Another Day Exploring

I decided to sleep in a little today since I didn’t have anywhere I needed to be at a specific time – not to mention the room was very dark and the bed was very comfortable! I also needed to check online to see what types of foods I could bring back. Much to my disappointment prosciutto is no the “no” list. I did manage to go out around 11:00 and see that the city had come to life. It’s such a different place from Sunday when most things are closed. I didn’t want too heavy of a lunch today, so I stopped in at a little café and had mozzarella and spinach on focaccia bread. It was very simple but extremely good. This was a great vantage point for watching the craziness that is Rome go by. I finally found my way over to Trevi Fountain.

(This last photo was taken on my way back, much later in the day. The colors are so different.)

It was much more impressive (to me) than the Spanish Steps. There were tons of people there as well as tour groups. I spent a while people watching and met a couple traveling from Australia and later a nice gentleman from Scotland who was traveling through Europe. I had asked him if he would take a photo and it surprised me when he spoke English. He was only in Rome for a day, so he was hitting all of the highlights. We chatted a while and then I headed off to Campo dei Fiori which was supposed to be a popular market place. En route I did stop at the Pantheon again and go inside – still as beautiful as ever.

I also went to the Piazza Navona and watched some very interesting “human statues”. When we were here in January this place was so quiet which was very different from today.

By the time I got over to the market place it was almost totally shut down (probably a good thing considering my packing situation). I may try and head over there tomorrow. For some reason I was extremely tired today – could be the heat and lack of caffeine. I did go by the local grocery store only a few blocks from here. I bought some yogurt and fruit for my breakfast in the morning and some bottled water. By the time I headed back to the hotel it was already after 5:00. I wanted to find somewhere close, but nice for dinner. After a little research I found a small Ristorante that was only about 8 blocks away. I headed over there around 7:00 which is still very early for dinner here, but I was quite hungry for about the first time since I left the States. I ordered the bruschetta as a starter and it was probably the best I’ve ever tasted. For my entrée I had something I’ve wanted to try, spaghetti alla vongole, which is spaghetti with clams, garlic and olive oil. This also had some sort of heat to it, which I think was red pepper. It was a very good dish. I hadn’t had my sweetness fix for the day so I ordered the mille fogle (which is something we had made last week). Theirs was entirely different, but still a great dessert. The waiter came over and brought me this little glass and poured in this peach liquid that turned out to be the house special, meloncello. It had the most unusual, but good taste. He said they make it there, but wouldn’t tell me how. I may have to experiment with that one at home. I headed back about 8:30. It’s funny, I don’t feel nearly as safe in Rome as I did in Florence. The hotel has a rooftop terrace, so I did go and have a look up there. I also found all of these different vending machines, including one with all kinds of wine - now that's what I call a vending machine!

I called it an early evening but did get to talk to Hunter and my Mom as well as watch a little bit of Gladiator on my computer (after turning on the TV and finding out not a single station is in English). Off to bed and my last day in Rome tomorrow.