So I didn't get to post the remainder of the time I was in Rome. I was having such a great time, I just didn't get time!!!
So on Day 3 of my time in Rome I met our mutual family friend Tiziana. It was so lovely to meet her and wow her English is amazing! We met at a lovely bar in the Piazza in Piscinula. It was full of quirky furniture, nothing matching and all a bit 'shabby chic'. We had our first espresso and then we decided to take a walk to the rose gardens. It is a beautiful place with over 1,100 varieties of rose. It was established in 1931 and now has an experimental section where new varieties of rose are tried and tested.
We continued past the Circo Massimo which is where they used to hold chariot racing in the Roman times. Now it is full of people walking their dogs and enjoying the open space in the city. In the summer it is used for rock concerts and performances. We wandered down the Via di San Gregorio towards the Coloseum. We wandered past the Arch of Constantine and headed down the Via Dei Fori Imperiale. This road is full of performance artists and guys dressed as gladiators that charge you to have your photograph taken with them. We then made our way to a little restaurant in the Piazza dei Santi Apostoli. This was the first restaurant that I ever ate in when I came to Rome all that time ago - a full 20 months ago September 2012. This was my 5th trip to Rome, my 8th to Italy and by no means my last!
After a fabulous lunch of wine and pasta, we then said our goodbyes having got on brilliantly. What a fantastic lady and will definitely be staying in touch :)
I wandered down to the Trevi Fountain and ordered some wine to watch the world go by. I wandered through the cobbled streets and treated myself to some standard Roman souvenirs. Why wouldn't I want a mug with the Trevi Fountain on! I treated myself to one along with another that had pictures of pasta and wine and pizza. One for home and one for work to remind me of where my heart lies. I walked to the Piazza del Rotunda and the Pantheon and met my mum and dad were they were having lunch. I joined them for further wine and then we got a taxi back to the apartment for a siesta.
Mum and I again went for a wander while dad dozed. We walked through the streets of the Trastevere again marvelling at all the sights and sounds. Every day there is a different taste or smell or sight. A different musician playing a different tune on a different instrument whilst admiring the cracked wooden doors and chipped paint that only served to make you feel even more charmed than you already were.We settled in a small bar and ordered a drink whilst indulging in our favourite hobby of people watching.
We then wandered back and relaxed until the family were all ready to go out. We walked to the taxi rank at the end of the road and made our way to the Piazza Navona. My brother and sister in law had never been here before and we knew the restaurant that we wanted to go to. Mum and I have been there the previous May and both my parents and I had been there last October when we came. We settled in at a nice table, ordered the food and wine (all in Italian of course) and then settled down to a wonderful family evening to celebrate my birthday.
After our meal, myself, J&L wandered up to the Trevi Fountain as it is not somewhere that they had seen before. Via the Pantheon of course. Seeing my brothers face as the Pantheon was slowly revealed was absolutely fabulous. If you don't know that it is there, it is such a wonderful place to see and be in. It is firmly becoming one of my favourite places in Rome.
On the Thursday myself and my parents wandered to the Trevi again, just to enjoy the atmosphere, have lunch, treat ourselves to some souvenirs to take home. Amongst these was a gorgeous turquoise tile of two cats with their tails entwined. Owning a black cat and white cat this touched me so I felt it was a purchase I needed to make. After a fabulous lunch at the Trevi Fountain in our favourite restaurant we wandered back to the Pantheon. We sat in the sun for the next hour, gulping at wine and soaking up the sun. We measured the temperature with dads keyring and it came out at a scorching 39 degrees!!! No wonder I caught the sun. Before getting into the taxi back we wandered into a little deli on the corner where we were served by a gorgeous Iranian girl. Parma Ham, Mortadella, Parmesan, Salami, Mozarella and Peccorino later, we left to go back to the apartment.
As this was our final full day, mum and I wandered over to the Tiber Island. Fabulously close to where we were staying and just a beautiful place to watch the world go by. I feel its somewhere that I will need to visit every time I am in Rome. The taste of the melon gelato as I lay in the sun on the steep hill as the river split into two sections.... one calm, one a rush of rapids. It seemed to epitomise how I feel in Italy. A rush of passion for somewhere so beautiful and yet a beautiful calm I have never felt.
And so home we wandered to get ready for our final meal. We went back to the gorgeous restaurant we had been to and the same restaurant that had sparked my love for the Trastevere region in January 2013. Where else could you enjoy such a sun kissed meal in January! We sat, we ate, we laughed, we drank, we laughed some more. The perfect final meal for a perfect family holiday.
As we ambled back, the reality hit that this was our final night together as a family. Goodbyes were said and highlights discussed. Never such a happy feeling as your family happy. The simple act of being together made this holiday perfect.
The following morning J&L departed for the airport leaving myself and my parents to spend our final day lamenting leaving yet attempting to absorb as much of Rome as we could!
We took a trip to Tiber Island where coffee and pastries were the order of the day. There was a protest going on outside the Ministry of Health, ambulances and police cars were sounding their sirens in support as they drove past, flares were being set off, all in support of the cuts against the emergency services.
Next thing I knew, I just happened to have gelato in my hand....
We wandered back to our apartment to collect our cases.... the final end to a fabulous five days. We ambled slowly in the May heat through the Trastevere, dragging our cases, stopping to catch our breath, refuel with water and absorb the atmosphere... The end goal in sight... Piazza della Scala... a beautiful square with a pre-school at its heart, restaurants lining the outside and artists from accordion players to violinists entertaining anyone walking by. We sat in the restaurant we had found last October, ordered a feast of Italian cuisine and just 'were'. Its not often I get to just 'be', but there I can. It is my vow to myself that I must go there every time I am in Rome. Pennies for the best pasta I have ever eaten, wine that makes you feel alive and sights and senses that make you realise what an amazing country Italy really is. From the simplicity of children rushing to their nona's to show them what they had drawn at school that morning, to the redness of the tomatoes in your Mediterranean sun kissed salad, the the father placing their 3yr old on their moped and rushing them home for a family feast. The perfect afternoon.
What a perfect end to a perfect holiday.
