We arrived in Rome and hit the ground running. We settled into our apartment and we decided to head towards the Coliseum. The foundations were laid in 72AD and took 8 years to build, so it’s not in bad shape for a 2000 odd year building. Rubble from earthquakes over the years has built many churches and palaces across Rome. During its first hundred years estimates suggest that over 500,000 people and over one million animals came to their gruesome deaths within its walls.

We passed by the Roman Forum, the political, religious and commercial centre of Ancient Rome. According to Greg……another bloody pile of rocks….so we decided not to pay for entry, just passed by. The monument to Victor Emmanuel 11 was built between 1885 and 1935 and honors Victor who was the first king of a unified Italy. It is rather impressive.

We decided to stay down town and have pizza for dinner. The diavola and the rustica ( spud and bacon) pizza were our choices and we made the right one! Both were delicious.😋

Next morning we set off with our running shoes on as we knew we were going to walk some kms! On one intersection we came across the Quattro Fontane ( 4 fountains) with 4 different sculptures on each corner.

Then we came across the first Instagram location of the day.🤦‍♀️ The Spanish Steps is a winding staircase of 138 steps and these days you are supposedly not allowed to sit on the steps or you will be fined. There were quite a lot of people around and we knew we had hit the tourist area! The fountain at the base of the steps is the Fontana Della Barcaccia ( the Fountain of the Ugly Boat) Built in 1627 , it was inspired by a terrible flood that inundated Rome on Christmas Day in 1578.

We continually were passing churches everywhere and decided to pop into one or two, that number increased dramatically!😂 The Basilica of Sainte Augustine had a very plain facade but inside it was WOW! It dates back to 1756 and was the first Renaissance dome built in Rome. We will let the photos do the talking.

We then came across the Castel Sant Angelo built first as a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian, then a fortress, then a Papal residence, a prison and lastly an execution ground. A real multi purpose building.

We passed by the Pont Sant Angelo built by …of course….Hadrian and now features 10 Angel sculptures. The bridge crosses the Tiber River.

We then tried to make our way to the Vatican but did not know that the Pope was holding his Wednesday prayers. There were thousands and thousands of people and we could not get any near close. So instead we decided to do lunch, what else was there to do, and wait hopefully for the crowds to disappear.🤞

Finally at 1 pm, the Polizia allowed all of us plebs to enter. You all know about about St Peters Basilica and the Vatican so we won’t bore you with any info, we will just add a few photos!

Starting to make our way back home, we came across the Temple of Hadrian, with 11 white marble columns from the 2nd century, now incorporated into a 19th century building.

Then it was another instagram frenzy at the Trevi Fountain. We refused to pay the 2 euros to get close but still managed to get a couple of good pics!

We were lucky, the weather was great, we saw a lot of things and had a great day. It wasn’t a bad effort, 15 kms and over 22,500 steps! We rewarded ourselves with a couple of glasses of vino on our terrace before Greg cooked up another great pasta dinner.

Next day we headed out again and first stop was the Church of Sant Ignatius of Loyola, a 17th Century Baroque Church with amazing frescoes. It was just the usual, nothing from the outside but inside.Wow.

Next stop was the Pantheon which holds the tomb of Raphael and has the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world, a staggering achievement seeing it was completed around 126AD by Emperor Hadrian. It was 7 euros to enter or 7 Euros to sit outside, admire the building and enjoy an Aperol spritz….guess which option we chose!😂

Another church was next, the Basilica of Sant Eustache, named after a 2nd century Roman general, again a stunning interior….getting bored yet of church interiors????

Then we arrived at Piazza Navona. The Fountain of Four Rivers, commissioned by the Pope in 1644, symbolizes major rivers from 4 continents, the Nile, Danube, Ganges, and the Rio de La Plata ( the Americas). The poor old Murray River didn’t get a mention. 😂 The Sant Agnese in Agone is a 17th century Baroque masterpiece.

We did lunch at a small trattoria in Campo dei Fiori. We had pizzottella and a burrata and tomato salad.Yum! Wandering along we came across the Largo Di Torre Argentina, a pile of rocks as Greg would say!

Then we came to the highest of Romes 7 hills to hopefully get a view, however there was none! In the Piazza, The Palazzo del Quirinale is the official residence of the President and has previously housed 30 Popes and 4 Kings of Italy. The Palazzo Della Consulta is the Constitutional court of the Italian Republic.

Back home for a rest before heading out again for dinner. The Cacio e Pepe and rigatoni a Matriciana were delicious.

We had 2 days of walking with crowds so decided we wanted to head somewhere that was a bit quieter, and not so touristy. We headed to the Quarter Coppede .The district was built between 1915 and 1930, so not long ago by Roman standards. It was built as a celebration of artistic styles from Ancient Rome to Gothic to Medieval. The district consists of 26 small palaces and 17 gorgeous houses with the major ones centered around the Piazza Mincio. The main entrance to the Piazza is through the rather stately Arch of the Palaces.

The Villa of the Fairies supposedly pays homage to the cities of Rome, Florence and Venice. Although it was hard for us to depict that it was a rather incredible building.

The Palace of the Spiders pays homage to the industriousness of the spider. Note there is a spider on the front central stain glass window, but the fountain hides it.🤦‍♀️

The Fountain of the Frogs is so named, of course, for the 12 frogs that adorn it. It was erected in 1924. Its claim to fame is that in 1965 the Beatles had a gig in a nearby nightclub and after the concert they jumped into the fountain to cool off. Fact or fiction….who knows!😉

After admiring the buildings, we headed to Villa Torlonia and its gardens. The Casina Della Civette or the House of the Owls was originally built in 1840 by Prince Torlonia and at the time it was a small Swiss like hut but by 1908 the Princes grandson began a radical transformation adding porticoes, turrets, and stained glass windows. It was quite an unusual site.

We passed under Porta Pia, one of the Northern Gates of old Rome. It was designed by Michelangelo but was not finished u til 1565, after his death.

Wandering around, in every tourist shop we have seen calendars for 2027 with rather good looking young priests, some holding kittens and puppies. Call us cynical, but we are not convinced they are priests, they are way too good looking. We think they are male models dressed as priests to help with sales!😂

This morning we visited our last Church, thank goodness you are probably saying, and we left the best till last, The Basilica Di Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the 7 Pilgrim Churches of Rome.

The mosaics in the church were amazing. Some dating from the 5th century and some from the 13th century.

We spent quite a lot time just standing and marveling at such a unique site. It was truly amazing, and the photos do not do it justice.

We caught up with our Canadian friends today, Don and Lisa, who happened to be in Rome as well. Had a great lunch with them, our last pasta dishes. The gnocchi with ox tail ragu and the spinach and ricotta ravioli with butter and sage sauce were delicious. Greg however has still not found a decent pannacotta!

So that’s it from Rome. Tomorrow we are on a flight home. We have had a great time, seen some great places, eaten a lot of great food and of course drunk some great wines. Time to go home, rest and diet.😂 So arrivederci Roma.

Look forward to catching up with everyone.

Ciao ciao

Love Greg and Rhonda