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