Sunday morning walk to the Tiber

So we are interested in seeing Castel Sant'Angelo as it plays a part in an opera we love- Tosca.
The heroine , Tosca herself, leaps from the battlements after her boyfriend has been shot by a firing squad. She had previously murdered the Chief of Police who was hoping to rape her. It's an exciting opera, rich in emotional music.

Anyway we were going to walk there as it was a nice Sunday morning.

The tourists were up and about and the Pantheon was on their "must-see" list. We walked to Piazza Navona where we would find a street that led directly to Castel Sant' Angelo.

We didn't find the time to visit this church in Piazza Navona-but we will next time. In there square, apart from some good musicians you'll find guys like this-pretending to be levitating by sitting on a hidden apparatus.

We found the narrow street we were looking for. We like quiet streets like this, away from the crowds.

You get to see things like this man sitting reading his newspaper in the street with his dogs. It is probably cooler down here than in his apartment on a warm  80 degree Sunday morning. Plus dogs love fresh air!

A restaurant waiting for customers 

A couple sharing a snack on the steps

Like every other shop I looked into in Italy this store was bright, clean and welcoming

One last narrow street and we would be by the Tiber River and at our destination.

Sunday in Rome

I was up early on Sunday morning and on the streets by 7 a.m which is before the coffee shops open. (note to self- research before returning to Rome)

There were few people in the streets apart from the taxi drivers who wait by the Pantheon. Others were maybe people going to work- hopefully in a nearby cafe! Carol was still asleep but we were meeting for breakfast in the hotel at 9 a.m. Our rooms are on that top floor, extreme left. The little bush there is on our balcony. Above you can see the trees on the rooftop bar.

We'll visit the Pantheon much later in the day.

I searched the narrow streets for a coffee shop. We had gotten great coffee in this street the day before.

None open yet. Delivery vans (small through necessity) were starting to appear in the streets to stock the stores for another busy day.

I decided to take a walk while it was so quiet. I wanted to get a better idea of what was around us. I walked around the square before branching out up unknown streets. This cafe had it's seats set up but was not yet serving.

I walked through a nearby square....

and came to a wide street where I found some old ruins exposed in a quiet square

The streets were starting to come alive by this time

A group on a walking tour

I am back, close to Piazza della Rotonda

When we drove past this cafe yesterday Franco told us it was "the best coffee in Rome" but it had a line out the door and into the street. There was a line inside today but I didn't go in. I was going to have my coffee near the Pantheon.

Here is the Pantheon, seen from the rear as I walked towards the square

Once back in the square I sat in the shade at a cafe and had a cappuccino. Sitting outside on a sunny Sunday morning drinking great cappuccino was a fitting way to start my day. I love the Rome coffee culture and the way they sit and relax quietly. Some were even reading newspapers-on paper!

It was approaching 9 a.m and soon we would be going for breakfast. I could see Carol up there on our balcony....

Carol reads her daily newspapers (New York Times and Wall Street Journal) on her Kindle. No paper for her!

We had a nice quiet breakfast in the hotel. A small buffet by American standards but good simple food and excellent coffee-try finding that in America!

Then we were ready for a walk- Carol wanted to see Castel Sant' Angelo which is mentioned in one of our favorite Italian operas-Tosca by Giacomo Puccini.

We'll walk there next....

Dinner in Rome

While we're taking a nap before our first dinner in Rome here are a few minutes of video from earlier in the day...

The sun had set at 7pm and by 8pm we were awake and ready to eat. But where? The square was ringed by restaurants and they were all doing great business. Carol came up with the idea of asking at the hotel and Ferrucio was working there. Where would he eat tonight?

He had a favorite to recommend- Virginiae, but it was over 10 minutes walk away. He gave us a map and highlighted the route. "Simple Roman food" he said and that sounded good to us. They had outdoor seating which was good as it was a warm night. Ferrucio called ahead and reserved an outdoor table for us.

