Today has been the best day in Rome so far. Not because I did anything special, but because I didn’t. I didn’t see any grand museums or visit ancient historic sites. In fact, this is the only day of vacation where I didn’t have anything specific planned. Instead, I took to the streets of Rome and simply wandered. In and through centuries-old churches, around small piazzas off the main tourist routes, and down tiny alleyways just to see where they went. It was glorious.
I set out around 6:45AM (I managed a good night’s sleep and feel a little better today – I’m thankful I brought allergy medicine with me!) and made my way to a couple of churches en route to Trevi Fountain. Since it’s only about a 10 minute walk from my hotel, I’ve already been there a few times, but was hoping to beat the crowds this morning. There was a (relatively) small number of people, so I was able to take some pictures without being elbowed out of the way. I had a general idea of some of the churches I wanted to visit, and a walking tour outlined in my guidebook, so I just wandered from one to the next. I probably visited about a dozen churches, and I’d be hard pressed to pick out a favorite. They were all beautiful in their own right, many with painted ceilings and wall frescoes (including those by Raphael, Caravaggio, and a sculpture by Michelangelo). I also visited the Pantheon (alright, so I did see one ancient site today…) and Piazza Navona, containing Bernini’s famous “Fountain of the Four Rivers” along with two other fountains.
And what did I eat today? Well, I started with a croissant filled with cream from a pasticceria near Piazza Navona that I ate sitting on the steps of the fountain by the Pantheon. I followed that up with a cup of hot chocolate at an outdoor cafe table in Piazza di Sant’Eustachio. The hot chocolate was good, and the setting was lovely, but I’m not sure it was lovely enough to justify the cost (€7!). Next up was a spontaneous purchase of a carbonara roll at a little shop on a quintessential Roman side street. I couldn’t resist. About 15 minutes later, I was convinced to sample basil gelato from a little gelateria up the street and ended up with a small cup of that and vanilla. At home, I would never mix ice cream flavors, but here it just kind of works and everyone does it. “When in Rome…” and all that. For dinner, I ate an entire pizza (thin crust) and another cup of gelato. So to recap: I had carbs for breakfast, carbs for lunch, carbs for dinner, 2 cups of gelato, and a hot chocolate. I’m pretty sure I won’t want any more pizza or pasta for a while when I get home.
Traveling with Laura 