Best of Rome's Piazzas

The Pantheon.  Trevi Fountain. Spanish Steps. Piazza Navona. Campo de Fiori. Iconic monuments of Rome are loved by the world.  Come along as I string together these classic "must-see" places in Rome.

Spanish Steps

The historical centre of Rome has many public spaces that are not only beautiful but are historical treasures.  Wonder at some of the oldest buildings in Rome, marvel at some of Rome's best art, and shop in the coolest neighbourhoods in Rome~all for FREE!   You can easily walk the "famous-five" public piazzas linking them together to make an afternoon or evening stroll.

First on my "to see & to be" list is the Spanish Steps. We have never made it this far North in the center of Rome, and I was very excited to see this neighbourhood.  I love walking in Rome; around every little corner, there is something new to discover. It's still a medieval hodgepodge of windy streets, so unorganized and organic, compared to, say, Paris.  Passing through the neighbourhoods around the Spanish Steps, it becomes very affluent, and the shops were becoming more upscale as I approached the Steps.  Eventually, coming to the main shopping drag, all the Italian lux brands were represented. It was becoming apparent that we would not be stopping here for lunch, as it's WAY too expensive.

Trinitá dei Monti church

Then the gorgeous white staircase appeared before me, crowned by the gorgeous white Church: Trinità dei Monti. We found a spot on the "scala" (steps) and watched all the people soaking in the sun of Piazza di Spagna.  UPDATE: Since August of 2019, you are no longer allowed to sit on the Spanish Steps.  A fine of €400 will be handed out to you if you are caught. Built in 1725, these steps were the traditional spot for beautiful women to sit, hoping to get noticed by Rome's artists to become their muse.  Apparently, centuries of people's bottoms gracing this cultural relic mean they are in danger of being damaged.

Next on to the Pantheon.  I have been to see the Pantheon several times, but never when it has been open to check out the inside. This morning, along with my Roman friend Sara, I decided to take a peek inside this ancient monument. The origin of the Pantheon was a Pagan temple to the Roman Gods (Pan=many + Theos=God) and there were a lot of Gods!  When Christianity became the only legal religion, the building was re-purposed as a Christian church, which is how it survived intact to this day.  The ceiling is a work of art and engineering, using a Roman invented material: concrete. The oculus in the dome is open to the sky to let in the light (and rain) and reminds us that we are always connected to nature.  Victor Emmanuel, the king who unified Italy, is entombed here and the great Renaissance artist Raphael among others.

How Rome Rolls

Tummies are starting to grumble at this point; so we decide to grab lunch at a local restaurant.  TIP: If you can just go off the main drag for a block or two from any major attraction, you can find restaurants that are only open for lunch that caters to locals on their lunch  break=affordable and home cooking.

That's exactly what Sara and I did.  Great pizzas, salads and more stuffed "zucchine" flowers (yum) washed down with a half-litre of the restaurant's house white wine. Bello!  

   

With the tremendous lunch, we had the energy to move on to Piazza Navona. What a grand public square!  Back in ancient Roman times, this piazza was a stadium and known as "Circus Agonales" where people used to watch the "agones" or games. When the stadium was decommissioned, the square was used as a local market, which was then moved to Campo de' Fiori.

Fountain of Four Rivers

OK, crush alert:  I am totally in love with the Baroque period artist; Bernini.  I absolutely love his sculpture even more than Michelangelo.  It is his over the top Baroque essence; the emotion his sculptures convey.  This man was brilliant. Here in Piazza Navona are the famous Bernini statues: The Fountain of the Four Rivers surrounding the Egyptian Obelisk brought to Rome by Emperor Caracalla.  Fontana del Moro balances with Fontana of Neptune on either end of the piazza, created by artist della Porta. Bernini is the Baroque sculpture MASTER, and this piazza does not disappoint.  Pope Urban VIII said to Bernini: "YOU are made for Rome, and Rome for you." I believe that without a doubt.
If you want to see a movie about Rome and Bernini, watch Angels and Demons adapted from Dan Brown's book-it's pure travel porn.

Piazza Navona

While Bernini may have been made for Rome, I was made for gelato.  To eat it, that is. Yes, It was time for my daily gelato, and Frigidarium between Piazza Navona and the Pantheon is a great place to stop in!  The lemon gelato here was delicious!  TIP: the best gelato is not the mountains of super bright coloured stuff that's filled with artificial flavour and colour!

