We then went out on a city tour and dining experience in Rome. This was one of two tours that Keith had booked for our time in Rome although we did cancel the full day tour we had scheduled for Tuesday.
We were picked up at the hotel by our driver/guide Claudio Bernardino. He has been a tour guide for his entire life and does tour guides all over Italy. He was just outstanding. He took us for a few hours before we had dinner and then after dinner drove us around at night.
He was very gracious always asking us if we wanted to stop to get out and finding the perfect places to stop. He answered each and every question and provided lots of solid information about current day and historical Rome.
As part of the tour we drove around Rome as Claudio pointed out the sites to us, many that we have seen before. This included Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Plazza Venzia, the Capitol Hill, the Imperial Forum, the Colosseum, the Palatine Hill, the Aventine Hill, the Circus Maximus and the Trevi Fountain. We then made our way up to Glanicolo Hill for a panoramic view of the city and then we made our way over to St Peter's Basilica and Castel Sant'Angelo. We also stopped several times along the way and saw many other places that we have not mentioned.
A bride and groom who were dropped off for a photo with their white colored limousine waiting as the photographer took some photos of them.
We had dinner at a neighborhood restaurant. We enjoyed the hospitality extended to us by the owner and his staff and the food was actually quite good. It was not your fancy restaurant but often that is the best way to taste local cuisine.
We were then driven around Rome to see it lit up at night and we saw it from various vantage points. We made several stops along the way before returning to our hotel.
We enjoyed another nice breakfast at the Hotel as we got ready for our final full day of Rome.
We walked for quite awhile until we came to the Piazza Navona which is one of the prettiest squares in Rome and boasts the fountain of the four rivers designed by Bernini.
We then visited the Church of St. Agnese In Agone.
We then made our way to the Spanish Steps; Piazza di Spagna. Afterwards we walked for quite awhile in the designer shopping area.
We them made our way over to what is known as the Wedding Cake. As today is a National Holiday in celebration of the establishment of Italy and the fall of fascism we saw portions of the military parade which took place along Via dei Fori Imperiali.
We then walked around looking for a place for lunch and then once we found the restaurant we returned to the hotel to freshen up.
Later in the afternoon we had lunch at a neighborhood restaurant that is family owned and run called La Taverna dei Monti. We sat outside and each enjoyed a Margarita Pizza, Beer and Water. Last night we learned from our tour guide that Margarita Pizza was named after Queen Margarita and the cheese is white, the sauce is red, and basil is added to it to complete the colors of the Italian Flag of white, red and green.
Often it is the small neighborhood restaurants that provide a great local experience. We are reminded of the time we had pizza in a small Italian neighborhood restaurant in Greenwich Village which was one of the best tasting Pizza's we have ever eaten.
We then walked for awhile and Anne Marie got a small cup of Gelato.
We then continued to walk around the surrounding area for quite awhile before returning to the hotel to rest and to pack for our flight tomorrow. We will then be staying over at another hotel tomorrow.
This evening we plan to have dinner at the Hotel.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.......
“You can’t
do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its
width and depth.” – Evan Esar
Keith & Anne Marie
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