The goal for today: visit the Coppedè area. We got some coffee and started our walk on via Porta Pinciana towards the north and the Largo Fellini:

As we walked with the old walls on our left and more modern hotels and buildings on our right, I got the feeling of what I really love about Rome: the old and the very old sprinkled with the new. As we were walking we saw this statue:

and a well dressed (handsome, with a bit of a George Clooney vibe) man walking too. I smiled at him and asked if he knew who was this statue. “Always impressive” was his reply. He surmised that this was moved from some temple and is just a generic god. I thought this was pretty hilarious actually–just some random god, so stunning on the street. We talked with the guy, who turned out to be a lawyer and not a Roman, for a bit. It was a very pleasant encounter.

Eventually, we took a left and made it into the Coppedè area at Piazza Mincio and the Fountain of the Frogs.

The Beatles apparently jumped into it in 1965, fully clothed and made it briefly famous. The whimsical Art Deco architecture from the 1920’s of the area is the main attraction. We enjoyed our walkabout and I really loved this gate:

Walking home we stopped into a lovely little fresh pasta shop and got some agnolotti for dinner.

We grabbed some sandwiches at the Bar Sistina right below our apartment and came upstairs for a late lunch. After some rest we went out for another walk about and to the Coop to get some groceries, on the other side of via del Tritone.

Came home and I cooked with the limited cookware, but it did not frustrate me. I was really having fun! Here’s how the agnolotti looked, cooked with some butter sauteed onions and zucchini and their flowers. Pretty and tasty!

After dinner we went for another short walk and got some gelato at San Crispino. I tried the semifreddo (meringa) with caramel — and loved it.

Lots of steps today! We are hitting our traveling rhythm and finding Rome “always impressive.”