By day 4 in Roma we were both very tired. I went for an early run to clear the cobwebs and took the opportunity to revisit a couple of tourist sites senza crowds. E.g., Fontana di Trevi - quite a peaceful place without the hundreds of people.
Piazza del Popolo, a huge piazza filled with various fountains, obelisks, portas & monuments.
There were lots of police standing around for some reason, but not many other people.
And the spanish steps - without the street vendors and much more pleasant.
There were only 2 things on our agenda for the last day in Roma - stop 1 was the
Capuchin Crypt beneath Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini. It was truly amazing and humbling. Filled with the bones of mostly monks that died between the 16th-19th centuries, it's not just a graveyard, but a sculpture gallery. Due to the sacred nature of the building, I don't have any photos, so you'll just have to take my word for it - outstanding.
Stop 2 was a picnic in the
Villa Borghese Gardens. Our plans were nearly thwarted when we couldn't locate a supermarket or even deli anywhere within a kilometre of the gardens. Lucky we persevered & eventually we found a small deli & a fruit stall &, loaded up with bread, fruit & juice, made our way back to the gardens for a late lunch.
Afterwards we wandered through the vast estate - this is a view down to Place del Popolo, with St Peter's in the background.
And one of the lakes - it was filled with turtles & ducks. You could hire small boats to row around it - very cute.
Finally, after a lazy afternoon in the gardens we walked all the way over the other side of Roma to
Trastevere for dinner. I loved it - a thriving village filled with more restaurants, cafes & bars than you could ever possibly have time to visit.
After a lovely dinner it was time to farewell Roma. On the way back we stopped outside the wedding cake & could finally spot the
eternal flame burning on the tomb of the unknown soldier. They take it very seriously - each flame has an armed guard with a machine gun standing close by 24 hours a day.
Arrivederci Roma & thank you for a great ride!
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