Rome 3 - The Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, shopping in Rome, Eating in Rome

Rome 3 – Too much to do, Too much to see, Too little Time

We started early again, aware that we were running out of time and that there was still so much to see but, constantly looking at those famous sites and sights and art, can be very exhausting. We had also promised ourselves we would spend a morning shopping. Thinking of my daughter’s fast approaching wedding I had thought I would look for a suitable outfit in that home of fashion – Italy! and surely, where better than Rome?

Before we sharpened our credit cards, we started with the Pantheon, as it was closest to our hotel. Francesco da Mosto, in his BBC programme on Rome has made it look irresistibly interesting, though I had barely heard of it before. I had visited the Pantheon in Paris several times over the years and understood it’s design had been based on its namesake in Rome. In any case, we decided it was definitely on our list of things to see and - what an amazing building.

Built somewhere around the 1^st century AD it is, apart from its portico, circular in shape. The huge dome, is semi-circular – the height from the floor to the centre of the oculus being the same as the diameter at 142 feet or 43.3 metres. The oculus itself – an opening to the sky, is the only source of light within the building. Francesco da Mosto claimed that when it rained or snowed through the oculus, it was magical. (perhaps he didn’t use exactly those words!) While we didn’t get the rain the almost tangible sunbeams through the roof were awe inspiring, igniting the colours of the floor below. The Pantheon was built originally for the worship of the ancient Roman Gods but, in the 7^th Century AD was consecrated as a Christian church and has been in constant use ever since.

Over the centuries various parts of the building have been removed including much of the external marble and the bronze from the roof of the portico, some of which, it has been suggested, went to make the absolutely ghastly Baldachin or canopy created by Bernini over the high alter of St Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican City – what was he thinking?

Although the outside of the building looks crumbling and ancient, the interior is still, after 2,000 years, looking pretty impressive. Worryingly, some cracks are appearing on the dome. They look small from the floor but I guess, up close, they must be of some concern.

We stopped off for a cafe latte at a nearby caffetteria and enjoyed the warm sunshine and a bit of people watching, then caught a bus to the Via del Corso (yes, I know this is where our hotel was situated but, it is a very long street and we were looking for the opposite end for our shopping). We tried a few shops then moved onto the Via di Ripetta and its side-streets where all the expensive shops are.

I was amazed (though I shouldn’t have been) to find on Via Tomacelli, a very large shop for Ferrari products which was packed with Ferrari fans looking for the iconic products to sport. I was particularly impressed by a giant sized control-car in the show window.

Still pursuing my wedding outfit, we explored a few of the likely looking shops. At one stage I even had a few outfits in my hand to try on. One of the shop assistants approached me and asked ‘For you Signora?’ She looked me up and down with a frown and said ‘No’ emphatically! Well I might have been a little ambitious in what may have fitted me but, really, if you are anything above a UK size 10, think twice about buying something to wear there. While I may not have the bird-like frames of young Italian women, neither am I as fat as many mature women in Italy and, surely, they must shop somewhere. We didn’t find anything and, a little put out by the response, we gave up.

We made our way to the nearby Spanish steps, enjoyed the atmosphere and happiness around us then at the top of the steps found a small cafeteria for a glass of wine and some lunch.

Opposite to where we sat was a house dedicated to the English poets, John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Apparently, Keats died there in 1821, at the age of 25 from consumption(TB). The house is now a museum dedicated to them and several other English poets of note, including Lord Byron. Somewhere else in Rome, we passed in a bus, fleetingly, a house with the names of Keats and Shelley but, I have not been able to track it down.

We returned to our hotel for a couple of hours, gathering our strength for the next foray – there’s nothing like shopping to sap one’s energy – it’s not my favourite occupation. We then went to the Fontana di Trevi, (Trevi Fountain). It was really only one or two minutes’ walk from our hotel and you really, really have to visit the Trevi Fountain. It was packed but, there was no pushing or shoving, no-one was impatient to have their turn to do anything. Everyone seemed happy to be there and share the space with others, not least a wedding couple having their photographs taken in this traditional romantic setting. We threw our three coins into the Fountain. According to Francesco da Mosto, the first coin is to return to Rome, the second is to marry a beautiful Roman woman and the third is to marry a beautiful Roman woman in Rome. Well! Clearly, I’m not interested in the last two so, all my three coins are wishes to return to Rome. It's amazing that these carvings sem to have been carved into the rocks that were there when the work was done - how else could these enormous stones have been brought to this place. ( perhaps if someone knows differently they could enlighten me)

And so to dinner!

My daughter had booked us a special ristorante while in London, through an organisation she is a member of – ‘Top Table’. We arrived at the appointed hour to ‘Ad Hoc’ on Via di Repetta.

( Via di Ripetta, 43 – Roma. –  info@ristoranteadhoc.it)

To our dismay, they didn’t have our reservation, made through ‘Top Table’. For a few minutes of anxiety we thought we wouldn’t be able to experience this much anticipated dinner. After checking their bookings, it was clear that the restaurant had not received the booking yet, they gave us a very central table and the most heartening reception. We started with a welcoming glass of Prosecco – a gift from the management and were presented with two extensive Italian wine menus – red and white wines. The restaurant itself is walled with shelves of fine wines giving the ambience of a wine cellar, though all the wines on show appeared to be red. One must assume that all the Rosés and White wines were stored somewhere more suitable.