I waited for Carol outside the hotel....

With map in hand we set off through the square. We would pass through Pizza Navona along the way.
We'll spend some time there later as it was such a lively place.
Off that square we found some narrow streets and found our way to the restaurant.

Using my best Italian (which can only get better with practice) I told a waiter by the door that we had a reservation from Albergo del Senato and he showed us to our table and brought menus. We were in a very narrow street which small cars would drive down, close to our table.

Drinks were brought quickly. I chose a bottle of Pinot Grigio for under E20 and sat back to relax and enjoy the people watching. This part of Rome is a walking area and many people were strolling by, not in any particular hurry as it's Rome and a warm night and each step is to be savored.

Wonderful smells came from the kitchen within and we had no problem finding tempting dishes on the menu.

To start, for me, when I see Spaghetti alla Carbonara on a menu I have to order it. It was the first pasta dish I ever ate, back in 1972 when I was briefly living in Germany and visited an Italian restaurant in Nuremberg many times. Simple-spaghetti with pieces of prosciutto and egg mixed in, with salt and pepper to season.

On the other side of the table Carol was enjoying Artichoke alls Romana, as only the" Queen of Vegetables" can.

Carol's Secondi Piatti-her entree-was Osso Bucco which sadly I forgot to photograph. She was very happy with her dish and the smell from my side of the small table was wonderfully aromatic.

For me, veal saltimbuco

All the while the waiter attended to our needs and between courses we spoke to him. A very nice fellow indeed and good at his job. A professional.

I took some video of our first evening in Rome. We didn't do much besides have dinner then visit Piazza Navona and get to bed by 11pm as we had been up since 5.30 and had been busy seeing the sights all day.

Here's the video...

And a couple of photographs before bedtime...

And so to bed for a long-awaited sleep. What would tomorrow bring?

At last we check-in to Albergo del Senato

On the way to the hotel (where we were dying to be) Franco wanted to show us something-the last thing on his list of Roman sights. Through narrow streets he took us to see the Spanish Steps where people with nothing better to do like to sit out in the sun. He had to drop us off and find a place to park.

This crowd spilled into the side streets all around. We could now cross it off Franco's list. If I go back to sit on the stairs like a tourist I will go earlier in the day or later in the evening.

At the hotel, in Pantheon Square, known locally as Piazza della Rotonda, we said goodbye to Franco with our thanks, a tip and the Rome in Limo fee (paid in cash Euros) and went into the hotel.

I had been looking forward to this moment all day-no longer on the move, keeping up with a schedule. Now, once in our room, our time was our own.

The hotel had already moved our luggage up to our room once the room had been cleaned. We had a Junior Suite on the 6 th floor as our home for the next two nights.

We found ourselves in the World's Smallest Elevator...

Up on the 6th and our room is straight ahead.

I'll show the room and the hotel as we go along. Once we enter a room we have a routine which never varies-Carol unpacks and I get out of her way.

I immediately went back into the hallway and climbed a flight of stairs at the top of which my new favorite place in Rome was waiting- the rooftop bar of Albergo del Senato! (open to hotel guests only from 4 pm onwards)

This is how to relax! Cold beer and olives from the bar. They have their own small olive trees on the roof but it takes days of preparation before they are edible, once picked.

It was "magic light" time, when the sun is low and preparing to set. I took a look over the low wall to see the square below.

Music wafted up from below. We would soon find that buskers would set up here from 11 a.m to maybe 9 p.m. Accordionists, singers with guitars and a great little duo of drums and guitar who played Pink Floyd songs. They all sounded good and added to the lively atmosphere of the square.

The Pantheon is very close to the hotel

The view away from the square finds the Victor Emmanuel II monument in the distance

Soon we would lose the light

With the night falling it was time for me to unpack and then have a quick nap before heading out for dinner. Carol was already trying to sleep but the music in the square was wafting up to the 6 th floor.

Next- time to eat!