Rome Trip - Day 4

The Thursday of our trip to Rome was a quieter day, which we needed! We got up and had some breakfast, and then set out. We walked to the Pantheon where we had a cuppa in a cafe looking over it, which was very cool. I actually had a hot chocolate as I really wanted one while in Italy, and it was nice. It was just lovely to sit there soaking up the atmosphere! Rome is a really nice city - very clean, compact, and bustling with people. I liked it a lot. 

We then went to Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva - yes I had to look that up as I couldn't remember it myself. It has a Michaelangelo statue inside and some Bernini stuff, and it's free and not that busy. We went in and wandered round but unfortunately they're doing a lot of building work in the back of it so the Michaelangelo isn't out to see, which is a shame. But the church is lovely anyway so we had a look. I lit some candles - one for my dad and one for my friend Tom - as I always do in churches if available. My dad would have been tickled that I was doing that in a Catholic church! 

There is a Bernini statue outside with an elephant with an obelisk on its back, and that was really cool to see. 

Then we walked to Torre Argentina. It's a really old part of Rome, they were starting to build on it but then they dug and found a ton of statues and old temples and stuff, so they couldn't build and now it's a monument. My friend Lolly had been to Rome just a few weeks before us and told us there was a feral cat colony there so we went. I got in for free, of course, and we went down into the ruins. There were a few cats around and my mum had brought some treats so she fed a few, but then one of the staff told us off. So we just looked at the monument and read all the information. 

A member of staff had to come and help me get the lift back up to the top, and he told me that there was a cat sanctuary in the corner of the ruins and pointed out where to get in. Which was very cool! So we went round and down the steps and there was a low ceilinged door. A woman asked us to wait so we did. A French family turned up and we spoke to them - it turned out they had a black cat like my mum and I both do so that was cute. My mum speaks French then expects me to understand what they say back because she doesn't always catch it. It's a good job she's cute!

Finally we were allowed into the sanctuary. A woman told us about the charity; they trap, neuter and release feral cats, and they feed them all in the area so that you rarely see a feral cat in other parts of Rome. But there are some that can't be released and those live in the sanctuary. We could go in and look! There was a double door so no cats could escape and the French family came in with us and WE GOT TO PET CATS. It was so cute! The ginger one wanted to sit on anyone's knee, and there was a blind one that I stood and stroked for a while (she was black). We weren't in there for very long but it was very cute and I LOVE CATS.

It was free but we both left a donation for them. If you're in Rome and like cats, it's worth having a look. 

It was lunchtime by this time so we went just across the road to a restaurant. We were under a canopy on the road and it was lovely to again be right in the hustle and bustle of the city! The vegetarian choices weren't great so I ended up having smoked salmon bruschetta with burrata on it. It was delicious! I do occasionally eat fish and I enjoyed it. We shared a bottle of prosecco and we sat there for ages just chilling and chatting. 

We headed back to the hotel and on the way we stopped for ice cream. I got one of the lemon sorbet in a lemon thing, they are everywhere in Rome and quite overpriced but also it seems like you have to! So I did, and I really liked it. I also bought a cream bun type thing that I had seen all over too; I ended up eating that the next morning in the taxi back to the airport.

We rested again in the hotel - something which I really recommend if you're chronically ill or in pain like I am - and then ventured out for food. My mum wanted to go back to the restaurant we had been in the first night as she had liked it, and I was happy with that. I had a vegetarian pizza with mushrooms which was delicious, although I couldn't eat it all. I can't remember what my mum had. 

Then we went into a bar directly opposite our hotel. There was someone making pasta which was fun to watch. My mum had prosecco but I had some kind of rum cocktail which was delicious. We had an early night though because we had to get up early the next morning! 

A square on the way to the Pantheon

And a tiny street - there were restaurants on here which said crepes, if only we had gone that far on Wednesday night!

The Pantheon as we had our hot drinks

The Basilica with the Bernini statue - it is so cool!

And a close up of the elephant

Inside the church

I think this was by Bernini too. Who knows. There's just so much cool old shit in Rome everywhere

I liked this, too

This was an Easter shrine portraying the whole life of Jesus, my mum liked it a lot

More inside the church

Torre Argentina which I liked a lot - the explanations of what was there were interesting. I'm guessing it was a bit like the Forum, which we hadn't managed to see the previous day, so that was good

Inside the cat sanctuary as my mum made friends with the ginger cat

This one wanted to be my pal, she was very cute

This was the blind black cat, I kept talking to her as I was stroking her so she knew I was friendly

This one was cute too

Bottle of prosecco in the restaurant - I love sitting on patios drinking and eating and watching the world go by which we had specifically planned, and it was great!

My lunch

And my mum's, which had avocado

Lemon sorbet, it was huge!

Then later, my pizza

In the bar we went to after food

MY lovely mum and her prosecco

And me and my cocktail. That door behind me was the doorway to our hotel! 

Rome Trip - Day 3

On the Wednesday of our trip to Rome we got up and had breakfast again in the hotel, this time securing a decaf cappucino each. Then we got a taxi to the Colosseum which didn't cost very much at all. As other places, I could skip the queue with my blue badge - although it was early so it wasn't that busy at that point anyway. But then we ran into a problem. I had booked the tickets previously and read that we needed to take ID, which we did. However, their system had sent me the wrong ticket, a ticket booked in a name that has the first 5 letters of my surname, but which was decidedly not my name. So I wasn't allowed in on that ticket. 

