Roman Holiday

Okay, I know I don’t have Audrey Hepburn’s waist and George certainly does not have Gregory Peck’s hair colour, nor did we ride a scooter, but we did go to Rome for the weekend for a Roman Holiday for our 29th wedding anniversary.

On Thursday morning we dropped off Toby at his Italian babysitters.  They are a wonderful couple, Maria and Toniello love dogs and Toby has certainly charmed his way with them.  The only problem is that Maria and Toniello had was that Toby does not understand Italian.  When it was time for Toby to go to bed, he would not go as he did not understand “go to sleep” in Italian.  Hence, they had to call upon their son who does speak a little English to tell Toby that it was time “to go to sleep”, which he obeyed and went to sleep.

George and I took the bus into Rome and then attempted Rome's subway to take us to our hotel.  We dropped off our bags, went for a late lunch and then started our walking tour.  We spent the afternoon roaming around Rome, going to the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, the Pantheon, visiting cathedrals, walked along the Tiber River and ended up in Piazza Navona.  We went to Cul De Sac for dinner which is a wine bar that served with plates of prosciutto, carpaccio, cheese and salad and of course, wine.  It was a nice way to the end the evening.

Colesseum

Friday after breakfast we began our walking tour to Campo de’ Fiori.  In the morning it is full of stalls of fresh fruit and vegetable stands, spices, olive oils, vinegars and fresh flowers.  Surrounding the open market are small restaurants.  We enjoyed a wonderful lunch sitting outside watching the people and action.  

Campo de' Fiori

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Yum - Lunch in Campo de' Fiori

In the afternoon we strolled through the Jewish Ghetto in which during the 16th through 19th centuries, Rome’s Jewish population was forced to live in a cramped ghetto near the often flooded bend of the Tiber River.  Today there stands a large synagogue, restaurants and shops selling Roman Jewish food in this vibrant area.  

Wandering down one of the streets in the Jewish Ghetto

Synagogue 

Fresh artichokes at a local Jewish restaurant

From there we wandered over to Bocca della Verita (The Moment of Truth)  which is an ancient sewer cover which is supposed to bite off the hands of liars.  If you have seen Roman Holiday there is a scene with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck.  Gregory Peck puts his hand in and pulls out with his hand pretending to be bitten off which got a reaction from Audrey Hepburn.  Apparently this was an impromptu scene that the director decided to keep in the movie. From there we wandered over to Trastevere which houses a small piazza. We climbed to the highest point there and were able to look out over all of Rome below. After another long day of walking we went to  Enoteca Cavour 313 for dinner and enjoyed wonderful meats and cheeses and wine.  We spent the eveing wandering along the Tiber River. 

Saturday morning we took the subway to Ostia Antica which was Rome’s orginal port at the mouth of the Tiber River and a busy trading centre.  After a combination of malaria and commerical competition the town went into decline. Due to silting over the years and a change in direction of the river itself, the town now lies 3 miles inland. 

Theatre in Ostia Antica

Main Street

Mosaic tile floors of shop keepers

 In the afternoon we strolled through Villa Borghese Gardens which were spectacular.  

A temple in Villa Borghese Gardens

A sign of Spring

For dinner we decided to dress up and go out to a nice restaurant that we like for our anniversary.  We had a delicious dinner of antipasta and homemade pasta.  After dinner we went to the Trevi Fountain.

Trevi Foundation

Sunday was a travelling day.  We took the train to the airport to meet the CCI students arriving back to school and accompanied them on the CCI bus back to Lanciano.  

Oh yes, if you ever have a chance, don't miss watching the movie Roman Holiday.  It is a classic.