Rome - day 4

We had an early start this morning to get to the Villa Borghese by 9 when the first wave of ticket holders are allowed in. The Villa Borghese houses some of the best artworks in Rome, so it warranted a visit even for an art ignoramus like me. Only about 200 tickets are sold for every 2 hour period to limit the crowds but even so, it was quite packed and some of the smaller rooms were rather busy. Some of the artworks are quite amazing and even I recognized a few of them. Scott found that the spotlights weren't all well placed and that the natural light from the windows sometimes made it difficult to avoid a reflection on the art. I wasn't bothered by that but wondered whether boob jobs were invented way back then or if the artists just had weightless imaginations. After our 2 hours were up we strolled through town passing the Fontane del Tritone and the Trevi Fountain before settling down for a doppio espresso in town at a little pavement cafe. It was there that we decided to set our course for the Trastevere district for lunch.

The Trastevere district is renowned for its typical Roman food. We were headed for a place called ai Marmi which we never did find, but we're told that it was closed for lunch and only opened again at 7:30. Since we had walked all that way and were hungry and thirsty we looked for another option and were rewarded when we found Sette Oche In Altalena Reclamavano La Cena - quite a name. The rough translation of the name is seven geese on a swing demand their dinner. Maybe it comes from an Italian nursery rhyme - whatever! For convenience we will talk about Sette Oche which turned out to be a delightful little ristorante even though there were only 2 other tourists sitting outside and we were the only guests inside. The prices were good and the food exceptional. Scott's pizza - Infernale - had hot salami or sausage on it but not as hot as he wanted. I ordered linguine gricia which was a simple pasta dish with pork or bacon, olive oil and garlic, all perfectly balanced and blended together. We followed this with cappuccinos and found it quite difficult to hit the road again. Luckily there was a gelataria just down the road that perked us up no end.

Tomorrow is our last day in Rome and we seem to have only scratched the surface, although we have explored the major areas that Raphaelle suggested. Apart from some gift shopping and packing we plan to go to the Pantheon tomorrow since we didn't fit that in as we had planned today.
Now that we have rested a bit we can hit the streets again; Scott to savour Rome's night life and me to get supper and then an early night.
- Posted by Neil

Location:39 Lungotevere dei Mellini, Rome