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Breakfast is served in the room again (chocolate croissant, cappuchino, bread and cheese), but it's not quite the same without the view of the grand canal! This morning I walked to the famous Campo de fiori, home to a produce market during the day and bars at night! Ther fresh produce is so lovingly displayed, you immediately want to buy the huge range of fruit and vegetables. I am seeing alot of beans and artichokes, stone fruit and zucchini flowers (still trying to find them on a menu!), I bought a mixed fruit salad to eat as I walked around. Nearby there are excellent cheese and salumi shops and butchers, it is a foodie paradise here.
I continued through the backstreets to the neighbourhood of trastevere, a beautiful old residential area famous for it's restaurants and a beautiful mosaic covered church that has graffiti stones in Latin from very ancient times embedded in it's walls. Latin from the time of Caesar is everywhere, you are constantly aware of the age and historical significance of Rome. More recent figures are honoured too, there is a massive statue and piazza and bridge named for my great great great grandfather guiseppe garibaldi who led the unification of the Italian states back in the late 1800's.
I am having lunch in a trattoria in trastevere, veal meatballs and potatoes in tomato sauce and mixed salad, so simple but so good! After lunch I zigzag through trastevere until I get to the coliseum, that famous games arena that is remarkably still standing pretty intact after 2000 years. The inticacies of how the games were staged were complicated even by today's standards, with 3 daily shows. Morning the arena was flooded and naval battles were reinacted. The water had to be drained away and a wooden floor laid down for the noon hunt with animals and the feeding of the Christians to the lions. Afternoon entertainment was the gladiator fights. All this free entertainment was a political ploy to amuse the masses and keep a grip on political power. By 300AD Constantine converted to Christianity and that was the end of the games and the coliseum fell into disrepair, only preserved as a valuable relic over the last 100 years. And no I did not pose with the dressed up gladiators outside the coliseum.
My walk continued past the palatine and other ancient ruins from romes past, till I reached the trevi fountain. It is a cool fountain, it's massive on scale but the piazza is small so all the people are crowded around this enormous fountain. I threw a coin in as I definately want to come back to Rome, it is a great city. Then the rain came down and I made my way back to the pantheon as I have heard that the rain coming through the ceiling is a special sight but alas the rain stopped as suddenly as it started. Oh well, aperitif time, found a great one near my hotel - spritz, chips, grissini and tapas platter for €5!
Finally found a wifi cafe nearby (in an Irish pub, bless them!). So finally updating the journal. I have a room picnic tonight - wine cheese and olives, and gelato!
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