Rome Day 2 - Rome in one Day

James was eager to get dressed and downstairs this morning after a good sleep. I told him there may be croissants for breakfast, but here in Italy they are called "cornetti". He stuck to the French version. The hotel breakfast was wonderful and I think I ate 2 cornetti myself! I needed them for energy!

We purchased a 15 euro hop-on hop-off bus ticket so we could see the sights of Rome without walking every cobble. It was well worth it. James was thrilled to be back on a bus with no roof. The great thing about being up top was the traffic was so congested that you could get heaps of photos without whizzing past! Mum went mad! First stop for us was Piazza di Popolo with it's twin churches. James was free to run in most piazzas we visited and run he did! He was fascinated by two men cleaning a fountain. Mum and I saw a shop with some nice clothes in the window so we went in and flicked through some racks. I was a little surprised to find an op-shop in the heart of the city but thought I might find a designer outfit in decent condition...imagine our surprise and horror when the amused Signor kindly told us this was a Dry Cleaners! We were mortified! We apologised profusely and got out of there as quick as we could!

Once we had stopped laughing and spluttering we found lunch at nearby cafeteria (look at the photos of this!) and Mum and I swooned over plates of vegetables! James didn't think much of vegetables so I bought him 3 mini pizzas with olives, prosciutto and tomato toppings. That kept him going for ages! It also made him very sleepy...

Reluctantly leaving the cafeteria we walked toward the Spanish Steps. I saw a dress in a window and bought it! The steps were unfortunately blighted by scaffolding and too many people, so I sat with James asleep in the stroller at the bottom and Mum walked up. Not as lovely as the postcards but a must see on the Roman tour.

Next stop was the lovely Fontana di Trevi, Trevi Fountain. There was such a lively atmosphere here that despite the crowds it was fun! I bought gelati (vanilla, hazelnut and coffee) from the place Martin and I visited last trip. We had to wake James up for this but he did so willingly!

We were having such a good time here that we had to run to catch our bus on it's way through the crowded streets! It only came by once an hour so to miss this one would mean not enough time for the other sights. We ran one way. It was the wrong way. I spotted the bus coming and we chased it up the street! Well done Mum for managing the stroller over kerbs and past pedestrians to get there! James was shaken, but not stirred.

We leapt on and settled down. Our destination was the Colosseum and Forum and I knew that would take up the rest of the afternoon. At the Colosseum James immediately took off and I found myself running everywhere after him. We didn't go into the Colosseum but headed under the Arch of Constantine and up the ancient cobbled Via Sacra, Sacred Way. This was tough going with the stroller, I can tell you! James announced he was being 'Hadrian' and headed for any elevated platform of wall he could find. That boy has no fear when it comes to being a Roman! He really enjoyed the Forum, especially the drinking fountains. He'd drink then wash his blackened hands. He fell flat running downhill (audible gasp from doting Japanese tourists!) but was placated with a nice hand wash! He was filthy when we left! And I'm not sure his once-white shoes will recover from his one!

Our final bus stop was near the Piazza della Bocca, the ancient drain cover where you see people sticking their hands in the mouth. I was too scared but James insisted he'd like to do it and Mum gladly offered to take the photo! Chicken!

We nearly got locked in the attached church (guess who led us in there?!), and the bus was late but we made it back to the hotel unscathed. We all had baths (a real luxury after a day like this) and went out again in the rain to the nearby restaurant Osteria dei Pontefici. This was recommended by our concierge and we had a ball! Something to do with too much energy, a carafe of white wine, a jovial party singing songs and a digestive Amaro! The waiters once again were charmed by James who ate a bowl of rigatoni with tomato, all the breadsticks (grissini) that were on the table and most of the tiramisu. Mum and I had the most wonderful fettuccine with mushrooms and what was left of the tiramisu.

We staggered home full and tired. When I asked James what his favourite thing was today, he answered 'the tiramisu'. Mum's favorite was the Forum. Mine was the lunch!

Photos are here.