Roma 25th March 2011

Gelato

The Pantheon 

We woke up at 7.15, got showered and dressed and got breakfast at the hostel at breakfast at 8.30ish. There was 2 slices of bread, cereal, juices and hot drinks available.

We took the Termini Metro to the Pantheon. It was very beautiful and historic at the same time. There are cafes, gelaterias and a few fountains around that area also. We then we walked to Piazza Navona which had 2 more fountains, a few nice restaurants and gelaterias. Then walked to Campo de Firfoni next where there was a market selling glass and metal jewellery, fruit and vegetables, gadgets and pasta. We then walked along the river to the Angels Bridge.

St Peter's Square

In St Peter's Basilica

Next we had lunch at a nearby restaurant, Dawn* and I had a salad and bruschetta and Porter* had gnocchi. Italy is known for it's amazing food as well as wine which I will be talking about throughout the blog. I sampled some of the gnocchi, I'd never had it before. It had the consistently of a potato and in a creamy sauce and was very yummy. We left the restaurant and walked along the Angel's Bridge to St Peter’s Basilica. Next to St Peter's Square there are several tour operators, gelaterias and cafes. There was a bit of a queue to get into the Balisica and there are some security checks. There is a dress code but as long as women aren't dressed in a bikini or as a stripper and men aren't topless in board shorts I think you will be fine. The Balisica has a prayer room along with very intricate and exquisite walls and domes.

Spanish Steps

We didn't go the Vatican Museum as it wasn't really our thing but if you are inclined to go it is €15 for adults and €8 for all students under the age of 26 with a valid ID and those aged 6-18. I would recommend buying tickets for the Vatican and Colosseum online to avoid queuing especially in the the high season.

Trevi Fountain

We left the Basilica and walked down Via Ottaviano where we got gelato from a restaurant. I got Lemon and Strawberry gelato, Dawn* got yogurt and coffee and Porter* got Stratitella and coffee. There is a vast difference in ice cream and gelato which you will you will be able to tell instantly in your first taste of Italy's gelato. We then got the Metro at Ottaviano to Spagna to see the Spanish Steps. All over Rome you will see men selling useless gifts and gadgets as well as knock off designer bags. We walked half way up the Spanish steps as were tired, sat down and rested for while. It was 2pm at this point, it was also very busy on the Spanish Steps. There are a lot of designer stores in this area also.

Sausage pizza

We then walked to the Trevi Fountain which was amazingly beautiful, it was busy around here also. We took photos and threw some coins into the Trevi as it was the traditional thing to do. There are pizzerias, gelaterias and souvenir shops surrounding this area. I got some Murano jewellery from a souvenir store, it was at a reasonable price which was good as you expect Rome to be more expensive which is comes to Italian goods e.g. leather, food etc. We then took the Metro back to Termini and went back to the Hostel.

Dawn's* raviolo

Porter's* spaghetti

We then went to dinner at a nearby restaurant, I had a sausage pizza. Porter* had a simple spaghetti in tomato sauce and Dawn* had ravioli. The food was good and quite reasonable, my pizza was only €8 and Porter's spaghetti was €5. The restaurant was quite nice with good service :). After dinner we went back to the hostel and went to bed.


 © 2009-2010 (Maya Mercury) All Rights Reserved