Look for subtitle colours of gelato, a soft, spreadable consistency, packed tightly into a metal tin with a lid, and is scooped out by flat paddles.   You can always tell a good gelato place by looking at the lemon gelato-it should be white instead of yellow.  And really, there is no such thing as "bad" gelato, in my opinion.  So don't worry about it too much. The only way to be a true connoisseur of gelato is to eat your own weight of it while you are in Italy.

  

Campo de' Fiori is Rome's colourful outdoor market.  Everything from fruits and vegetables to souvenirs is sold here, while butchers, bakers and cheesemakers shops surround the market stalls.  There are many historic buildings in the area that date back to the Rennaisance period of Rome.  Campo de' Fiori is my favourite area in Rome because of the bohemian vibe and its people-watching potential.  For more about Campo de' Fiori, check out my blog post: Rome's Outdoor Market.


 

Enoteca

 

 Aperitivo hour in Rome is 5:30-7:00pm (ish), grabbing a table in a piazza or heading out to an enoteca.  An enoteca is a wine bar where you can order wine by the glass, from opened bottles of wine; sometimes, they are special vintages.  If you like the glass of wine, you can buy the bottles to take home. My favourite enoteca in Campo de' Fiori is called Il Goccetto. HEAVEN.  Along with wine, they have marvellous cheeses and sausages to share around the table.  You can bring your teenager there, no problem.    The best part of this experience: we were the ONLY tourists there!

 

TIP: dinner hour in Italy starts at about 8:00 and continues to 10:00 or 11:00 at night.  That's why it's handy to have a larger lunch or a small snack at 5:00, so you can make it to the late dinner time.  I  conveniently grabbed some bottles of wine to go from the enoteca, to have on hand for the remainder of my time in Rome.

Rome at night has a different pace and atmosphere than during the daytime.  Check out my blog post: A Night Stroll Through Rome to all the same piazzas, including the famous Trevi Fountain.  The evening stroll in Italy before and after dinner is customary and called the passeggiata. There are far fewer tourist crowds at night, so you will be able to get close enough to the fountain to actually toss the customary coin in the waters.  Be careful, don't try to wade in the fountain like in La Dolce Vida, or you will get slapped with that same €400 fine for sitting on the Spanish Steps!

What are your favourite piazzas in Rome? Perhaps they are a bit off the beaten path? I would love to hear about them in the comments section below!

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Rome's Outdoor Market~Campo de' Fiori

Campo de' Fiori is one of Rome's most vibrant neighbourhoods in the historic centre.  A bustling market by day and rendezvous spot for an evening drink. This is the pulse-point of Rome... 

Campo de' Fiori Market

Campo de' Fiori, translated from Italian, literally means "Field of Flowers" because, until the middles ages, this spot remained a grassy field.  Located next to the floodplains of the Tiber River, the Christian pilgrims coming into Rome to see the Pope stopped at the open meadow, which served as a thriving marketplace.  The field was paved over in the mid-1400s to make a piazza or square, as Rome expanded to make room for Renaissance palaces.  The piazza is rustic and cobblestoned, yet there are elegant palaces such as Palazzo Farnese located steps away.

Via dei Cappellari

TIP: IT'S ALL ABOUT LOCATION, LOCATION LOCATION!  When choosing a place to stay in a new city, I try to find a neighbourhood that is in the oldest part of town but a few streets over from the main drag.  I like being in a historical center close to restaurants and bars, but far enough away that loud laughter from an outside patio doesn't keep me awake at night.

Campo de' Fiori is a Renaissance-style neighbourhood located between Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Tiber River.  With it's narrow, winding, cobblestoned streets, you can imagine being in Medieval Rome.  The roads are little alleyways of residential apartments over charming small independent businesses. This area has been a commercial zone for centuries; many of the shops have bee run by the same family for generations.

I often choose an Airbnb apartment on Via dei Cappellari when I come to Rome. Via dei Cappellari means "street of the hat makers" and is one of my favourite streets in the Campo de' Fiori neighbourhood because of the funky architecture and bohemian vibe of the locals.  Campo dei Fiori has a long history worth seeking out, including its sad share of public executions.  In the center of the piazza, you will notice an imposing statue of a hooded figure looking towards the Vatican.  This is Giordano Bruno, who was burned in 1600 on the very spot the statue sits on today.








