Walking Tour

Hi all,

I have hijacked today's email as my husband has failed to capture the true magic of this place.

Stepping out of our hotel everyday is like stepping into the pages of a history book.  Every street, every alley, every lane way, every terrace tells a story.  All are filled with ancient ruins, majestic statues and exquisitely old architecture.  Around every corner holds a surprise, little lane ways opening onto grand piazzas or alleys leading up to huge churches or government buildings. It truly is breathtaking.  My favorite place so far is the Piazza Navona.  It has three fountains in the centre and a large chapel at one end that rings its bells at midday.  Around the piazza are many different cafes and restaurants and in the middle are artists selling their wares.

Our adventure to the Colosseum was mind blowing.  Although it's history is filled with death, the architecture and sheer size of the building is a credit to its makers (see Google Compositions for a panorama).  The Romans obviously didn't believe in doing things by halves.

The food is fantastic.  It's light, fresh and leaves you wanting more.  There is no 'heavy' feeling after the main meal which means dessert is always a 'yes'.  My taste buds have definitely gone into overdrive.

Today we decided to hire a Vespa and scoot around the sites that are just too far way to walk.  Cudos to my husband whose ability to retain directions is second to none.  In the short time we have been here he has managed to get a very good handle on the lay of the land.  No matter where we go, he always knows how to get home (he does this when we walk as well, I can wander off anywhere and he knows exactly where we are).  It was great to be back on the bike and he handled the scooter like an old hand (for god sake don't tell my mother).  It was hair raising and invigorating battling the Italian traffic.  The roads are extremely wide but with only two lanes marked.  Each lane has at least a 4 car width but there are no dedicated lanes so cars going in the same direction all merge together and then throw in the mix 100s of scooters and you have Italian traffic.  Brilliant!!  By the way, there is no such thing as four wheel drivers or utes here.  Everyone drivers a small car, most popular being the smart car.  Space, and for that matter parking is at a premium so you need to be able to squeeze into the tightest spaces.  We saw sites we never would have if we had to stay within the radius of our hotel.  Photos to come.  (Take note that the colour of the vespa had to match my new yellow handbag).

Oh and ladies, the shopping is fantastic and the Italian men are very helpful.

Will hijack the blog again tomorrow.

Lorraine (and Sean)

Daily Links
2016-07-12.2 Walking Tour
2016-07-12.1 AM Morning Ramble and Lunch
2016-07-11.1 - Ramblings
2016-07-10 BNE-DXB-ITA
Google Compositions