So apart from my overall impressions, for the sake of the historical records, I am going to write a little about some of the places we have managed to see in our 8 days here. And, also for the record , we both really like Rome, in spite of, and maybe because of, its challenges and contrasts.
We visited the Colosseum, the Forum and Palatine Hill in three separate trips. That of course meant we had plenty of time for each, We entered the Forum and the Hill via the Palatine Hill entrance which has practically no waiting time at all, The Colosseum was a different matter, though in the end we did not queue for long,
I made an early morning visit to the Vatican and entered the Sistine Chapel before the public viewing time, with my guide and small group That was a really good idea and worth the money, as obviously we had a lot of space and time to really take in Michelangelo’s frescoes which I’ve wanted to see since reading The Agony and The Ecstasy about a hundred years ago. I know I read it when I was a teenager and it left a lasting impression. I think I might try it again now.
On that visit I also saw three galleries in the Vatican museums as well as St Peters Basilica and St Peters Square. I was impressed but not moved by that particular basilica and lets face it, anything to do with the Catholic Church is going to produce mixed feelings. I was hoping there might have been a protest in the square that day that I could have joined in, but alas no,,,,,,,
We went to the market at Campo Di Fiori where wattle blossom is very popular. Had a great lunch there at a cafe where we faced the market and got to do lots of people watching over a leisurely meal. I had a little dance with one of the very jolly trattoria owners, as there was some wonderful music playing.
We have heard some magnificent buskers and a glorious church choir. Haven’t managed to get to an evening concert yet due to jet lag making a 9pm start impossible at the moment. We are feeling good but waking very early so have crashed at home by that time of night.
We missed the Villa Bhorgese as we did not book early enough. Due to it being Cultural Week here with free tickets in many institutions, we were unable to buy tickets online prior, and had to book our time slot once here. We were a bit too late on this one and sadly only got to visit the gardens.
We have been to the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. Of course in our travels we have passed through hundreds of different Piazza but there are piazzas and piazzas! Today we plan to revisit the Piazza Del Popolo to view some more Caravaggio paintings in one of the churches there.
We are staying about two hundred metres from the top of the Spanish Steps and Spagna is our Metro station, so we have traversed the steps many times and took a glass of wine with us to sit on the steps one evening and watch the crowds. Very close to the Piazza Di Spagna is a beautiful salon called Cafe Greco where Keats and Shelley used to pass a lot of time. There we had the best coffee we have found in Rome.
In the other direction and also very close is the Trevi Fountain .The crowds at the fountain are ridiculous , as the piazza is so small that is is always full. But I did visit a second time when I was doing one of Rick Steves audio tours by myself and it was more reasonable then. Also in that area is a very good gelateria, noted by our host and in a couple of guide books. We perservered in trying to find it , which was not easy, and were rewarded with fig and fruit and cinnamon and ginger gelato. It was of the natural variety with only seasonal fruit and not many additives. Bellissimo.
We have called in to many churches and have viewed works by Carravagio, Michelangelo, Bernini, Raphael and others…….
With some difficulty we found or way to the Museum of Musical Instruments, which was not a well curated museum but had some wonderful artefacts.
The Marcus Aurelias column is one of hundreds of monuments and columns but one we particularly appreciated. Many piazzas have obelisks transported from Egypt. Really, nothing was too much trouble!
The other tour we did here was the one to Hadrian’s villa and the Tivoli gardens in the small town of Tivoli just outside Rome. It was good to drive through the outskirts of the city which certainly gives you a different perspective to the ancient city. Seeing Italian families out for Sunday coffee in Tivoli was great and both of the places we visited were fascinating. The tour thing is interesting, we find ourselves switching off a bit but also recognise that we do get information we would not otherwise have known and do find that it is good to have someone else taking care of all the details from time to time. I think the four or five we have booked during our seven weeks here will mix it up nicely.
That isn’t an exhaustive list but covers a good deal of how we spent our time here. Another eight months might just about do it. 