Bruno was a philosopher, mathematician, poet and cosmological theorist.  He had views that built on Copernicus's theory that the Sun is the centre of our Solar System.  Bruno's idea was Pluralism; that each star in the sky was a Sun just like ours that it had its own set of planets revolving around them.  He believed that these distant planets may also have life, and the Universe was infinite and could have no centre.  Giordano Bruno was also a Dominican friar, and he should have known better;  the Pope did not like his theories.  Bruno was tried by the Vatican starting in 1593 and then burned at the stake seven years later in 1600.  He became a martyr to science and, at the base of his statue, reads, "A BRUNO-IL SECOLO DU LUI DIVINATO-QUI DOVE IL ROGO ARSE"  which means "To Bruno, From The Age He Predicted, Here Where The Fire Burned."

Trying to purchase food in Italian!

The statue of Bruno was erected in 1889, much to the protest of the Vatican. But the freethinking residents of Campo de Fiori rallied for the figure of Bruno to be erected. This all may sound like a grim memory of the past, but to me, it captures the rebellious and anti-authoritarian, free-spirit of the Campo neighbourhood.  As for the Campo de' Fiori market itself, it's a parade of seasonal bounty! For you foodies out there, the market has it all;  flowers, fruits, vegetables, spices, fresh pasta, oils, and a bunch of tourist trinkets all mingled in this lovely piazza.

It's lots of fun to try and buy your food at the market, speaking in Italian.  Luckily, I had my Roman friend, Sara, to guide me.  Sara lives in the Campo de' Fiori neighbourhood, so she shared her favourite veggie stands, salumeria, cheese shop, and bakery.  TIP: DONT TOUCH THE MERCHANDISE!  This is a big no-no in Italy.  Your vendor will either pick out your produce for you or hold up the produce for you to approve.  If you are feeling brave, and you would like to try before you buy your "go-to" phrase, is "Posso provare?" I can try?

Cheese Shop

This phrase also works well in the cheese shop, sausage shop, bakery or pastry shop.  Here you will want to say, "Posso provare una fetta"  A "fetta" is a slice, so you are asking to try a piece.  Most of the time, I forget my Italian words; if you just ask "Posso?"  and mime an eating motion, the vendors are happy to oblige!  The best cheese shop in the neighbourhood is the Formaggi di Gianna & Paola.  This is a fantastic cheese shop that also sells other milk products and some gourmet grocery items. The shop is located on the corner of Vicolo del Gallo and Via dei Cappellari as it spills out into the market.

Across the street from the cheese is my favourite bakery, hands down; Forno Campo De' Fiori.  Not only do they make excellent bread, cookies, breakfast rolls, but amazing pizza too!  The building that houses the Forno is the historical place where Vanozza de' Cattanei ran an inn while she was the mistress of Pope Alexander VI, who was a Borgia.  This bakery is where the infamous Lucrezia Borgia was born!  Lucrezia was the famous femme fatal who poisoned husbands and lovers while she ruled as the Governor of Spoleto.  Check out my blog post on Spoleto, Umbria.

Another staple of the neighbourhood is the Norcineria Viola butcher shop located at #43 Campo de'Fiori.  The "Purple Norcineria" has been selling their delicious Umbrian style sausages from this location since 1890.  A Norcineria is a butcher who makes pork products in the traditional Norcia, Umbria style, including wild boar sausage, fennel sausage, liver salami with orange peel and the most famous, round Umbrian sausage nicknamed Coglione di Mulo or "donkey's balls."

Mobile Treat

After shopping all those market stalls, cheese vendors, bakeries, pasta shops, pastry shops, butcher shops and wine shops of the Campo de' Fiori, its time for a treat! What would a day in Italy be without gelato!?!  
One of the best gelaterias in the Campo is FLOR.  Located at the far end of the square from the bakery  51 Piazza Campo de' Fiori.  Here you will find authentic artisanal gelato without the addition of artificial colours and flavours that you see in some gelaterias catering to tourists.





  





Of course, the tradition in Campo de' Fiori is once the market winds down, to enjoy an aperitivo or pre-dinner drink and snack overlooking the square.  You may pay more for your glass at a table on the piazza, but you are paying for scenery and the ambiance~ basically, you pay more for the real estate.  But if you some of my money-saving tips I provide in my blog posts (like buying products at the market to prepare in your Airbnb kitchen instead of eating out every meal), you can afford to splurge on a romantic glass of wine on one of Rome's most dynamic piazzas.  
Salute!

Do you have any favourite shops in Campo de' Fiori?  Or perhaps you have a special memory of the Campo; I would love to hear about it in the comments below!


