World Travel with Bob: Departing Rome

For final day in Rome, our schedule for the day was on-our-own. This meant a later start to the day - around 9:15am. We took a taxi to the Ponte Fabricio bridge. At this point, we crossed the Tiber River to Isola Tiberina and departed the island via Ponte Cestio bridge. This was our entry path into Trastervere.

In Trastervere, we followed a walking tour suggested by Rick Steves. The tour took us through the Piazza in Piscinula, the back streets of Via dell Arco de Tolomei, Via dei Salumi, Vicola dell Atleta, Church of Santa Cecilia, Viale di Trastevere and, finally, Piazza di Santa Mara. We particularly enjoyed entering the Church of Santa Cecilia, with its use of four different exterior columns, to the crypt area beneath the church where visitors can see parts of Cecila's original house and the sections of an ancient building beneath the church. Following this path led us back to the Tiber River and the Ponte Sisto bridge.

Again crossing the Tiber River, we walked to Campo di Fiori. We were still early enough in the morning to see the farmers market and purchase some non-perishable items to bring home. We continued our walk through Piazza Navana, where we viewed Bernini'ls Fountain of the Four Rivers. Leaving the fountain, we were shortly at the imposing Pantheon.

The Pantheon you see today was built around 120AD and is impressive. As with many buildings the original Pantheon, constructed in 27BC, was destroyed by fire. The height of the dome is equal to the diameter of the building's interior. There is a circular opening at the top of the dome providing an 'eye to heaven.' The floor of the Panthenon is gently sloped to remove excess rain that enters through the dome. Raphael is buried under an alter in the Pantheon.

After our visit, we stopped at the Miscellanea Cafe to share a pizza and salad. This cafe was described in Rick Steves' Rome guide and we found the food tasty and prices very reasonable. A perfect place to share family-style a salad and pizza. The cafe's location in back of the Parthenon probably helps to keep it from being inundated with tourists - though with Rick's recommendation, it is likely busy during the high season.

Our last Rome site to visit was the Palazzo Barberini, the home of Pope Urban VIII. This palace, built in 1625, is now home to paintings from the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica. Many of the palazzo's rooms and painted ceilings have been restored and are quite beautiful.

We had dinner at Osteria Barberini. This restaurant received great reviews from Tripadvisor readers. We were not disappointed. The crostini appetizer, grilled vegetables, white truffle ravioli and white truffle fettuccine specials were terrific. The prices were very reasonable (about $120 for three full dinners, with wine and dessert). Given that we only made same-day reservations at 3pm, we were limited to a 6:30 dinner time. According to reviews, reservations should be made several days in advance and walk-in dining is rarely possible. This was one of our top Rome meals. An interesting observation was that some of our best meals were from restaurants without outside cafe dining options - just indoor seating. Perhaps outdoor dining in Rome is more for the ambience than great food - though I'm sure there are many exceptions.

We are now preparing to leave Rome. Tomorrow we are being picked up and driven to the port. We should reach the port of Civitivecchia by 12noon. While cruises are often relaxing, this trip has seven port stops in ten days. This is a somewhat busy schedule and we'll likely look forward to the two at-sea days to wind down.

World Travel with Bob

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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Departing Rome

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