Some Rome Summer Sun & Sights

July 3 (Tuesday)

We arrived in Rome around 9 a.m. after catching a nonstop train from the airport to Termini Roma. From there we caught a taxi to our hotel, 47 Hotel (aka Fortyseven Hotel). As it was still early, we dropped our luggage at the hotel reception and left for a walking tour.

.. metamorphosis of Daphne from that of a nymph to a laurel tree.

We are virtually next to the Roman Forum so we walked there ( the place was swarming with tourists, including us) then paid an entrance fee of 11 euros for entrance to Palantine Hill. We spent a couple of hours exploring and we plan to return before the end of the trip to take some panaramic pictures.

We then headed north of our hotel into Campo di Fiore area- which includes the Jewish Ghetto ( not a ghetto as we know it) and had lunch at Trattoria Giggetto al Portico d' Ottovia which had been recommended by the concierge at our hotel. I chose one of their specialties, Fried Zucchini Flower stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies. It was unusual and very good. I also had the Prociutto and Melone which was very good especially since it was such a hot day. We walked back to the hotel along the shady and pleasant Plane tree lined bank of the Tiber River. The slight breeze offered a cool respite from the heat.

By around 2 p.m., we were able to check in to our room, #305, a very spacious corner room with a view of the Piazza della Bocca della Verita. The piazza has the Temples of the Forum Boarium ( Temple of Hercules & Temple of Portunus) and the Chiesa (Church) Santa Maria in Cosmedin.

Around 6:30, we headed to the roof of the hotel to the Roof Bar for a drink and to enjoy the beautiful Roman view. We could catch a glimpse of the Tiber River behind the piazza as we lounged in the very comfortable furniture there. We asked for a suggestion for a good close place to eat and was recommended to the Ristorante Osteria del Campidoglio. It was literally less than a five minute walk from the hotel. A nice corner table had been reserved for us outside next to a flowing Roman fountain. The food was very good but our experience was marred for about twenty minutes while the owners had a "water problem downstairs" fixed- a truck burning diesel with fumes wafting over the tables. Several people left. We stayed... and they comped our wine.......

July 4 (Wednesday)

We started the day early with the hotel buffet breakfast when they opened at seven. We each had three cappacinos to get started.

We caught a taxi to the Borghese Museum as we had two tickets for the 9-11 a.m. time slot. The Borghese limits how many tickets are sold and then limits the time to two hours and this works very well to make the museum uncrowded and very enjoyable. The artwork is incredible and I'm glad we were able to go on this trip as I had missed out on tickets the last time we were in Rome in June 2006.

As I purchased an audioguide for 5 euros each, the seller informed me that I could buy a personal tour guide for the same cost and the group would only have 10-15 people. It really was a great deal and our tour guide was lovely and we learned about the highlights there. The tour lasts 80 minutes and we then had the balance of time to explore by ourselves.

My favorites were two magnificent pieces by Bernini: Apollo and Daphne, which is an incredible showing of metamorphosis of Daphne from that of a nymph to a laurel tree. The sense of motion and the translucence of the "flowing" cloth carved out of marble is amazing to view.

After we left the museum, we walked through the vast Borghese Gardens, viewing the "secret garden", the temple of Diann and the beautiful Ionic temple built on an island in the lake there. Gary took some beautiful pictures there. we then walked down the hill to Piazza di Spagna and on a little further to Piazza Mignanelli for some lunch.

Afterwards we decided to purchase tickets on one of the open top double buses that tour Rome with on/off privileges. We chose the 48 hour tickets (which only cost an additional 4 euros for the second day). We rode until we arrived at the Isola Tiberina stop, just a block from the 47 Hotel.

We had reservations at 8:30 at Le Cave di S. Ignazio - da Sabatino, the wonderful restaurant behind the Pantheon where we ate last year. ( http://realtravel.com/rome-reviews-c1740984.html#comments ) The food was as great as I remembered and this time we tried different dishes, although I did order the tiramisu again. It's the very best, very light but very creamy. How do they do it? I was impressed again with the family that runs this restaurant and how they are rewarded with a large local clientele. Afterwards we walked back to the hotel passing the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. It's amazing just how crowded the Trevi is at almost midnight!!!!

July 5 (Thursday)

With a later start this morning, our goal was to go on Battelli di Roma River Tiber cruise scheduled at 11 a.m. so we caught the on/off bus and got off at St Peter's Square and walked over to the dock by Castel San Angelo. The cruise took a little over a hour and covered from Ponte San Angelo south to Tiberina Island and then north to the Risorgimento Bridge and back again to the dock. We were able to get several nice pictures.

After docking, we walked along the river up to Ponte Umberto 1 to Piazza Navona, a large piazza lined with outdoor restaurants on all sides. It also features three large fountains, the largest one by Bernini is Fontana dei Fiume. It represents the four great rivers of the Ganges, the Danube, the Nile and the Plate. Unfortunately, it is undergoing a restoration work right now and most of it is covered with scaffolding though there are several areas where you can see the four giants ( this was to be completed by May 2007... :-(

We grabbed a quick lunch at Enotecca La Bevitoria. Many vendors fill the piazza with artwork and the mobile sellers of fake purses, watches and sun glasses are still here. When we were here a year ago, we were amused watching the young men constantly having to pick up their wares and moving whenever they saw the police. Not much has changed!