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10 Tips For Beating JETLAG In Rome!

The first visit to Rome can be overwhelming, especially when you have just had a long-haul flight with one or more connections. Here's how to hit the ground running, without jetlag or burnout...

The Eternal City has so much to experience, with ruins, museums, churches, parks and galleries.  Rome is also a starting point for many travellers to explore other Italian regions such as  Tuscany, Umbria and Venice, leaving only a few days to experience the capital city.  Here are some tips & tricks I use to make the most of my time in Rome and to hit the ancient bricks running, so to speak.  Tip 1:  Try and get an overnight flight.  If you can, get an overnight flight from North America with no stop-overs.  If you must transfer planes, try to have the last leg to Rome be the longest flight of 5+ hours.  This way, you can sleep, even if you sleep in small, half-hour cat naps.  This will make give you some regularity and make you think you've had a whole night's sleep.  Take a sleeping pill if you have to, and don't worry too much about being groggy-excellent espresso awaits you in Italy.

Tip 2: Set your clock to the destination time as you board the plane.  This will help your brain get used to the new time before you even arrive, and resist the temptation to convert time backwards to your home time.  Nothing is worse than thinking, "Ugh, it's 4 am right now at home!"  It's a sure-fire way to become tired.

Breezing through Leonardo da Vinci (Fiumicino) airport terminal in Rome is surprisingly simple. What a vast improvement from my trip to Italy! In 2013 the new terminal renovation was not yet complete, so passengers had to deplane on the tarmac and take a bus to the main arrivals terminal.  Now the new international arrival terminal is finished, and the building is gorgeous, bright, and, most importantly: efficient.  I try to get flights that land in the early afternoon, so the Rome rush hour traffic is light.

Enjoying The Train

The Leonardo Express train connects Fiumicino Airport with Termini Station, the central train station in Rome.  The ride is 30 minutes, and trains depart every 15 mins to half-hour (depending on the time of day) from 6am - 11pm. Follow the signs in the airport to Stazione/Railway Station" it's about an 8-minute walk from the main arrivals gate.  Buy your ticket from the machine or a biglietteria or "ticket office" and don't forget to validate it in a yellow machine near the track or you could get fined! Make sure you board the train going to "Roma Termini" there are many other stations in Rome!  The one-way ticket price is €14. There is also a bus option.  Tip 3: If 3 or more people are travelling together, catch a cab.  We took a taxi from the airport rather than the bus or train to downtown Rome.  It is not that much more in cost (with the three of us) and makes a lot of sense because we had more bags this time. Plus, we would have to take a bus or taxi from the train station to our flat anyway; it just seemed like an extra hassle at this point. Tip 4: There is a FLAT FEE for taxis from the airport to Rome center.  The 32km trip in March 2017 costs €48.  It is the law.  Make sure you use an official taxi (white cab with a taxi number on the side) and ALWAYS agree on the price before getting into the cab.  Our taxi driver wanted to charge us more, and I said: "No; it's 48 Euro".  He said it was 2 Euro extra for each bag he handled (???).   I told him I will put our bags in his taxi myself then, and started to walk away.  He came after me and said, "Fine lady, you are the boss."  I gave him €50  in the end anyway because he was a great driver and got us really close to our flat.  Tip 5:  The many pedestrian-only streets in Rome make it impossible for taxi drivers to deliver their fares straight to the doors.  This is especially true in the historical centre of Rome. Our flat in Campo di Fiore was one of those neighbourhoods, so make sure you can schlep your luggage a short distance on your own.

Our Sweet AirBnB Kitchen

Tip 6: finding street addresses in Italy is very confusing and also illogical. We learned our lesson from our last trip to Italy.  This time our Airbnb flat was not hard to find because we had the "Maps.Me" App for our phone (and I also stalked around on Goggle Earth from home and found the address image, so I knew what the front door looked like).  The apartment owner Maurizio was there to meet us and show us around and was just so lovely. The top floor flat is just perfect for us- complete with a kitchen, a balcony in the bedroom, a bathroom with a claw foot tub, and a private loft with a water closet (2 piece bathroom) for the teenager.  Maurizio had bought coffee and a box of brioche for us, so we could make a little snack or keep it for breakfast.

