Rome Day 3 - Ancient Rome

We spent the third day of our visit to Rome visiting the ancient center of the city.  We toured the Forum first - good idea to do this in the morning when it is slightly cooler, even then it still was quite warm!  We entered from a side gateway which did not have a long line to buy tickets.  The pass covers both the Forum and the Colosseum, and saves you from having to wait in the long lines at the Colosseum.  Above is the view from ground level which somewhat just looks like piles of stones.

You need to get close to the pillars and arches to appreciate the size and details.

The Arch of Titus showing the treasures from the temple in Jerusalem being carried away.

I enjoyed photographing the details of various pieces.

The Colosseum is located right next to where we exited the Forum.  We cooled off in a shady spot  under the pillars with an expensive Coke and watched the police play a cat and mouse game chasing off the illegal vendors.  Once refreshed we went inside.

We wandered around the various levels.  The stairs to climb up are much larger than normal steps and we got quite a workout!  Quite an impressive building.  I've heard recently that it is due for extensive restoration because one side is sinking, so glad we were able to see it when we did.

We finished the afternoon by visiting the Capitoline Museums.  I got to see many works of art that I knew from art history books.  Above, the statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.  They were having a special exhibit  called Lux in Arcana with treasured writings from the Vatican.  It was amazing to look at documents written by Michelangelo and Abraham Lincoln.   (Free app for the exhibit here.) The museum had a confusing layout with connections to various wings on different floors. So we were lucky that unexpectedly found the portico that looked down on the Forum.  This definitely is the "postcard" view of the Forum because you get a sense of the layout of the streets and buildings.

 Long hot day, tired feet, but such a great time experiencing the treasures of ancient Rome!

Ristorante Santa Lucia - Rome

I wanted to have one fantasy meal in Rome with wonderful Italian food in a beautiful location.  We were fortunate to arrive early at Ristorante Santa Lucia and they were able to fit us in without a reservation.  This busy restaurant is located one block behind the Plaza Navona.  It has seating inside, but in warm weather they have tables that fill a terrace in the center of a square that is dripping with lush green vines.   

The view from our table - so pretty.  We were crazy American early, but soon afterwards all the tables were filled.  We had great service and enjoyed a wonderful  relaxing meal.

A peak at the menu.  A bit of a splurge, but hey, you are only in Rome once!

A spinach salad with oranges, olives, and shaved pecorino cheese.  Best salad of the trip!

Puff pastry with cheeses and onion straws - this was amazing!

Fresh pasta with fresh mussels - not a huge fan of mussels, but this was really good. 

Grilled veggies on the side.

Veal with lemon sauce.  Pretty presentation!

And dessert - molten chocolate cake with vanilla gelato.

A note about dining in Italy:  On busy squares there are lots of touristy restaurants which may or may not be good.  Our first night in Rome we had a very disappointing meal on the Campo de' Fiori.  After that evening,  we got recommendations from our hotel and also used the reviews in Trip Advisor and suggestions from Rick Steves to plan our meals.  Most places we ate were pretty good and a few were amazing!  

We didn't make reservations for meals and went fairly early (7 pm) and were able to get into most places that we wanted, but looking back that was pretty lucky.  We discovered most places had their tables filled with little cards saying "reserved."  It seems people reserve the table for the evening and arrive whenever they want and stay as long as they want.  If you know in advance where you want to eat, ask your hotel to reserve a table for you.

Rome Day 2 - the Vatican

For our second day in Rome, we spent a large part of the day exploring the Vatican.  It took us about 20 minutes to walk there from our hotel.  We crossed over the beautiful Pont Sant'Angelo by the Castel Sant' Angelo Fortress and then cut over to St. Peter's Square.  The square was relatively empty when we arrived at 9 am.  Nice time to take a few photos.

I had been in Rome many years ago during a day time layover on the way to a mission trip in India.  We had a bus tour and saw all the major sites and actually had some time to walk around the Vatican and St. Peters.  It was a Sunday and we saw the Pope addressing the crowd.  But since it was a Sunday, the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel were closed.  I always hoped I would return to Rome (and yes, I threw a coin in the Trevi Fountain!) so that I could see the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel.  So that was the priority of this day.  We had booked tickets online to visit the museum a couple of weeks ahead of time.  It costs a bit extra, but it is worth it to be able to bypass the LONG line waiting to get in the museum and walk right in!

The Vatican Museum is jaw dropping beautiful. Ceilings are painted, floors are tiled with gorgeous patterns, and the walls are covered with amazing art.  We wandered through the various galleries - above is a room in the Pinacoteca filled with rich tapestries and Raphael's Transfiguration.

There were rooms and rooms filled with gleaming white statues.  Small heads, large heads, full bodies, giant bodies, groups of bodies, animals, animals eating animals...... unbelievable!  I tried to get some shots that captured the natural light on the statues.

My favorite room was the Map Room.  The long walls were covered with ornate maps of Italy and the ceiling was lush and golden.  This picture doesn't do it justice!

