Arrivaderci, Roma

Chilling out right now in the shade, on stone benches circled around a pleasantly trickling fountain in the gardens of Villa Borghese.

We need to pace this day. The heat is relentless, about 36 or 38. Too hot to walk right now.

I've got an itinerary worked out with my handy AI travel agent. Never used that before this trip, and it's really helpful. I plugged in the sites I wanted to visit, stressed I wanted to avoid the heat, and asked for a reasonable agenda. I could have worked it out, but honestly not that fast. I keep thinking about the movie Idiocracy though: I can work it out, but am choosing not to. What if people no longer know how?

Anyway. We started our day looking for the Aventine Keyhole - on top of the Aventine hill, just past the ancient walled orange garden Giardino Arencia. Beside the garden is the hauntingly empty basilica Santa Sabina, with its 4th century carved wooden doors. And then next : a Knight's of Malta priory with an intriguing secret. If you peek though the keyhole of the door to the garden, you will be rewarded with the enchanting view of a perfectly framed St. Peter's Dome. Nearly impossible to capture with a phone camera, it's a view that just needs to be seen in person for best effect.

Nearby is a Benedictine abbey, where we stop for a rest and cool drink before making our way to Trastavere where a little shop called Il Maritozzaro makes these gorgeous Roman specialty huge cream filled buns. It's already sweltering hot out, so we choose to stand inside at the counter to enjoy every bite while watching the counter attendant slather fresh whipped cream into trays of new Maritozzaro.

Figuring out public transit in Rome is challenging. Its subway system appears far less extensive than we would have expected. A complexity of bus, metro, walking and trains is a factor in every itinerary. To minimize travel time and maximize rest, we head then to the Villa Borghese park. After the shady rest described above, we find enough energy to rent a little bike cart and tour more of this extensive city park.

The gelato that has been well earned is next on the agenda. We're off to the Gelateria del Teatro. Here is one of the most enjoyable pastimes, the selection of the perfect flavour. The choices here complicate the decision, they're just too good! Rosemary honey lemon is a clear winner. But needs a companion. White chocolate basil, ginger cream, raspberry sage, dark chocolate with nero d'avola....how to decide? For me, the lavender white peach ultimately wins second flavour.

The gelateria is located on a pretty little street, full of leather shops, art galleries, and of course, restaurants!

An amble through nearby Piazza Navona leads us to a bus back to the hotel that generously allowed us an day luggage storage. And then, step by step, the arduous journey homeward begins.Read more