Map.Me App

A coffee and a snack, once you arrive at your hotel or lodgings, is a good idea.  In Italy, dinner does not start until 7pm, and it is difficult to find restaurants that open up for the evening meal before then.  Tip 7: Unpack, freshen-up, have a coffee, BUT DO NOT LIE DOWN! FRESH AIR, SUNSHINE & EXERCISE IS THE ENEMY OF JETLAG.  Trust me on this one, I have made a mistake by "resting on the bed" and fell asleep only to wake up at 2 am Rome time and messed up my sleep schedule for DAYS! Get outside for a walk in your neighbourhood to get acclimatized to where the taxi stand, grocery store, tobacco shops that sell bus tickets are.  Become familiar with local street names and find a local landmark.   

Tip 8: It is easy to get lost in the complicated laneways of Rome, so I use the "Maps.Me" App on my phone.  The App uses satellite GPS to find where you are, without using data. Download the maps at home before you go, place a "pin" where your hotel is and use the offline Map to guide you back to your lodgings after exploring.  Try a lovely meal of traditional Roman pasta: spaghetti carbonara (spaghetti with smoked bacon) or cacio é peppe, which is pasta with cheese and pepper or homemade large hollow pasta called rigatoni in tomato sauce.   Tip 9: Eat a heavy meal to last you through the night.  The last thing you want is your stomach growling you awake at 4 am!   

Tip 10:  This is the time to do your after-dinner evening walk through Rome.  This is also called the passeggiata, where all of Rome's citizens are out strolling and socializing.  One thing I like to do is use the Map.Me App to link all the famous monuments of Rome together. To create a scenic night walk of Rome: Piazza Navona, Pantheon, and Trevi Fountain, you can connect the attractions together on the App. This exercise is what grounds me in Rome and the feeling of returning to my favourite city.  It is like running into old friends!

Usually, by this point, the miles are starting to catch up on you.  I try to stay up as late as possible on my night of arrival.   Sometimes I grab a gelato to go for a mobile dessert hoping the sugar will give me a bit more energy. Also, I usually grab a bottle of Tuscan red wine and some breakfast supplies for the next morning from a convenience store. A nice glass of wine and a super comfy bed at the end of a great day of travel usually put me to sleep before my head hits the pillow.  BONUS TIP: I always carry a bottle of Melatonin, which is an all-natural supplement to restore your natural sleep patterns.  I get the dual-action timed release to help me get to sleep and then STAY asleep until morning.   Following these ten "rules" almost religiously helps me to feel refreshed and ready to explore Rome, and I hope they help you cope with jetlag too. 



Do you have any jetlag secrets?  Let me know about them in the comments below!

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This post first appeared in March 2017 as Home Sweet Rome!

Rome In One Day...WITH KIDS

When only one day in Rome is all you have, you want to take in as many sights as possible, but what can you see without overwhelming an 11-year-old?   The Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum are situated next to each other and are perfect for children to explore the culture of Ancient Rome.

Colosseum Interior

With only one full day in Rome, we wanted to maximize our sightseeing without burning out since we were still feeling the sting of jetlag.  We decided to focus on Ancient Rome and visit the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. After breakfast, we made the short walk to the Colosseum entrance. We had not purchased our tickets for any of these attractions ahead of time because we didn't know how tired we would feel after we arrived from Canada.  TIP: ALWAYS PURCHASE YOUR SIGHTSEEING TICKETS IN ADVANCE IF POSSIBLE.

TIP: THE ENTRANCE TICKET TO THE COLOSSEUM  INCLUDES ENTRANCE TO PALATINE HILL AND THE FORUM.  IF THE TICKET LINE TO THE COLOSSEUM IS LONG, TRY  GOING TO THE FORUM (ENTRANCE FACING THE COLOSSEUM), AND PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS THERE.  Many times there is NO line up at this booth.   The combo ticket is €12 for adults, €7.50 student/senior. To purchase tickets online go to the official site: www.coopculture.it/en/  there is a €2 online booking fee for your order.  TIP: even if you are buying your tickets online, you may get stuck waiting to enter the Colosseum during the busy summer months because only 3,000 visitors are allowed to go in at one time.

Fortunately, the line up to get into the Colosseum was not long early in the morning.    We took the tour offered in English with a guide for €5 each, and it was the best 45 minutes we spent! Our guide was informative yet entertaining for adults and kids alike, capturing our attention with tales of  Emperors and gladiator fights.  The new addition of the wooden floor laid halfway across the arena helps to visualize what the Colosseum looked like 2000 years ago.

