Rome with different sights

I had arranged for us to end our trip in Rome.

No trip to Italy would be complete for us without some time in the Eternal City.

We were staying next to the Curia di Pompeo again.  The last time we had been in Rome, we had stayed around this area.  It had been our honeymoon, and we had enjoyed looking out over the ancient ruins from our room.  This time, we were on the other side of the ruins. Our view looked similar, but our situation was anything but.  We had replaced the previous luxury with more practical accommodation to provide for our larger traveling group.  There were no complaints from us at all.  The place we found was convenient and well staffed.  Everything was clean, modern and well maintained.  All at a far more palatable price as well.

The next few days were spent leisurely enjoying our favourite city with our new favourite small toddler.

He had been nothing short of a fantastic traveler on our holiday.  There had certainly been some more difficult moments and some times when he wasn't as happy or compliant, but it was all part of the experience.  Given his young age and the long travel, none of these were really anything major.  He seemed to have enjoyed himself as well.

For this final leg of the trip, we had managed to convince Phil to make a trip to Rome.  He had some other friends whom he wanted to visit as well so it was a good opportunity for him. It was now two years running we had Phil grace us with his presence whilst we were in Europe so it seemed like this was becoming a tradition for us.

Dinners, lunches and sightseeing.  All done at a comfortable and casual pace.

It seemed all too pleasant for us.  Pickle loved having the extra attention of Phil and others and they seemed to also relish the youthful energy he had.

As with other parts of Italy, the staff at the restaurants adored Pickle.  They were always kind to us, but there was something about his cheekiness that seemed to bring out an extra level of happiness in them.  

We wandered around to small cafes.  Small bakeries and other places for snacks.  Phil seemed very happy for us to lead the way and we introduced him to some of our favourite places and dishes through Rome.  One evening, after dinner Pickle fell fast asleep in his pram and so we were able to wander down to the Tiber Festival, enjoying some of the music and atmosphere as he slept.

On our last day together with Phil, we decided to do something none of us had done before.  We set out sights on the National Monument as something new for everyone to experience together.  In all my trips to Rome over the years, I had somehow managed to completely avoid visiting.  I had been in the vicinity multiple times.  On the other side of it is one of the best if not the best museums in all of Italy in the Capitoline Museum.  Yet, this monument, with all of its grandeur and impressive size had somehow remained off my list of things to do.  Strangely enough this was also the case for Veronica and Phil, so today would be the day we remedied this.

It was indeed very impressive.

This wasn't an old and ancient edifice, instead being something built by Mussolini in order to hark back to the days of Rome.  But that didn't take away from just how grand and imposing it was.  It had a size and majesty to it that almost overawed.  The style was of course classical Roman, but since it hadn't endured the centuries of weathering, it remained much shiner and more polished, which added to the splendour it seemed to project.

We reached what the top and considered leaving.  For those new to Rome looking for something to do, the view from the very top of the National Monument is probably worth the admission alone.  Due to the size and its position, it provides one of the best unobstructed full views of all of Rome.  From the top, you could see far off into the distance and identify all the other famous landmarks of this lovely old city.

After our time at the top, we considered leaving.  We were feeling a little bit tired with the heat of the day and the thought of carrying Pickle's stroller down and up various stairs didn't appeal to us.  We went down a few floors and looked up through the enormous columns.  Our tickets gave us access to this higher floor.  Why not.  We were here.  It was thankfully the right decision and we found ourselves once again up in a part of the monument that few seemed to visit.  It was all a recreation of something older, but I did wonder whether this would have been a feeling and a type of view that would have been looked up by more ancient Romans many years ago.

For our last activity with Phil before he headed off to the airport, we decided to spend some time at Villa Borghese.  We weren't going to the villa itself, but instead to the lovely lush parks and gardens surrounding the villa.

We found ourselves a park bench, and pulled out a large box of peaches.  I took them over to one of the public drinking fountains and washed them off in the cool icy water.  We sat and chatted, resting and enjoying the mid afternoon.  Pickle walked around with a peach in his hand, biting into the sweet fruit as he looked eagerly at the bigger kids nearby playing football.  The gestured to him to join and he was soon squealing loudly as he joined their games.

Us adults sat by and watched.  We were content and happy in the shade, eating our own peaches.  It was an almost indescribable feeling being there.  To enjoy such a simple and relaxing respite that was so full of joy.  To be with the people I cared for.  Some I had known since childhood and others whom I met more recently. To be in this city, a place I truly loved.