Brian and Mike, and Kathy and Bryan went to tour the old city, which Tim and I had already seen. So he and I went for a morning walk in the neighborhood around the hotel.
Just outside the hotel entrance is this microwave tower. Makes the one across from the Gaia in Manuel Antonio look like a toothpick!
Typical middle-class neighborhood in Rome.
Lots of little cars everywhere.
Back at the hotel, it's pooltime--dozing, noodling, sipping until our friends get back from their tour.
Brian etal's tour guide recommended a quaint area of the city for late afternoon and evening fun. This wonderfully worn old apartment building is on Piazza di Santa Maria Trastevere.
Group discussion on the important decision about which sidewalk cafe to go to.
Time to share wine and beer, plus the day's adventures and plans for Tuscany.
After drinks, a stroll along the flea market on the Tiber.
Shops, tents, bars, music and tchotchkes.
Dinner at another fun piazza with street performers--tap dancers, fire-eaters, jugglers. Caprese salad and roasted lamb with potatoes and spinach. So far in Italy, the food is not as great and not as spectacularly presented as last year in France.
Next stop on our piazza crawl: Piazza Navona, built on the site of a former Roman chariot race course. More musicians, street performers, and of course vendors selling tourist gew-gaws. Here is a spectacular classical building that is now the Brazilian Embassy. After some gelato (Tim swears it was the best chocolate gelato in the whole world!) it's back to the hotel to rest up for tomorrow's drive to Tuscany.
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