July 21: The Rain in Spain....No Just At The Spanish Steps

We decided to spend Sunday afternoon in the Spanish Steps area, possibly venturing toward Trevi Fountain or Castel St. Angelo. However, the weather did not cooperate with our plans so we found a dry place to do some people watching, ate some gelato and then strolled around the shopping district near the Spanish Steps. Although rain can usually be a hindrance on vacation it was nice to have a bit cooler temperatures between showers.

Campo De Fioro

This is my third visit to this amazing city and for the first time today we visited a wonderful piazza called Campo De Fiori. The square and surrounding streets were full of market stalls and small shops, a few trinkets for the tourists, a butcher shop and bakery, street musicians and artists and wonderful little sidewalk cafes.....oh and gelato! We strolled around and checked out a few of the shops and then found a place to relax, enjoy a few cold beverages and listen to the music. We ordered pizza for dinner and did some people watching, my favorite pastime in Italy. We certainly found this area of Rome to be far less busy than some of the high traffic tourist sights and everyone was moving at a much slower pace ( even the dogs were relaxed!)

July 20: Vatican City, Colosseum, Roman Forum

We had an early start today because we were visiting Vatican City. Our tour included Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. We had an excellent guide and she made it a very worthwhile visit, even though we have been to these places before.

After lunch we headed to the Colosseum. It was very hot and humid and we were still a bit jet lagged but enjoyed the tour, even though we did our best to stay out of the sun as much as we could. The water fountains throughout Rome were much appreciated, it was so great to be able to refill our water bottles as we walked.

Our last stop in the tour was the ancient Roman Forum. We took a walk through and stopped for photos but we were both dreaming of gelato as we strolled through the ancient ruins.

July 19 First Stop: Gelato

We arrived in Rome with lots of enthusiasm, even if we were a bit jet lagged. After checking into our hotel we headed to the centre of Rome to visit the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, but most importantly, to have our first gelato of the trip. We did a quick walk around in the Pantheon, but it was very crowded so we headed outside for gelato. So many flavours to choose from!

It is a short walk to Piazza Navona and I only stopped at one church along the way. They are very strict about no bare shoulders so I was glad I had added a scarf to my backpack. The flowers were in full bloom in the windows and all the balconies in Piazza Navona, making all the old buildings so charming to photograph. Lots of people were sitting in the square cooling off by the fountains, scrolling around checking out the art work or listening to the street musicians.

We made our way to a small restaurant for dinner which included bruschetta, pasta with Parmesan cheese and olive oil, steak and potatoes and tiramisu for dessert. Not to mention the red wine we enjoyed while we ate.

By the time dinner was over we were both ready for a good night's sleep!