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Slept in until 9am which I needed as I am still suffering from this damn head cold. The morning was spent enjoying the apartment and to catch up on this blog. I just never found the time to do it when I was visiting people and once you get behind it takes quite an effort to catch up.
I had breakfast of cereal and yoghurt with a nice apricot juice. I didn't venture out until well after midday and my first stop was the Colosseum (again!) but this time there were so many people around! From here I walked to the Roman Forum and explored around this area. So amazing. I have memories of both the Colosseum and the Roman Forum from my time on Contiki - a zillion years ago. I can clearly remember the experience I shared with Daniel, Kylie, Kellie, Vic and all our friends on the trip.
From here I walked to the Trevi Fountain which on a 33 degree day was a welcome relief! After fighting the crowds I made my way to the each of the fountain and got splashed on which I was very happy about! After a couple of selfie shots
I asked an older gentleman (who looked honest but I also thought I could chase if he ran off with my phone!) to take a couple of shots with me in them. I then made my way to a nearby gelateria for a cooling gelato!
I then walked to the Pantheon and as I got closer, I could hear the most amazing music wafting the alleyway, drawing me closer to the Pantheon. There was a guy playing an instrument that was kind of like a violin (but not) and he played so beautifully. I watched him for a while and then wandered into the Pantheon - which was free to enter and so, so cool inside! As you walk in, there is a sign saying "silence" and everyone starts out quiet but then the noise levels start to rise. Eventually a man says 'silencio' over the speaker and everyone goes quiet, for a little while....... people are hopeless!!!
From here I walked to the Piazza Novana and enjoyed seeing this place again. I then decided to head to the river, as I wanted to see it and also thought it was kind of on the way back to
my hotel. It wasn't! But it was nice to walk along the river a bit before I then retraced my steps somewhat through the old town and gradually made my way back to my apartment. All this sightseeing and walking in the heat took its toll. I had planned to meet my cousin Ariane and her daughter Chloe at 6:30 but didn't get back to the apartment until just before 6. I sent her a message saying I would be a bit late as I needed to cool down before heading out again. We agreed to meet a bit later.
I wandered down to the Colosseum around 6:45 and there were still many people around. Eventually spotted Ariane & Chloe and it was so lovely to see them! We spent some time catching up whilst taking in the amazing view of the Colosseum. After a short walk through the Roman Forum, where we hit a dead end, we decided to head for something to eat. We found a nice little place not far from my apartment that gave us a good view of the Colosseum and the first thing we did was order 2 Aperol Spritz - and a
coke for Chloe. We had caprese salad to share, then Ariane had this fabulous dish of fish, Chloe had the Caesar salad and I had spaghetti amatricana. I found the pasta very filling so Chloe and I swapped half way through. We had a really lovely night, catching up with each other over a drink or 2.
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