Day 2 in Rome :)

Well day 2...

I was woken this this morning by the sound of my mum chatting to my bro and sister in law. They had been out to get bread and jam etc for breakfast... Perfect... Coffee was made, bread was cut and conversation occurred. We all had very separate plans for the day.. I was off to the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain with mum and dad and J&L were off to the Coloseum and Palentine Hill. Showers done, we made our way out. 

Mum, dad and I made our way to the closest taxi rank and requested a taxi to the Pantheon. Traffic was typical roman traffic with weaving in and out of lanes, beautiful italian women on mopeds texting whilst flirting their way through the back street traffic. All truly magical and at times, hair raising!! We arrived at the Pantheon and still it takes my breath away. With the bright blue sky it almost seems too beautiful to be real, like you have walked onto a movie set. With the horses and passengers trotting through, the men dressed as gladiators charging a small mortgage for a photo and the touts with knock off hand bags playing cat and mouse with the quite frankly frightening italian police, it was the perfect scene. One for people watching and absorbing... 

There were a couple of sights that we wanted to see... But first we wandered up to the Trevi fountain.... This is my home... Something about this place makes me feel still... There is so much hustle and bustle. To take a seat and let it pass me by makes me so calm... Something I never feel at home. For somewhere so loud, I feel so quiet. It's special for me and it has part of my heart :) ❤️

So we moved on to get lunch... A nice little trattoria we have been to before.. A tourist trap it may be in but it is reasonable and the food is good :) although one of the tastiest meals I have had, pasta with pesto can never look like anything other than green worms....!! 

We then made our way toward La via della gatta.. (The road of the cat)... On the way we wanted to see La Pie' Di Marmo... Allegedly a remainder of a giant statue from the temple to the Egyptian goddess Isis.. It seemed so large in the guide book but so small in reality... 

After this we wandered back to the Pantheon, enjoyed a litre of wine and we got a taxi back to the apartment. With dad being tired after a lot of walking he crashed out and I dragged mum back down to the Trastevere for some more exploration...

The first thing we stumbled accross, and this is why I love the trastevere, was a wall made of bufferflies... The warm late afternoon sun shining down onto these gorgous little trinkets just lit up the alley and was a sight to behold... It was breathtaking...

Photographs cannot do it justice... 

We then continued to wander and passed through the piazza della Santa Maria before wandering down more alleys and roads, cobbled and winding yet full of life. I have never known somewhere so alive, so full of people and so beautiful. 

Mum and I stopped at a bar for a drink and a spot of people watching... Felt only right... And what a collection of people there were... You couldn't begin to entertain the spectrum of people... They even had fabulous chairs (random statement I know!) 

And yet whilst sitting in a standard bar, there was one of the greatest sights ever... Why wouldn't you want a bike with  images of comics all over it!!! 

I adored this bike. I wanted this bike. Not that someone like myself is exactly a fitness freak it prone to a 10 mile bike ride.. But how amazing :) 

After and an obligatory selfie with my beautiful mama:

It was time for an obligatory gelato, pistachio flavour... For €2 it kept me quiet for at least 4 minutes... Think mama was glad :))) 

 

We wandered back to the apartment to catch up with J&L and their day and to prepare for and evening meal.  

A common theme is appearing... Food... Rome... Pasta? Ahhh what a shame!!!! 

We took a wander back over to the trastevere where we had scouted some restaurants earlier. After deciding where we fancied we settled in a small place classically called Gino's. 

My starter of Buffalo Mozarella was exactly that.. A whole ball of buffalo Mozarella!!!! How absolutely stunningly beautiful :))) 

After that, a main course of spaghetti alla pomodoro :) so simple but beautiful :) with white wine to wash it down, another beautiful family meal complete.

Tomorrow is a day with no plan. I am meeting a new friend for coffee in the morning.. We have been speaking by email after we were introduced by family friends. Why wouldn't I meet the lady who lives in Rome, who had worked and lived but 20 miles from me at home with some of our closest friends. The beauty of networking opens up the world :) 😁🌍 We are meeting for coffee tomorrow morning and then I will wander to centre... Just see where the day takes me :) this is why I love Rome... Who knows what's next :))

Ciao :)) XX 

And I'm now in Rome :))

Wow... I'm home. I never realise how much I miss this place until I return. This is my 5th visit in 18 months.... I absolutely love it here... It really does feel like home. 

We landed around 12:30 this lunchtime and did the obligatory airport trek... We grabbed a cab and made our way to the Trastevere.... First impressions of our accommodation are great... My brother and sister in law were already here and inside the apartment. Fabulous apartment... 3 big bedrooms and a fabulous kitchen. Lots of stairs but guessing that will work off the wine... Possibly... Maybe?!

After settling in we went out in search of food... We were all starved... Airport or plane food never cuts it so pasta was the only way to go. We wandered through the trastevere and settled on a nice trattoria not far from the main hustle and bustle... We nestled down on a table at the back, the order was made.. 2 ravioli with cheese, spaghetti with garlic and chilli, carbonara and pasta with wild boar.

Wine, beer and water added to the mix and it was perfect. The sun was beaming down, a charming italian waiter entertained... It was a perfect start to our italian holiday :)

We went our separate ways, myself and my parents took a slow wander back towards the apartment while my brother and sister in law wandered down through the trastevere towards the botanical gardens.

Wandering back to our apartment have us ample time to wander down the magical streets pulling in fabulous views of rustic housing, doors where you yearn to see what is behind them and shops selling nothing but biscuits...

My parents and I opted to sit in a bar metres from our apartment and chill out and rest before going back to relax before the evening. All this eating requires rest before more eating!!! One latte, a beer and a wine later and we were happily on our way back to the apartment to rest. 

After a nice chill we ventured out again for a nice evening meal. Considering we had only had a meal a few hours earlier we were famished. A wander down the lanes and we opted for a little restaurant with red chequered table cloths and a roaring pizza oven. 

2 litres of wine, several portions of pizza and lots of meat and cheese later were were a very happy family :)

We wandered back to the apartment and now it's time to sleep off the day...

What a perfect return to Rome. What will tomorrow bring? :D xx