We continued walking south (We have walked miles each day! Good exercise but my feet throb by day's end) to the Capitoline Museums on the northern edge of the Forum. There is a special exhibit here that I had read about on ancient perfumery which runs through November 2007 and which turned out to be very educational. Also on display is a large bronze horse which has been restored over the last several decades. It is believed to be one of the oldest surviving bronze equestrian statues from ancient Greek times. Restoration costs were around $680,000.00!!!

Reservations were set for 8:30 at a recommended restaurant in Trastavere, just on the other side of the river from the hotel. Ristorante Checo er Carettiere is located at 10 via Bendetta. We walked across the bridge and north along the Tiber River, passing Tiberina Island, until we found the piazza but then missed the restaurant and found it only by reversing our direction. The large neon sign in front was confusing as only "ettiere" was lit. As there were no outside tables on the sidewalk, we went inside past some wonderful looking food in a display case, through several dining rooms and onto a back patio buzzing with activity. We arrived at about 8:45, had chiante, appetizers of zucchini flowers, fried artichokes & other Italian style vegetables, split a plate of knocchi. I had Involtini of beef (a wonderful stuffed roll) and Gary had Saltimboca. Then the meal was ended with fresh strawberries drizzled with fresh lemon juice (very light, a nice touch) and espresso. We walked back after 11p.m., past the Tiberina Island, which was now very busy with mostly young Italian locals....

July 6 (Friday)

After a slow start, we headed off to explore the sights within the block around our hotel. Just across the street is Piazza Bocca del Verita named for the giant face with an open mouth set in the wall at Chiesa (Church) Santa Maria in Cosmedin. Apparently, the story goes that if a person set his/her hand in the mouth and it closed upon the victim, it showed that that person was a liar. There was a line of people waiting to try it and have their picture taken, including me. We took pictures of the fountain and the old temples also. One of the temples has restoration taking place and is covered by scaffoling. We can see both of the temples from our room window.

From the church, we headed just behind to where Circus Maximus was originally located. It is now an empty area filled with weeds but full of history. We walked the length on the way to the Colosseum.

Then we walked down past the Colosseum to Capo d' Africa to look at a possible hotel for our trip here next year and wandered through the neighborhood. There were several fruit/vegetable sellers set up in the street. The fruit looked very inviting! We walked past the Colosseum again and the Forum down to the Piazza Venezia to catch the open top bus again. Our 48 hour tickets were to run out at 2:15 so we thought we ought to use them one more time. We rode to the Colosseum, Circus Maximus, Isola Tiberina, St Peters Square and then got off at the Castel San Angelo stop. We saw a nice sidewalk cafe so stopped to have some lunch (it was 2p.m.). After lunch, we walked to the river and then followed it and walked back to the hotel. It was a beautiful walk, shady with a slight breeze.

Tonight was the Lou Reed concert "Berlin", the original reason we came on this trip to Rome. The trip just has expanded since the first plans (happily!!!). We caught a taxi north to the Auditorium Parco della Musica and picked up our tickets. We were in the 14th row for an incredible concert, though as Lou presented the whole album "Berlin" as a story (which is quite a downer) it was really great. The New London Children's Choir (12 members) and five members of the London Mretopolitan Orchestra joined Lou and his band of about seven. After Berlin, the reprise consisted of three of his most popular songs including my favorite, Sweet Jane. By then we were out of our seats and down the aisle towards the front. What fun!!!

On our way back to catch a taxi we walked by Red Restaurant which seemed busy so we grabbed a table, some wine and some great food. We started dinner at 11:30p.m. and didn't finish until 1 a.m.!!! ( a record for us) Were back to the hotel by 1:30......

July 7 (Saturday)

As this is our last full day in Rome on this trip, we weren't sure what we should do as we've seen most of what we wanted to see over the last trips. We decided to retrace some steps we took earlier this week and get better pictures. We also took along our D&K guidebook as we hit the Palantine Hill once again for clarification of the sights. This area is amazing. The area where the emperors lived in luxury just overlooking Circus Maximus. After lots of pictures, including panoramas, we headed back to the Jewish Ghetto & returned to Trattatoria Giggetto al Portico d' Ottovia for lunch. I ordered stuffed fried zucchini flowers again (they are so good) and also tried the Jewish style fried artichokes and Caprese Salad. We ended our meal with Lemonicello... yum!

We decided to walk back over to Trastavere to have dinner at another restaurant recommended by the hotel concierge. We walked along the river towards the north and crossed the Tiber on the Sisto Bridge. Being a Saturday night, Trastavere was hopping! The streets were filled with people, most a lot younger than us, shopping drinking and chatting. We walked to Antica Pesa, a "romantic" restaurant with an inner courtyard covered with vines and flowers. The food was very good and I would recommend it to my friends and I would certainly return. It was a very nice way to end our trip to Rome this time......