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20 November 2018
7:49 PM
Man, my feet and legs are killing me! Over 31,000 steps today, and I certainly feel those steps. A good day. A rainy, thunderbolt and lightning (very very frightening me.. Galileo! 😂) day, but in terms of doing all the things I planned, I got most of them done.
Today, I am thankful for all the places I visited and all the food I ate.
1. Basilica di Santa Maria Magiorre - a surprisingly huge church, and beautiful. I honestly wasn't expecting much but the inside was very beautiful. I went really early (before 8) so there weren't that many people yet.
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| Basilica di Santa Mario Magiorre |
2. breakfast at a small cafe right next to the Basilica. I had a cappuccino and a chocolate and cream croissant. Yum!
3. Colosseum - very interesting. It's amazing how much they've been able to preserve from ancient times.
4. Piazza Venezia - I guess when I added all these places to my itinerary, I didn't really know much about them. This one is different from the other piazzas I've seen so far because it features a very prominent monument - Altar of the Fatherland.
5. Capitoline Hill - beautiful view of the Roman Forum. I think even more picturesque than when you're in the Forum itself.
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| view of the Roman Forum from Capitoline Hill |
6. lunch at Roma Sparita - it started pouring as I was walking to this place and I got really wet. I arrived a little early so the restaurant was still closed when I got there. There is a nice small church right beside the restaurant, and I went inside to check it out and to kill some time. For lunch, I had prosciutto and mozzarella as a starter, which I wasn't sure how to eat 😂😂, and of course, what I went there for, cacio e pepe for the main dish. Delicious! And the waiter was also very nice.
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| Cacio e Pepe at Roma Sparita |
7. Palatine Hill and Roman Forum - I think I would have enjoyed this place more if it wasn't raining so hard. As it was, I was walking nervously along (and in) puddles trying desperately not to get hit by lightning. 😅
Also, by this time, I have realized that my tummy is not in agreeable terms with Roman cheese. Thank God, I found an empty toilet.😅😅
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| Italian stone pine trees right outside the Palatine Hill |
8. Della Palma Gelateria - over 150 flavors! No tummy troubles will get in the way between me and gelato.. no way! The problem with that many choices though, it's sooo hard to pick just 2. I had Rocher and Pistachio cream. Yummy!
9. Spanish Steps (again) - because I finished everything I had planned for the day, I went back to this place so I can properly visit it this time. I went up the steps to take a very nice photo from the top even though my feet and legs were killing me at this point. The steps would have been a very good place to sit had they not been wet from all the rain. Still, it's not everyday you get to be in Rome so it was all worth it.
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| view from the top of the Steps |
Early end today because I felt like if I had let myself then, I would have sat down on the rain-drenched ground. And early start tomorrow also - heading to Pisa and Florence!
