Rome Day 3

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Walked to a bus stop to kick off the day as there were things we wanted to see today. The Vatican was first up and we thought we may have beaten the main crowds and queues. Turns out we had but they were still a mile long. We could have jumped the queue for a substantial amount of Euro’s but decided that there were other “must do’s” so off we went again. Yes I know some of you will be thinking we are crazy for not seeing inside the Sistine Chapel or St Peter’s but 2-3 hours in 32-35 degree high humidity heat just doesn’t do it for me.

Back on the bus until the stop near the Spanish Steps and was pointed in the general direction by the bus driver…””down there, turn right” and yes you guessed it for “10 minutes”. On the way there we stopped off at a Café for lunch…just plain old roast chicken, first chook of the trip and it was great. I spied broccoli!!! Yay! but very disappointed as it was frozen and awful taste so left it…ah well we are in Italy! And when in Rome…(knew I’d use that somewhere!)

The area around and leading up to the Spanish Steps are surrounded by beautiful stores of most upmarket labels that you would care to name. We didn’t climb them as there seemed to be every tourist in Rome on them at that time, but did take some footage and pics.

From there onto the Trevi Fountain and if all the tourists weren’t at the Steps then the rest were here. Still a beautiful place despite all the people and the water lovely and cool. Now we had noticed piccolo (small) water fountains all over Rome and people stopping to drink at them, fill up their water bottles, etc. We stayed well clear as god knows where it comes from! We have since found out no need for concern as the water comes straight from the aqua ducts that were built thousands of years ago that are still in use today…or so the story goes… I had noticed that the cold water in our hotel room is icy cold just like the water at these public (we’d call them bubblers) fountains. The water is constantly flowing and is crystal clear, anyway again…when in Rome…

We then wandered the streets to the Pantheon and this monument is amazing. I know I keep describing everything I see in the same way…but they are all amazing!!! We listened to an informative narration of its history and it still blows my mind at the skill of over 2,000 years ago for these buildings that are still standing in (mostly) their glory.

Still on foot we wanted to find Villa Borghese and thought we had but turned out we didn’t. We made it to the general vicinity but the heat of the day put paid to anymore wandering and we took a break in the surrounding park and gardens. The heat seems to zap my energy fairly quickly and by this time it was around 4pm so after a while made a start for the hotel.

Dinner was at the local place that was recommended on our first night. We had a long lazy dinner outside in the (now) cool air with a lovely soft breeze. Our waiter was a lot of fun from the moment we sat down so we had a good laugh too. Our bill was accompanied by his name and phone number written on the back and of course a wink and “call me, I finish in an hour!”

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