi during the mid-day

The water-feature of the Fontan di Trevi

Night-time at the Fontan di Trevi (my fave!!)

More strolling along with Leah guiding us along and then we found the Pantheon, which was mind-blowing.  Clearly of another time and world, it is amazing how preserved and solid it still is and how magnificent it looks amid the modern-ness of Rome.  I was so struck by the man-power, engineering, and ingenuity it had to have taken to construct something of this scale and magnitude.  It was pretty amazing to see.  The entire structure was also amazing and it is so fantastic to have Leah with me to explain how the architecture and design of the dome and opening at the top serves a purpose to providing certain types and magnitudes of light throughout the Basilica space.  Spectacular!!

Pantheon + Basilica...just a few years old!!

The inner dome of the Basilica...the largest, unreinforced dome EVER built...in 27 AD!!!

At the Pantheon.

Lunchtime was overdue, so we found a little cafe and with a little Pellagrino, here's what we had...

Spaghetti Carbonara for me

Shaved portobello mushroom salad + lemon in a parmesan basket for Leah

So yummy...time to walk again and this time we were venturing off to the Piazza Navona.  Such a lovely Piazza and we arrived around 4p or so, just as the sun was getting lower in the sky, so the whole area was just beautiful, breezy and filled with art, music and people.  We admired the various fountains and read their stories (one at the north end and one at the south, as well as the main fountain in the center) and then Leah's guide book said for us to go and see 'a small church' ~ the Chiesa di Sant'Agnese in Agone, which is located on the west side of the Piazza Navona.  We were both curious as to what constitutes a 'small' church here in Rome, so we checked it out.  It was just lovely, but didn't seem to small to us...at the time.  (more to come during my next post on our trip to St. Peter's Basilica on Day 2)

We sat and took in all of the beauty, mosaics, and charm of the 'small' church and then made our way back into the Piazza.  There was a unicyclist doing a 'show,' folks eating gelato and a small band of 3 musicians playing some lovely music for all in the square.  Well, as all of you know, I cannot resist a little kiddo and Leah and I both noticed this super-cute little boy (likely about 2 years old), standing with his grandfather and their bike, eating a saltine and rockin' his hips side to side, swaying to the music!!  Too cute for words...

So cute...he's got rhythm too!!

What a lovely place to hang-out...I think we'll find our way back shortly!!  ;)

More strolling along to the Castel Sant'Angelo, which initially used to be a mausoleum for emperor Hadrian and then in the 6th century became the 'hiding place' for the pope during not-so-good times (aka 'papal fortress').  It's pretty spectacular with a really cool ramp that runs in a spiral inside the Castel, but is very steep and kind of fun to climb.  Once you climb the ramp, there are about 45-50 stairs (short in height, but long in depth) to climb at a pretty good slope.  The climb was well worth it, as the views from the 'mid-section' of the castle are quite amazing.  There was another narrow, winding staircase that took us to the top of the castle and wow...was my reaction when I arrived!!

View from the 'mid-point'...of St. Peter's Basilica

The view from the top of Castel Sant'Angelo...just a few churches in the picture.

We found our way down and decided it was time to sit, relax and enjoy the beautiful evening.  Made our way back to the Piazza Navona (I said we'd be back) and sat down and had some dinner with some vino too.  Such a lovely end to a great 1st day in Rome!!!

A little Pellagrino + a little vino!!

So pretty and yummy!!  Leah enjoyed this a lot (sans olives, which I enjoyed).

The main course.

Our evening was capped-off with a yummy pistachio + strawberry gelato + a touch of cherry juice given to us by our waiter.  Of course, it looked so yummy I forgot to photograph it before it was done!  Ooops...more to come, I am sure.

Almost forgot the mention of the obelisks...they are everywhere...in every Piazza...all over.  I think we have seen roughly 10-12, but perhaps more.  Pictures are plentiful and each one is different, but you see 1 you kind of get the point.  ;)

Well...that's just day 1 and it's time for me to sleep!  I will try to post tomorrow night and get caught-up a little bit more.  We have another day in Rome and then travel to Vercelli on Sunday!!

Sleep well...and yes, I am loving being in Italy!!

xoxo
Stacy