Roma - Day Five

Rose and I decided to try another strategy to help offset the heat exhaustion by visiting a spot in the morning and then popping back home for respite before heading back out.  I'm not sure if it made a difference because I didn't take by bottle of water with me (as it turned out, you are not allowed to take things like that in the museum), so I was really struggling with mild dehydration.  That was remedied with a stop at a cafe for some mineral water and my Negroni, but I am getting ahead of myself! 😃

Our morning excursion took us in another direction from our typical walks. In this case, we headed south to check out a cheese shop, La Formaggeria, which turned out to be in the Mercato and not across the street where Google Maps insisted it was located.  But as often is the case, we popped into yet another majestic church on our way.

We asked someone in a bar who pointed us in the correct direction.  Rose, to her credit, suspected it might be in there but as the navigator of our excursions, I was insistent that Google never lies.  Um, that is clearly not the case. 😡The market was a good find and would likely be a great place to pick up fresh seafood (in the morning!), produce, meat/cheese, and baked goods. 

We risked not being able to enter the Capitoline Museum by purchasing our tickets the day of our visit.  It turned out to not be an issue at all.  A few pieces of art also included braille panels. 

The birth of the Capitoline Museums is traced back to 1471 , when Pope Sixtus IV gave the Roman people a group of bronze statues of great symbolic value.

Our hope was to enjoy a refreshing beverage on the rooftop of the museum but it wasn't open.  A bit of a disappointment but we started our walk back home that included a stop at a restaurant to enjoy some pizza and libations!

The colors in the city continue to stop me in my tracks.  I am astounded by the different kinds of marble. As always, to check out the images of the day, here is the link!

Roma - Days 4 & 5

I gotta say, the heat and the constant 'on-the-go' is starting to get to me.  Rose and I spend about 6+ hours a day walking in the sun as we tour one big destination a day.  Of course, we come across so many things on the way to that location, we must stop and explore each one.  I am also feeling a bit homesick, too.  I am out of my routine and that is mildly jarring to me.  Rose is determined to get each and every nugget of fun in during her week here but I must recuperate this weekend because I simply can keep this pace for a whole month! 😆

This trip is many things for me including an experiment.  I am considering a life as an expat at some point in the future and living abroad for one month is a 'let's start testing the water' approach.  Now, having written that, I am doing way more touristy stuff than I would do if I lived somewhere for a spell.  But I believe that I will get a better sense of things starting this weekend.

Anyway, back to Days 4 and 5 of my Grand Tour!  

Day 4 - The Pantheon + The Jewish Ghetto

Rose and I had our ticket to visit the Pantheon and on our way to it, we came across yet another one of the 900+ churches in the city. The ceilings were stunning and I cannot get over Italian marble.

 

Accessing the Pantheon was easy breezy in spite of all the tourists. The dome is incredible.  The space was packed with tourists. Funny thing about some visitors - total disregard of the profound space they are in and ignoring simple things as 'this space is reserved for prayer'.  I admit that I am a rule follower and I would never hop up on a fallen ruin that is thousands of years old to take a selfie.  I have to hand it to the site staff.  There must be a love/hate relationship to us tourists descending on their city after 2+ years of no one being here.

We headed to the area known as the Jewish Ghetto which was about a 20 minute walk from the Pantheon and next to the Tiber River. We ate lunch at one of the spots there at the recommendation of our new Roman friend, Pietro.  He insisted we try the Jewish fried artichokes and we stopped by one place and enjoyed a delicious meal. Our salad came with shredded beef and the cutest little croutons we ever did see. Of course, my first (not my last!) glass of prosecco was a requirement, too. Okay, I had TWO glasses - the waiter gave me an extra one because I 'wasn't driving'.  😂

With full bellies, we visited the Museo Ebraico (the Jewish Museum) and the synagogue and walk along the Tiber River.

 

 

 

Day 5 - The Vatican + Sistine Chapel

We decided it was way too far to walk to Vatican City and I am just not up to try buses in Rome.  I am not my best self when I am sticky hot and exhausted, so we took a cab.  What a scene! Thousands of tourists had descended on the sacred site and it was crazy. We were lucky to have the 'buy the ticket online and skip the ticket line' line but it was a bit over the top logistically and I applaud the staff having to deal with all of us.  So. Many. People. The treasures found in the museum definitely had me navigating a mild case of the Stendahl Syndrome. They crammed so many people in the Sistine Chapel (no photos allowed), I was feeling a wee bit panicky and didn't stay in the space too long.  Rose and I met outside and we were off for lunch. Delicious pasta for me; tuna steak for her; and I enjoyed one of those yummy Italian spritz drinks and have added Aperol and prosecco to my shopping list once I am back in the US.

 

 

 

 

Check out this link for Pantheon and Jewish Ghetto photos and this link for the Vatican photos!

 

Roma - Day Three

It was another big day of exploring in the hot summer heat.  Rose and I ventured back to the Colosseum for an inside peek that also included a walk around the Forum and on Palatine Hill. Also known as Palatino, it is one of seven hills in Rome and guess what other city has the same amount of hills: Providence, Rhode Island!!!!!

We popped into a pub for a nice bite to eat at La Pace del cervello - pizza and salad - between touring the Colosseum and the Forum / Palantine Hill  Totally hit the spot. We were seated next to a couple of other travelers and we got to talking to Steve (from San Francisco) and Alejandro (from Denver).  We got to talking about recent Pride parade. We learned that they walked in it.  It was Alejandro's first parade and he loved being part of it.

After our day of exploring, we trudged back home to take a nice hot shower before heading out to dinner using the EatWith.com app. I learned about it through a post on the Rick Steves Travel Forum and I thought I would check it out.  What a fantastic experience it was!  Janice and Francesca were our hosts in their home for an authentic Italian meal.  It was outta of this world.  Janice's longtime friend, Pietro, was also a guest and kept us very entertained. We played some fun games and were gifted with jewelry that each of us will treasure. If you are traveling, I highly recommend you check out the service and when in Rome......be sure to check out Janice and Francesca's offer.

 

Be sure to check out all the photos - including images of all the dishes we enjoyed at Janice and Francesca's home!