Satisfaction!
This was a really satisfying day. We first went to the church of Santa Maria Aracoeli. Not terribly noticable, with a plain brick facade, it is in between the Capitoline museum and the huge Vittorio Emanuele memorial. Teresa had told us that Saint Juniper, namesake of our new grandaughter, was buried there and it seemed as good a reason as any to go.
On our way there, we noticed hundreds of white chef hats on the steps, as we were facing Piazza Venezia. Most of them had floated off, down the side walk by the time we got close enough but it was quite a site. I did manage these shots of the stragglers:
The church visit was, well…. divine. There are 124 marble steps to arrive. As everything has some symbolic meaning with these churches, climbing the steps is supposed to bring you luck in the lottery! Perfect for Ken. For the rest of the features, you’ll have to look on Wikipedia because there is just too much. With the help of a nice man working in the gift shop, who lead us through the roped off area, we found St. Giunipero, companion of St. Francis.
Lots of tears were shed. Finally I lit a candle for little Juniper of Miami.
Back on the Rome streets there was lots of evidence of yesterday’s storms:
We came back to the apartment for a bit of rest and sustenence before we set out for the Borghese Gardens and gallery. Our tickets were for 3:00 and we got there about an hour ahead to hang out in the gardens. We took a selfie on a bench as we rested:
The Bernini sculptures were every bit as moving as I remembered from my last visit. We had gotten the audio guides and they were really good. Impossible to photograph, but I tried to get a feel for them and their glory:
Walking home we decided we needed our first gelato of the trip. Fatamorgana is in Monti and highly touted so that’s where we went. I tried 2 new flavors: ricotta with agrumi and pineapple with ginger. Ken had his standard order of dark chocolate and pistacchio. All were excellent and well deserved; we had walked a lot, again.
We really didn’t have any appetite for dinner so wine and taralli did it for us. We played some cards and watched the Crown and realized what a really satisfying day it had been.
Perfecto! You guys look great.
Love following along on your adventures. We loved Santa Maria Arcoeli as well, but my favorite, favorite church to visit is San Luigi dei Francesi to see the magnificent Caravaggio paintings. Santa Maria del Popolo also has a couple. And you can probably guess my favorite works at the Borghese Gallery.
If you are near Piazza Navona and feel like a light (or liquid) lunch or dinner, try Cul de Sac, a neighborhood style wine bar. Nice salads and meat/cheese plates. Plus excellent bread and lots of interesting wines.
Ciao!
Dear Jan, I get so much enjoyment from your travel blog and the pictures are wonderful. Thanks for sharing the fun with all of us!–Betty
Lovely day. Fulfilling with those sculptures at the Borghese and of course gelato!
I just found this from Slow Europe. Following you through Lisbon and Porto was fabulous. A friend and I are considering Portugal next year. Will we be brave enough to do it independently? And Roma–just so. Love your photos and narratives and recognizing other responders. Ruth!!
Well, thanks a lot. After our very lovely lunch today, i couldn’t leave well enough alone, no-sirree! I walked to the aforementioned church that is reached by many a step, to find that you were quite right in your estimation of this little jewel. My quads screamed at me all the way home, to which I said “Hey, no pain, no gain.” I think they may be working on some horrible form of revenge tomorrow.
Don’t worry, I don’t carry grudges, I just get even. 🙂
Wonderful day! Love the Borghese and the Berninis and Caravaggio. Gelato sounds divine!
Wonderful day! Love the Borghese and the Berninis and Caravaggio. Gelato sounds divine!