Thursday 15 May: We go to town twice

Gary and I got up this morning and walked across Ponte Sisto into the Centro Storico. Since we walked right past the church of San Andrea della Valle, and since I am a fan of the architect Maderno, we went in for a minute to admire the big dome, second tallest in the city after St. Peter’s, and the amazing frescos on the ceiling. Then we stopped at Caffè Sant’Eustachio for coffee and chocolate cornetti. Caffè Sant’Eustachio has perhaps the best coffee in the entire world, literally! We then strolled to the Pantheon and walked inside. Gary loves the Pantheon as much as I do, and we are both amazed every time we go in. The recent restorations show the yellow, green, and maroon marble columns and paneling to advantage, and the huge dome, the biggest in the world until the 1960’s, never fails to impress. The painter Raphael is buried here, and there were fresh violets on his tomb.

We then headed over to Piazza Navona, another favorite place of ours. The square was mostly full of artists of all types: caricaturists, folks doing sketches of Roman scenes, watercolors, and pastel drawings. Since we were right there, we went into the church of San’Agnese in Agone, designed by Boromini, Bernini’s great rival. The church is not huge, but is extremely lavish with colored marble, gilt bronze, paintings, and sculpture. We headed home, and I actually grilled panini in the closet kitchen for lunch!

In the afternoon we caught bus 23 to Piramide station, got on Metro line B to Termini, the main station in town, switched to Metro line A, and got off at Piazza de Spaga to see the Spanish Steps. We took the elevator to the top of the steps (yes, there is one; it’s sort of hidden in the Metro stop) and walked down them. This was the first time I had ever seen the Spanish Steps without flowers. Instead, they were completely covered with people: tourists, local Roman sunning themselves, and the inevitable teenage couples making out. There are great views of Rome from the top of the steps, and we have some on Flickr.

From Spagna we headed toward the Trevi Fountain. The district we walked through is the central business and financial part of town, and home to Fendi, Versace, Armani, and other Italian designers, as well as luxury shops for jewelry, clothing, art, and specialty food items. Gary took a photo of a shop called “Expensive!” Arriving at the Trevi Fountain, we just sat and people watched for a while. The place was not as crowded as it sometimes is, so we were able to get nice seats near the front. We each threw coins in (the third time this trip for me!), thus guaranteeing our return to the Eternal City.

For dinner, we stopped in Piazza Navona again at Tucci, one of our favorite restaurants. Gary had spaghetti al ragu and I had gnocchi with an amazing gorgonzola sauce. Our friend Sandy had given Gary money for us to have a bottle of wine in Roma. We bought a bottle of Frascati, the white wine from the Alban Hills outside of town, and we drank a toast to Sandy. There are pics on Flickr! Exhausted from a day of walking all over the city, we headed home and went to bed early.