Chris & Kelly's Travel Adventures

Yesterday we said goodbye to our vacation agriturismo "il capoverso" and hosts Gianluca and Chiara in Monte San Savino.  That part of our stay was everything we hoped it would be, and for any future visitors...if you wish. a quiet, comfortable respite in the Tuscan countryside and would like to travel in a rented car to do day trips to ancient walled cities such as Assisi, Arezzo, Siena, Lucca, Orvieto to name a few...we highly recommend this agriturismo on VRBO. 

We arrived in Rome in good time and spent the afternoon getting our new VRBO set up.  Found a local grocery store (for dairy and such) and aimed for a quiet evening of planning the next day's adventures and early bedtime.

Up early, we headed to Piazza Navona.  A huge, beautiful square with 3 fountains (The Moor Fountain, Bernini's 4 rivers and oblisque, Neptunes Fountain) in front of Church of St. Agnese.  The details were great, and Chris's favorite was in Neptunes Fountain...the little cherub fighting the sea creature and the netting.

We hope to go back and see the fountains lit up after dark. :)

A couple of blocks over is the Pantheon.  Impressive in size.  We were there before opening.  Even so, by the time they opened the doors there were 150 people behind us!  The interior is beautiful, we loved watching the early morning light stream in through the oculus.  I must have taken 50 photos, but with the round room, dome roof everything looked like it was taken with a fish-eye lens---SORRY.  

Next up was Sant'Andrea della Valle.  I'd never seen it on any travel show or research, but happened to spot it on google maps while studying our neighborhood.  If you notice in the lower left hand corner of the 1st interior picture, you will see what looks like a white folding table.  It actually holds a rectangular mirror so you can view the frescoed ceilings without falling over backward...very smart!  In the 4th photo down is a close up of the ceiling over the main alter, there are 6 suspended sculptures there.  Chris and I estimated they must be between 6-10 ft each! 

If you want to stock your kitchen in Rome...dairy, drinks and any snack foods-the local CO-OP is the way to go (and there are many of them).  For fresh produce nothing is better that the daily open market.  Campo di Fiori (Field of flowers) is near us, and open daily from 7:30- afternoon.  What a fun place to stroll and see what is fresh.  Along the edges of the market are also bakeries, coffee shops and patisserie's.  We purchased some baby zucchini and grapes to go with grilled chicken I made for lunch. :)

Stayed tuned for more pictures tonight as we make our way though a flood lit Rome after dark. 

Went back to Piazza Navona to Ristorante Bernini (obviously named after the sculpture artist who helped create two of the fountains within the square).  This little restaurant (we sat outside just steps from Neptune's Fountain) was inspired by a Grandma's cooking...she is now retired, her grandson proudly manages it.  The food was wonderful.  We had a penne pasta with smoked salmon in a pink cream sauce and also thin sliced beef in a gorgonzola sauce, salad w/balsamic.  We just barely avoided licking the plates.  Strolled through the square, stopped at a gelateria/patisserie and got a sfogliatelli (cream filled filo dough pastry) and a rum baba (for Chris)- not quite a bottle of rum, but close.  A sponge cake that is soaked in rum, he didn't complain once while eating  it.   Time to toddle off to bed.