Borghese Gallery

Back at the hotel we had a few minutes to relax and refresh.

Our balcony wrapped around the corner of the hotel

We would need to take a taxi to the gallery as it was a long way away. We caught one by the Pantheon and agreed on a price before getting in. It was E14 and the drive took about 20 minutes through wide hilly streets with beautiful steely buildings, some of which were foreign Embassies.

There is a limit to the number of people they let in at any given time so it is wise to have your tickets in advance. Your ticket is good for two hours and there is a lot to see, so you have to keep moving unless you can return many times and want to focus on particular painters or sculptors.

I can't tell you what each painting is or who painted it. I was busy taking photos or waiting my turn to get a clear photo.

As in the Vatican Museum, it pays to look up...

Look up!

David prepares to sling the shot that will kill Goliath (Bernini 1623)

Apollo and Daphne (1622)

Outside the Gallery are the Borghese gardens, open to the public. They were too big for us to explore today so we'll come back to them another time. So much Rome-not enough time!

The gallery is spread through many rooms, large and small

Again by Bernini, a bust of the man who started it all in his villa- Scipione Borghese (1632)

The last supper

A better look

Our time was almost up and there were still rooms we hadn't visited

We made our way back downstairs to the entrance hallway. I had checked my camcorder at the coat check there as videography was prohibited.

We sat in the sunny garden for a while and then took a taxi back to Piazza della Rotonda

Coming next- the Pantheon interior