After the Colosseo, a quick sugar-fueled, late morning snack was in order.  The expensive snack wagon outside the Colosseum (which included COLD beer) is a Godsend because you are paying for convenience and speed. Next, we hit the Palatino or Palatine Hill. It was becoming super hot outside.  TIP: BRING A REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE EVERYWHERE YOU GO IN ITALY.  We kept re-filling our water bottles from the fountains we came across on Palentine Hill and drank in the views of Rome from the heights. Amazing! The coolest thing for this first-timer to Rome was all the olive trees laden with little black olives dangling in the branches.   Yes, I even picked one and kept it in my pocket the whole trip as a touchstone to make sure I wasn't dreaming!

Making Friends

The lime and orange trees growing in the gardens were a surprise to me as well, and I could imagine how beautiful the palace gardens once looked.  Liam had a lot of fun meeting new friends; like the doves that make homes in the ancient ruins.  He even found a nest with three little babies in it.  Whatever keeps him busy 😉

Temples Of The Forum

Then off to the Roman Forum.  The Forum really got my imagination going about what Ancient Rome really looked like. It is a BIG area and the temples are so unbelievably well-preserved, yet strumming with the modern vibrancy of this city. I could see My son Liam was concerned and he asked me in a rather horrified voice  "why are so many statues of naked people!?!"  I gave some parental explanation of art and the classic naked human figure representing purity, blah, blah.  He looked at me thinking for a moment, and then made a BIGGER deal about the exposed genital bits.  "OK FINE; if it's such a big deal to you, then count the genitals-ALL of them!" I said with an exasperated sigh.  This turned out to be the best parenting trick for my over-anxious/OCD/ADHD kid -EVER!  I will keep you posted on the "privates" count...

Arch Of Titus

The Arch of Titus is on the Via Sacra, the main street through the Forum. The basalt paving stones we walked on were the original stones of this ancient street.  Imagine; the sandals of Roman Emperors glided along this street 2000 years ago!  The Arch of Titus has been reconstructed from ruin and was initially built in the year 70 CE to commemorate the Roman conquering of Isreal and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.  The Romans brought 50,000 Jewish slaves who built the Arch of Titus and the Colosseum.  Walking through this arch was like walking through a portal in time...

Temple of the Vestal Virgins

Although there are many gorgeous ruins in the Forum, my personal favourite is  The Temple of the Vestal Virgins.  The details of the statues of the most revered of the Vestal Virgins were so vivid and haunting,  I could almost see myself in white chitin walking along the Via Sacra 2000 years ago tending to the eternal flame.  This was the blueprint for our modern convents.  Although, after learning the history of the fate of some of these poor girls, maybe it wouldn't be the best idea to be a Vestal Virgin after all.  Getting buried alive for failing to honour your 30-year vow of chastity seems a bit extreme!

Rest In The Shade

Kids expire quickly, so after about an hour in the Forum we walked back to our B&B for a rest and some antipasti including wine and Peroni Beer from the grocery store.  I love grocery shopping on vacation! It's always so refreshing to see what products are available in foreign cities.  To me, it feels like a treasure hunt, and as a Mom, it's a good idea to have snacks in the purse because my boy suffers from low blood sugar-also known as "the hangries."

Complete Bliss!

As the sun started to set we thought we would head out for an evening stroll or what Italians call "passeggiata." Everyone was out; locals and tourists alike.  Liam was on the prowl for a pizza place, so we headed in the general direction of the Piazza Navona, hoping to see the famous Bernini fountains tonight. Winding through the Medieval alleyways of Rome we became a little turned around, so we just followed the sound of music and came upon a big open piazza.  We were starving by this point "let's just have dinner here" we thought absentmindedly.  We sat down at a table at a restaurant on the corner of the piazza.  When I turned around to look at what was behind me; I gasped to see the Pantheon lit up in all her glory!  TIP: In Europe, you pay more for a meal when you have a fabulous view.  This was one view I was happy to pay for, and Liam swore the pizza was the best in Rome. Watching the almost full moon sail over the Pantheon, and all the beautiful people strolling through the square; I started to cry because I was just so happy.  TIP: In Italy, you are never rushed through your meal to turn the table, we could enjoy our meal for as long as we wanted.  After dinner, we strolled over to Trevi Fountain to throw a coin into the fountain and grabbed a gelato to eat on the way back to our Bed and Breakfast.  


This was indeed a memorable night, and I hope that coin I tossed into the Trevi fountain works it's magic because I need to come back to this glorious city!

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Original post; September 13, 2013