Historic centre of Rome – day two
It’s so cool to wake up in the morning in the heart
of Rome after a night’s sleep, when the delicious breakfast, which is included
in the price of the accommodation, is already waiting in the restaurant on the
rooftop terrace.
Amazing feeling! All you have to do is get out of
the huge bed and get dressed so that you can show up on the terrace.
Colosseum
On the first day in Rome, we visited a museum, so
on the second day we wanted to enjoy the sunny day and fresh October day in
Rome. The first thing we did right after breakfast was going to the Colosseum –
after all, what would be Rome without the Colosseum?
We had even been inside before, but to take a
selfie in the background of the coliseum was a must. What made thing seven
easier was that the Coliseum is located less than a ten-minute walk from Monti Palace Hotel.
We had a plan of going from the Coliseum subway
station to our next activity – walking through the park on the other side of
the city centre. However, we had to go back to the hotel because the metro
station at the Colosseum was closed due to Covid restrictions. But since the
weather was just fantastic, it was not an issue and we soon reached our next
destination by subway departing from another station.
Gardens of Villa Borghese
We had already planned to take a longer walk
through the gardens of Villa Borghese, located in the south-east of the Rome
centre. The gardens began by replacing the previous vines in 1605, but in their
current appearance, they have existed since the end of the eighteenth century.
Villa Borghese’s gardens are set in a landscaped
park of around 80 hectares. It is also home to several buildings, museums and,
of course, a variety of attractions. A trendy way to relax there is renting
different types of bicycles. The area is huge, it is the third largest park in
Rome, and if you want to see it all, it is quite difficult to do it just by
walking around.
After a good walk, we went from the western part of
the park towards the Tiber River. From the terrace of the park (the park is
located on one of the hills), you could see the Piazza del Popolo (it means
something like a people’s square).
Piazza del Popolo
Then we walked down to the square. There is a beautiful fountain in the middle of the square, although there are a lot of fountains in Rome that look beautiful and impressive. This one is special because in the middle of the fountain is an obelisk of the Egyptian pharaoh Rameses – a tall tower in the shape of a narrow and tall pyramid. On one side of the square is the church of the same name, Santa Maria del Popolo - not too big, but a beautiful building.
After a short walk around Piazza del Popolo,
we went south through the narrow streets of the centre of Rome. It already was
afternoon and we had to go home soon. We wanted to eat and also to buy Italian
delicacies to take home. Therefore, the next destination before returning to
the hotel was the market in Piazza Campo de’Fiori.
Piazza Campo de’Fiori
We did not intend to shop in the market, but there
are several famous Italian shops in the area selling Italian food, which is
mainly dried meat in various ways.
That’s what we did; we spent a lot of money in the
shop at Piazza Campo de ‘Fiori, 43. The shop is recognisable with its wild
boar’s head above the entrance. The shop is small but full of meat products. As
a result, the backpack I took was now full of different types of dried meat and
we went for lunch before going home.
There is a restaurant near the square where we ate
and you can read more about it in another blog about our gastronomic adventures during
this trip.
That’s all for this time. It should be noted that
from the same Termini station where we arrived, we took a bus back to the
airport. When planning your trip, note that the company SIT Bus we used for the
airport transfer offers the last transfer to the airport at six in the evening.