Spanish Steps + Piazza Navona

After leaving the Pantheon, we meandered through the shopping streets of Rome en route to the Spanish Steps. A Gold Lotto wish then popped into my head: Shopping trip to Rome with an unlimited budget and someone to carry all the bags! Piazza di Spagna mustn’t be terrorist proof yet, as there were a lot of military vehicles and personnel blocking the entry points onto the Piazza in lieu of bollards. An obligatory sit on the steps, which we then walked up to be rewarded with fabulous views over the rooftops of Rome including the dome of St Peter’s Basilica.

Lunch was had in a café in the Borghese Gardens, after which we strolled back home for a quick rest. For the rest of the afternoon, we spent the time in the Fora Romano, Palatino and Colosseo. The queue for the tickets moved slowly and the security line for the Colosseum was ridiculously long, so we opted to do the Forum first. Good decision as it turned out – by the time we got to the Colosseum we basically walked right in.

We then meandered to the Piazza Navona for the evening meal and found a little restaurant just off the main square. We opted to start with “happy hour” which included a plate of antipasto. Dinner was quite rustic pasta dishes (to the point where when I asked the owner/waiter for parmesan to go with my risotto I received a “no, no good” and he walked away!). I feel like I have had my own version of the soup nazi: "No parmesan for you!".Read more