Soft blue skies after the rain of yesterday were a surprise this morning. Our apartment is always warm even though we haven't turned on the heating. Apart from excellent insulation and fabulous European double glazed windows (which open in several ways and seal really well), the hot water pipes in this building must run through all 8 floors and give off enough heat to maintain a cosy warmth. It is always a bit deceiving when we go outside but we were caught off guard a little today. With the tall buildings there are only patches of sun on the ground in the middle of the day and that means loads of shade where it is chilly.
We walked to Rome Baptist Church again and enjoyed our time there. Luke wrote a whole dragon story which kept him busy so we could enjoy the service. Afterwards there were croissants and doughnuts in plentiful supply along with coffee so that filled our tummies! We had arranged to meet Tim in Piazza san Lorenzo but he was waiting at the Spanish Steps instead and we did happen to bump into to him. He was FREEZING in shorts and a tee shirt and agreed to wear Karl's rain coat just to cut out the chill! An "emergency" serving of hot chips was in order just to warm him up. Annika was also freezing but warmed up a bit as we walked.
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| He's a happy cat! |
We took Luke to the cat sanctuary to see
all the rescued moggies there. Once we'd filled up our "cat pat quota"
and made a fuss over "Antonia", "Guiseppina" and "Nero" we continued on
our way.
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| Free to roam around the ruins |
Although
there were some slight grumbles from the troops as I suggested we walk
behind the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument and up some unexplored steps, I
was glad we went the alternate way as it gave us a fabulous view over
the Roman Forum and surrounding ruins. I never tire of this kind of
surprise view! I wonder if the younger generation will come to realise
my excitement about such things in years to come. I do remember feeling
positively bored being "dragged" to one cloister after another, seeing
Rune Stones by the hundred and groaning at museums on our summer
vacation in Sweden when I was 13. How I have changed!! My parents gave
me a great gift, that I now appreciate and I do hope my own children
come to also revel in history. And I even listen to ABC radio at home
and I do miss cooking the dinner to the various ABC programs. I can
thank my parents for this influence also!
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| The steps to Palazzi di Campidoglio |
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| Emperor Marcus Aurelius |
The two ancient
statues of river gods, Nile and Tiber were placed by Michelangelo in front of Palazzo
Senatorio. Had I realised that we were not just going up the back steps to somewhere but that this place had so much history, I wouldn't have been rushed along! Fortunately, we can go back (at least I plan to go back) to take some more time to enjoy this piazza!
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| Plenty of fresh drinking water is everywhere to be found on Rome! |
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| The view of the Forum |
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| More excellent views of history below street level! |
We had actually planned to go down the
Appian Way (Via Appia) today as apparently it is closed to traffic and
it is a good time to walk down the ancient road. We waited at the
Colosseum bus stop for ages and concluded that possibly, as the road was
closed to traffic, that included public transport, and that meant the
bus wasn't going to come. We gave up waiting after some time but all
was not wasted. Really, when we thought about it, it is not every day
that we get to sit outside the Colosseum, on an ancient Roman column,
eating lunch al fresco! So, we didn't see the Appian Way, but it was not
unenjoyable! We counted our blessings and wandered home.
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| Lunch part 1 at the bus stop |
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| Lunch part 2 on the ancient columns! |
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| We have wondered if the life like food outside restaurants is real or just models...this pigeon was having a good old feed so I suppose they are real food samples on display! |
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| Free samples!! |
Annika and I took a route through Piazza Navona and enjoyed free samples of gelati and hot chocolate - not complaining! Slip sliding through the autumn leaves along the Tiber, heading home to our cosy apartment and sitting down to a cup of tea...very blessed indeed!
A lovely day! I've enjoyed catching up on your adventures. Bit of a wintry day here also :(
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