Thunderstorms were forecast for the afternoon so I decided to make sure I was back at the bnb shortly after lunch. A Sunday morning stroll in the rabbit warren of streets in the area where I did the walking tour sounded like a good idea.
I took the usual tram into Termini and then the Metro to Barberini.
But first, the bnb where I am staying. My balcony is on the top right and I have the left bit. I've enjoyed staying here. There is a small elevator.
Marianne will be disappointed that everybody is not dressed as elegantly as they would have been forty years ago.
Triton Fountain by Bernini in the Piazza Barberini.
Not exactly a huge crowd of tourists.
A little different at the Trevi Fountain.
There was quite a horde and this was early in the day.
It is quite huge but with all the tourists and touts, it just feels crowded. I did not throw any coins.
I loved the colour and shapes of the shutters and preferred this to the fountains.
I purposely tried to keep to the narrow lanes where there were no cars. It was really pleasant to saunter along. Later in the morning there were more people which spoiled the ambiance a little.
This building, the Tempio di Adriano was interesting.
Another example of how the pavement level used to be much lower.
I have been using an app called Ulmon Rome to find my way around. It's very helpful in letting you know what you are looking at. And yes, Marianne, you need a gadget with a GPS to use it. Just download the city you are going to visit and then you can use the map offline with no internet connection.
Yes, it appears to be made entirely out of wood. I can only imagine the hours and hours that went into constructing this.
These former foundations or walls were down a side lane with nobody interested in them at all.
If you look closely at the right hand door you will see a beggar. Every church seemed to have one skulking at the entrance. perhaps they earn more on Sunday.
Suddenly I came upon the Parthenon. I strolled by but decided to take a look at the building from the rear. Meanwhile a tour group on bicycles rolled by.
The yellow flags caught my eye.
My friend Geoff from Brisbane was in Rome a few weeks ago. He has given me some recommendations of places to see including this book store.
It is a very large bookstore and while most of the books are in Italian, there is a fair sized English section. They also sell CDs and records.
And they have a cafe where you can buy an espresso for 1 euro. I had forgotten how intense espresso can be and really enjoyed it.
Across the street from the bookstore is the Area Sacra dell'Argentina. The article is quite interesting. I did not know that the Latin name for Strasbourg was Argentina.
Julius Caesar was assassinated somewhere near here in the Theater of Pompey.
Conservation work is in progress. If I get a chance I might come back and have a more detailed look at this place.
It's fun wandering about just looking at the buildings.
I decided to walk up the Via del Corso to the Piazza del Popolo that I started at back on Tuesday.
This is San Marcello al Corso.
Somewhat ornate.
The two wings of the Galleria Alberto Sordi. I suspected there would not be too much of interest in the spiffy shops here.
This was familiar from the tour back on Tuesday.
Lots of gilt but the columns were interesting.
The stone next to the marble.
A service started up with a small choir so I left. The tune sounded more English than Italian.
The interior of Gesu e Maria. From the outside the church did not look all that impressive.
Inside Santa Maria dei Miracoli at the Piazza di Popolo.
One of the paintings.
I have been amused how Smart Car owners position their cars. There are lots of them running about. In addition there are lots of minis including the larger Coachman model that we have.
I headed back south along the Via di Repetta.
Another interesting shade of red.
I suspect these book seller cabins would open later in the day.
The Palazzo Borghese. One can only imagine the power this family had.
Parliament. You can't see them but there was a significant military presence.
Since I enjoyed lunch so much in Orvieto I have now decided to have my main meal of the day at lunch time. Nine pm at night is just too late for me, particularly as I have to eat by myself. So at noon I wandered into this restaurant which I picked so that I did not have to sit outside in the increasing chill of a rain threatening day. The young waitresses were friendly and efficient.
Bruschetta and the tomatoes and spices were delicious.
Ravioli filled with a cheesy mix with a mustard cheesy sauce. Delicious and filling.
I had thought about continuing with a gelato as I walked back to the Metro to return to the bnb but I was too full. Sometimes when I travel I don't need to eat as much food as usual and I have a bag of apples back at the bnb along with some other nibbles.
After a long nap and some work on this blog I headed back to Fattori about 5:30 pm. It was crowded as usual even though the temperatures had dropped and I needed my fleece jacket.
This time there was an A++, the chocolate. The best chocolate ice-cream I have ever had in my life. Just incredible with the darkest dark chocolate flavour. The other two flavours were pretty good but nothing compared to the chocolate.
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