This is the closest picture I could get to the Sistine Chapel.  No photos allowed - however that didn't stop many people.  It actually is quite a circus when you go into the chapel - it is totally packed with people straining their heads upward.  Guards are constantly trying to shush the crowd and yelling out to stop taking pictures.  Despite all that, I was very moved by the chapel - it was amazing to look up and see that iconic painting of God's hand touching Adam's hand.

When we finished in the Sistine Chapel - we cut out a side door meant for tour groups which saved us a long trek back through the museum to get into St. Peters Cathedral.

The first thing that hit me as we entered St. Peter's was the dome with this beam of light shining through.

Benini's ornate main altar over Peter's tomb.

We took the elevator up to the dome level - here is the view looking down...

.... and looking up to Michelangelo's dome.

Close up of the mosaics - I was surprised that the walls are mosaic, not paintings!

Then up on the roof - looking out at the city.

This is the view of the dome from the rooftop terrace.  At this point it was mid - afternoon and it was VERT hot up here on the roof!

It was a wonderful day - so grateful that I was able to visit the museum and have the opportunity to spend more time exploring St. Peters.  

I have many more photos of Rome posted here in Flickr.

Hotel Campo de' Fiori - Rome

I discovered the Hotel Campo de' Fiori via Trip Advisor.  I was entranced by the photos of the rooftop terrace and spent many months prior to our trip dreaming of sitting up there looking out at the view of Rome.  I must say I was not in any way disappointed by this hotel.  The location was great, the rooms were charming, the staff was lovely and helpful, and the terrace view was stunning!

We had a deluxe room on the 4th floor.  The decor was plush with a gorgeous chandelier and antique furniture.  The twin beds were a bit narrower than the typical US bed, but were very comfortable. The room had air conditioning and a good wifi connection.  The room had mini refrigerator and even had a teeny ice cube tray - yea ice!

The bathroom was very modern with dark tiles (marble?) and a nice walk in shower.  Loved their soaps and shampoo. (Note: no place that we stayed in Italy had either lotion or conditioner.)

Our room looked out over a small plaza.  Below is a close up of the painting on the building directly across.  So beautiful!  Even though we were on this square, the windows were amazingly soundproof, especially considering the noisy crowds at night watching the soccer/football matches.

A small portion of the panorama view from the terrace below.  

The terrace had several levels and wonderful seating areas where you could relax.  Here is a link to a 360 degree panorama of the roof view that I created with the DMD app on my iPhone.  You really need to see the panorama to fully appreciate what an amazing view you get from the roof.

It was too hot to hang out on the terrace during the day.  But in the evening, it was perfect!  We sat up there each night watching the sunset.

A nearby church and the Victor Emmanuel Monument lit up in the distance.

A view of the Campo de' Fiori square at night.  We got a kick out of hearing the crowds cheering the Euro Cup games from up on the terrace.

On our last night I was able to capture this beautiful sunset over St. Peter's Cathedral from up on the terrace.

Breakfast was served each morning in the "library" - these charming rooms in the basement.  They served a wonderful mix of pastries, meats, cheeses, juices, fruit, and cereals.  Coffees and tea were brought to your table.

After a long hot day of touring, we discovered these yummy treats waiting for us in the afternoon.  Such a sweet surprise!

I must say that Hotel Campo de' Fiori is one of the top 5 hotels I have ever stayed in.  Everything about this hotel enhanced my stay in Rome and the people who worked there made me feel just a tiny bit like an Italian "principessa." Totally magic! 

Rome - Day 1

We took the train from Milan to Rome and arrived early in the afternoon.  We were fortunate that we arrived when we did - the following day we discovered there was to be a one day train strike.  We checked into our lovely hotel by the Campo de' Fiori (more about our hotel in another post).  It was located in a perfect spot between the Vatican and the Forum, with many sites just a short walk to the north.  Although it was sweaty hot, we headed out to visit some of the nearby sites.

First we headed to the Piazza Navona, a busy square which is filled with statues, fountains, restaurants, and people.

Next a stop at the Pantheon.  First a Roman temple, then a church - I loved how the light poured through the hole in the ceiling.

Then on to the Trievi Fountain.  This is the way you see it in photos and movies:

But this is the reality - crowds of people trying to get that perfect photo of them tossing a coin into the fountain.     Quite the circus!

As we headed back to our hotel, we passed Largo Argentina, a square that looks down at a group of temple ruins.  Dirty, full of weeds and trash, and home to a collection of CATS!  I felt so sorry for the cats, but they seemed quite content sunning themselves on the old pillars.  I believe that there is a society that helps to feed the cats.  Too bad that they don't take a bit more care with the ruins and the grounds.

In the evening we ate a quite blah meal on the Campo de Fiori.  However, we were quite entertained by seeing all the large TVs adorning every restaurant on the square, all tuned in to the Euro Cup matches.  It was quite an interesting snapshot of life in Europe!