Fortunately I got in for free with the blue badge anyway, but I think started trying to get a refund. I just kept getting bots telling me that they couldn't alter or amend a name after booking - which wasn't what I was trying to do! I was telling them THEIR system had messed up and that I couldn't get in. I gave up while I was in Rome but then got back on to them when I got home. I ended up getting a refund - I think because I also tried to do a charge back with my bank and that finally spurred them to action. It was fine, but quite annoying! 

The Colosseum is really cool though! We walked round all the parts that we could on our ticket - you could pay extra for other bits but we didn't bother. I took a ton of photos. I'm glad we bothered to go because it was very cool to see. We also met a ginger cat! He was very cute. 

We then tried to walk for the bus but they had stopped the stop nearest to the Colosseum and it was a LONG walk to the next one, and we were hot and bothered. We bought water off a fella on the street, which were still iced up so were great. My mum ordered another Uber and he took us to the Jewish Quarter. 

Now here's a funny story. Over twenty years ago Lee and I went with my parents to Lake Como for a week, followed by a few days in Venice. I was studying Theology at the time - my undergraduate degree - and was doing a module of Judaism. You might not know, but I had recently learnt, that the word 'ghetto' is an Italian word meaning 'gated', and it's from the area in Venice originally where the ruling people made the Jews live and be curfewed, in like the 1500s. My dad didn't believe me, but while we were in Venice we visited the ghetto and it was really interesting. The Venetian one was the first one but a few weeks before we went to Rome I read about the Roman ghetto and the Grand Synagogue, so I asked my mum if we could go. It's dead exciting being related to me, you get to go to all the best places. 

We arrived at the synagogue but by this time it was lunchtime so we went to a street behind it where there are a few restaurants. Quite a few of them were kosher and there were a lot of Jewish people - wearing kippot and so forth - wandering around. We chose a restaurant based on the fact that it had cacio e pepe because I wanted to eat some while in Rome. It's a dish Lee makes for me and I wanted to try the authentic stuff! My mum went for a chicken salad and chips I think. And we both had a massive beer! 

After lunch we went back round to the synagogue and got tickets to go in - again, free for me - and we walked round the museum. It tells the history of Jews in Rome, which goes back to before Jesus was born which is very cool! Then there was the history of the ghetto and pogroms, and of course the Holocaust. The Roman Jews didn't get deported until the war was nearly over, meaning that a lot of them survived, but they had had to seal up the synagogue years and years before and it was liberated at the end of the war by an American Jew who then prayed there. So that was pretty cool too.

Then there was the guided tour of the synagogue itself. My friend Katie who did Theology with me says we did visit a synagogue when we did Judaism, but I don't remember it. So I was really interested to see all the different parts. Plus it has a square dome and a rainbow painted on the inside, alongside ceilings covered in stars. 

We had considered visiting the Holocaust museum which was next door, but by that time it was getting a bit late and we were tired. If I ever went back though that would be on my list for sure. We walked to the closest bus stop and got on our bus and this time picked up headphones so that we could listen to the commentary. We went past some parts we had been round the day before, but some new bits too, and it was interesting to listen to the whole thing. We got off at the stop nearest our hotel - which still wasn't what you'd call CLOSE as it was near the Spanish Steps - but it was all downhill which wasn't so bad. 

I had been eyeing up all the leather bags in the shops and thought I would treat myself, and near the bus stop I saw this minty green one. I loved the shape of it and paid 25 euros which I think is a bargain! 

We had a rest in the hotel for a bit and then set off in search of food and drink. Firstly we had a drink in one of the bars very close to the Trevi Fountain, sitting on the street in all the bustle. We had an idea that we wanted crepes, but a few places that said they did crepes weren't doing them, so that was very annoying. We went back and forth and weren't sure what we wanted to do. I really wasn't hungry after my big meal at lunchtime but I would've done what my mother wanted. But she wasn't hungry either so we made the grown up decision to just have ice cream for tea. There was a fab gelateria just near our hotel so we went in there and sat down. I had lemon sorbet, coffee ice cream, and chocolate ice cream.

Then we went into a different bar for a couple of drinks after our food. As usual they brought crisps and nuts with our drinks so we nibbled on those and it was definitely enough food for us. I would have gone with my mum wherever she wanted but it would have honestly been a waste of money so I'm glad we just had ice cream! After a couple of drinks we just went back to the hotel.

Oh, we used Splitwise for our whole trip where we could each add expenses and work out who owed who what at the end. I would really recommend it! 

I put contact lenses in and took this photo of myself in the hotel first thing. Our room had been booked as a twin but actually was twin beds pushed together with one duvet. It was fine for us though, although it's a long time since I shared a bed with my mother!

Outside the Colosseum

And many many photos of the inside - it is so cool to see sometihng so OLD and to learn all about it

The ginger cat we met

Free Gaza graffiti which was cool to see

Me with a massive beer - I only ever drink lager when the weather is hot

And my mum with hers. The synagogue was just at the end of this street

Cacio e pepe pasta. It was good!

The outside of the synagogue with its square dome

From inside the museum - the square thing is a marble tabletop and I thought it was so pretty

Inside the synagogue with its rainbow dome and starred ceilings

Near the Holocaust museum

And I liked this wild area that was covered in poppies

This time on the bus we managed to sit on the top deck and listened to the commentary. We also got a bit sunburnt, oops

First lot of drinks

And a mass of ice cream, delish!

Aperol spritzes a bit later

And here's the little bag I bought!