Although marvellous, this is an expensive experience but, perhaps, one worth planning for.

Our first course was

·         Fritlurina di Calamaretti (well, that is what I wrote down) – Fried baby squid, asparagus, parmesan and potatoes milfoil.

·         3 fried pumpkin flowers with honey mushrooms, asparagus and black truffle

Our main course:

·         Roasted tender piglet with roasted chicory and sautéed zucchini.

·         Sliced  Sirloin of beef with thyme, white pepper olive oil and aubergine flan

After much debate on whether or not we needed a pudding – really we didn’t and shouldn’t have, we thought we would share a Degustazione dei Nostri Dolci – a tasting of all their desserts – it was exquisite! As was the whole meal.

Four hours after arriving at the restaurant we wandered home – satiated, on all levels.

Rome 3

Rome 2 - Another Day, Another Dinner

Rome 2 – Another Day, Another Dinner.

Our first day was very busy. Of course it was. We wanted to fit everything into the same day but, we were sensible. We mixed sightseeing with relaxing, people watching, enjoying the sunshine and of course, eating and drinking – not that we are alcoholics or anything!

The next day, we breakfasted early and took a bus to the Campo di Fiori. We had thought it was a flower market but, apparently the name goes back to the Middle Ages when it was a meadow. We were disappointed to find only two stalls selling flowers. It is certainly a market with an interesting selection of merchandise which ranges from clothes, food items, sweets and various bee products. As we had, thinking it a market in the English style, got there well before it had really started, we selected a caffetteria with a fine view of all the activities and relaxed over an excellent cafe latte.

We went across the Tevere (Tiber) by Ponte Palatino and past the ‘broken bridge’ the Ponte Rotto which was built originally in stone in 2^nd century BC. It was apparently damaged beyond repair in 16^th Century and now only one span is left standing but, remarkable nonetheless as it is the oldest stone bridge in Italy. We took photographs of the River Tiber then entered the Trastevere area where we wandered around the ancient streets and alleyways until lunchtime enjoying the small colourful piazzas we chanced upon. This is an area well worth exploring further – next time! We found a small cafe in Piazzo de Drago and although fine, it was unremarkable.

Dinner, on the other hand was amazing but, I’ll get to that later. First of all we had some important sightseeing to do. We went to Villa Borghese. Well! Visiting the Colosseum may be an exercise in ticking boxes but, visiting Villa Borghese most certainly is not. Built for Scipione Borghese in the 17^th century, not as a home but as a place to entertain friends and house his art collection. You really can’t imagine snuggling up in front of the fire on a cool evening with a glass of wine but, the collection of Bernini’s sculptures is beyond stunning. For me, the most wondrous statue is that of the Rape of Proserpina – Pluto, the God of the Underworld carrying her off to his kingdom.

Unfortunately, it is forbidden to take anything with you into the Villa. Go prepared. All bags, purses, mobiles, cameras must be checked into their repository though, do take a bottle of water with you – that is allowed. But, no photos to share.

The Villa was built on the Pincian Hill and is surrounded by an extensive, lush, scented parkland. There is an excellent range of amusing, rentable transports for exploring the area, from bicycles, horse drawn carriages, trains and, what we dubbed ‘pedalos’ – really four wheeled bicycles, some pedal powered and some motor powered. They looked like a lot of fun but, we never did discover where we could hire them. We eventually settled for a trip around the park in one of the trains. The driver was a little surly but it didn’t really spoil our enjoyment of the vast estate.

We had some difficulty finding our way off the hill and met others who were having difficulty finding their way to it. In our explorations we discovered a walled park where the citizens of Rome were enjoying their leisure time. Always an interest of mine, some small, quick, tree-creeping birds I never quite captured an image of and green parakeets. Lots of them.

                                             

We went to a pre-booked restaurant - Babette – interesting setting at the end of a somewhat higher-end shopping street, Via Margutta, which meets with Via Del Corso in Piazza del Popolo. The people’s Piazza, a spacious area has at its centre one of the many Egyptian Obelisks in Rome which acts as a focus for the interesting mix of families, tourists, musicians and shoppers.

Via Margutta, this pricey, artistic, well-up-itself street is the home of this most wonderful restaurant. It is situated about 200 metres from the Spanish Steps.

Do book in advance. (e-mail: babette@babetteristorante.it

Information on   www.babetteristorante.it)

The restaurant occupies two distinct areas – their indoor rooms and the outdoor piazza which, although outdoors, managed to convey a cosy, intimate ambiance.

Our menu included :

A present from the chef – vichyssoise soup with fried leeks. – I’m not a big fan of cold soups but, this one was delectable

We had for 1^st course:

·         Salt cod with tempura courgette flower

And

·         Layered soufflé with leek on a parmesan sauce

Main course was

·         Osso Buco

And

·         Vitello Milanese (recommended by the waiter which very much, lived up to its recommendation).

The wine was excellent though, I don’t remember its name.

Service was attentive, humorous, excellent and the facilities were immaculate.

After coffee we wandered in the direction of the Spanish steps.

It was at that time, close to 11.00pm but, there was definitely a fiesta atmosphere among the crowds. The Steps were stilled packed with happy, contented revellers. We vowed we would return then wended our replete and contented way back to our hotel.