When in Rome…

February 4 2024

Happy Birthday Tim! I didn’t get to call you and sing over the phone. I’m not telling your age because it may give away mine.

We had a great night of sleep and woke early. Breakfast is included at this hotel which is wonderful and this morning we were able to experience it. Continental but with some hot food including scrambled eggs, the option to soft or hard boil your own egg, bacon, dry cereal, fruit, breads and pastries, and tea or coffee. We were hungry.

Headed out at 8:30 a.m. to meet our guide for the private walking tour of Rome. We’re touring the ‘ancient’ city of Rome - not that big an area but so much history. We met Dario at the Spanish Steps - he was very knowledgeable and friendly and we had a leisurely 3 hour tour with lots of information and fun stories. But can I remember some of them? 

The Spanish steps are actually called that because the Spanish embassy is nearby. Romans actually refer to them as the Trinity Steps. They climb a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinity dei Monti church at the top. A frenchmen put up the money for them to be built but when they wanted to put an equestrian monument of Louise XIV halfway up, the then Pope shut the project down and it lay dormant until Pope Clement XI Albani renewed interest in completing the steps in the 18th century. Today they enforce a no eating/no drinking rule on the steps as it damages the travertine stone. You will get fined if caught. They also don’t want visitors lounging around on the steps. And there is a fountain at the foot of the Spanish Steps that the Romans refer to as “the ugly boat” - rule #1 - do not fill your water bottle from that fountain. The water is recycled and has chorine in it; but wouldn’t you know that before we left we watched someone do just that - ewwww…

The Trevi Fountain - saw it and tossed in a coin - only one. You’ll see in the picture the crowds; however, this was nothing compared to the high season when our guide said the entire square is wall-to-wall people - especially with cruise ship tour groups using it as a meeting place - visit Rome in the off season!

Roman aqueducts were an amazing feat of engineering by the Romans but what is more amazing is that one of the original ones still functions today. The Aqua Virgo, an aqueduct built by Agrippa in 19 B.C.E. during Augustus’ reign, still supplies water to Rome’s Trevi Fountain. You will also find fountains around the city with water flowing from them that you can drink - all coming from the same underground aquafir - traveling through volcanic rock.

While we saw the outside of the Pantheon - we will tour that on Monday. It’s not original; however, it is 1500 years old - yikes! It is a church.

Our tour ended at the Piazza Navona Square. Its original function was a stadium for athletic competitions with stands for 20,000 spectators; commissioned in 86 C.E. by Emperor Domitian. In the 17th century Pope Innocent X commissioned the construction of the church Sant’Agnese in Agone, which we were able to walk into. 

The square today has many cafe's, terraces, street performers and artists. We enjoyed lunch here today, watching the crowds along with hearing the church bells ringing at noon and having some musicians play in front of our restaurant. The sun was quite warm and it was an enjoyable way to end our tour.

A little detail on our hotel. We are on the 6th floor in a junior suite - it’s amazingly large. We have 1 full bath and 1 1/2 bath - each complete with a toilet and bidet. the bedroom has a king size bed which is quite comfortable. A sitting area with couch, table and 4 chairs, mini bar and TV. The closet area is good size and robes and slippers are available. We sat outside for a bit this afternoon on the terrace located on the 6th floor as well. The sun was shining and it was quite comfortable and quiet.

Dinner out tonight was pizza (in quite a nice restaurant) - hey - it was on the menu and we had a bigger lunch so we lightened it up. Prices are pretty good, especially if you don’t eat near the major tourist spots where they up the prices. Two individual pizzas, glass of wine, pint glass of beer, sparkling water, and bread - 37 euros. It’s also so different that tipping is not expected - they bring that credit card machine to the table, punch up your total on the bill, tap your card and you’re done. Hard to get used to but enjoyable.

17,045 steps today. 15,795 steps yesterday. 

Time to read and think about bed - stayed awake a little later tonight!

Betsy