The Eternal City

We’ve arrived in Rome. We’ve been here a few days now. We are finishing the blog getting ready to venture back into Rome-this most engaging and romantic of cities. It is noisy, congested and warm. On our first night here, after settling into our flat in a small lane just off Campo de Fiori, we went for a stroll to explore our immediate area and surrounds. Along the way we feasted on pizza, calamari and beer. We found ourselves in Piazza Navonna at 8.30. It was packed with tourists, Italians- lovers, families and large groups of young people, buskers and hawkers selling gadgets and dubious artwork, strolling, eating and drinking, milling about admiring the Bernini fountains and the Palazzo and the other buildings surrounding the piazza. From inside the Museo De Roma we heard the unmistakeable sounds of jazz. Inquiring further we discovered a concert was being held in the inner couryard of the museum. As we were early we purchased our tickets and headed to our front row seats. The jazz was a mixture of classics and newer work-you really could not get a better place to listen to music.

We are always ready to spend a day walking and working directions in cities. On our first day, we started with superb coffee and pastries at Cafe Farnese-overlooking the Piazza and the Palazzo Farnese. Rome is a city where it is always possible to get lost no matter how familiar you are-and of course you like to head off the well worn paths. Tour groups have multiplied since we were last here and you pick the times of days to miss these suffocating hordes with the umbrella wielding guides. What was originally planned as a gentle amble took us to Campo Di Fiori, Piazza Navonna, the Pantheon, San Luigi del Francesi and the Carravagios, Collonade of Marcus Aurelius, the Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps and the Piazza Del Popolo. It was a full day. We ate a delicious pasta a street back from the Campo Di Fiori. There are so many places to eat you need to be careful in choosing where to eat because the quality varies dramatically and you can always find yourself in the hands of one of Rome’s notoriously difficult waiters. Friends arrived from a day of celebrating-straight off the plane from Australia and whisked off to a day of eating and drinking with an Italian family. Moments like these are always to be treasured. The private lives of Italians are a wonderful mixture of warmth and generosity. Most visitors here only to get to see the public side of Italy. We enjoyed chatting and drinking at the edge of Campo de Fiori.