Italy 2024 - Day 15 / Viterbo & Rome

Steps today: 22 186 / 14.63 km

Our last vacation day! And we ended it with a day trip to Viterbo - a new destination for us.

We arrived just before 11AM, explored a bit and I was very underwhelmed! Was this it? The main gate, a little street and a square full of construction? Can't be!

We stopped for a drink, and I was extra deflated when I saw the glass!

Afterwards, I pulled out my map and saw that a large portion of the sights I wanted to see weren't in the area we were in. Thank God! Viterbo turned out to be very charming!

There were a LOT of barriers and constructions areas all over the city so most of the fountains were blocked but it's because they were setting up gardens and flowers in all the public places for some upcoming event... It will look great whenever they finish.

We started with the Sanctuary of Santa Rosa to see the mummy...

Then, we just wandered through the old town - so picturesque! The stone buildings were so attractive!

We visited the Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista del Gonfalone to see the amazing trompe l'oeil ceiling.

The Santa Maria Nuova church that is about 1000 years old and has a pulpit outside

It was 1PM by then and we wanted to have lunch, but we couldn't find a place! After about a half an hour of searching for somewhere nice, we were getting BEYOND fed up and cranky and just threw up our arms and went 'anywhere'.

A little hole in wall, blink-and-miss-it place.

Talk about serendipity, it turned out to be one of the best meals of the entire trip!

After lunch we visited the Cathedral of San Lorenzo...  I have no pictures! Was I all churched-out or did I just not take pictures, or was it not open? For the life of me I cannot remember.

A few images from the piazza

And then a walk to Panorama point of the Valle and Cathedral

Again, more of the wild poppies we see everywhere

It was back to Rome after this; the train was milk-run but there was a stop near St Peter's so we got off there to go see the Square one last time.

Just outside the Vatican walls, we stopped for my Aperol Spritz do-over... I could not let that sippy cup monstrosity in Viterbo be my last Spritz!! no way!

And now...  where to have "The Last Supper"?

Frank and I are very vacation-compatible, but over the years I notice the one big difference we have is that he is very ready to call it quits on the last night, while I don't want to have a fast get-it-over-with meal.  He goes along with it to make me happy, but his displeasure is written all over his face. He's a trooper!

We found a HUGE restaurant row...  but no one was eating! It was very strange. I wanted to have a look at some examples before sitting down. I admit I was starting to get fed up too, so we started walking in the direction of the hotel and said we'd stop at the next place that serves pizza!

Well, the next place we found only opened at 7PM. It was 6:45 why not let us have a drink for 15 minutes? I guess they did not want our money.

We kept on trekking and stumbled upon this place.... easy to miss from the outside! It was lovely.

I HAD to have one last prosciutto of course, this one intrigued me because it was "hand cut". I hated it! too hard and at one point I had to spit out a bite because it was like I was chewing cud.  What a shame.

My wine and pizza were fine

It was a nice evening, but we had to wait FOREVER for the bill! We were close to the hotel thankfully, but we needed to get the show on the road because we had to pack and wanted to get to bed as soon as possible because we had a 2:45AM wake up call!

When we ordered the coffees, we asked for the bill at the same time. The waiter didn't care, he was beyond over busy! It was almost 9PM by the time he did a round of bills for many tables, and lots of people were waiting for the tables too. I made a show of tapping my card on the table so those waiting in line could see we wanted to leave... it took FOREVER

We went back to the room, packed, made extra extra extra sure all our alarms were set to wake us up at 2:45AM and hit the hay.

Our flight to Paris was at 6AM, so we had to be at the airport by 4AM. Under normal circumstances we'd take public transportation, but not in the middle of the night! At that time of the morning however, we knew traffic would not be an issue so we had the car come at 3:30AM

I was stressing for MONTHS before my trip about this moment! Would I wake up? Would the car arrive? Will I miss my flights? I also had all sorts of disaster scenarios in mind like: what if we accidentally close the door of the building behind us and leave a suitcase in the entrance without a key to get back in and retrieve it? such anxiety and in the end nothing went wrong. Everything went off without a hitch.

So, another great trip in the books....  next one is coming in October! See you then :) 

Italy 2024 - Day 14 / Rome

Steps today: 28 988 / 19.11 km

Our last full day in Rome since we have a day trip planned for tomorrow.

We started with the Temple of Minerva

Then the Porta Maggiore along the Roman Wall

Then onwards to the Basilica San Giovanni in Laterano which is one of my favourite churches in Rome. 

On the way, a quick zip to the Scala Santa across the street.

The piazza in front of the church is undergoing some works, so the grand view of the facade is obstructed, but I have pictures and memories from previous visits so it's all good.

I love this church, and not just because it's free with no line ups like St Peter's but because it's so magnificent! My head is always on a swivel here - so much eye candy.

Façade:

This pope seems to be admonishing me!!!

Cavernous interior full of treasures!

Amazing ceiling

Stunning Sculptures

A few mosaics for lovers like me!

Neck craning details

Even the floors are beautiful!

It was Aperol Spritz O'clock by the time we were done, and I wanted drinks with a view of the Colosseum so off we went!

You know how I feel about ruins and "rocks on the floor" but when sprinkled with flowers it's very pretty! These wild poppies were everywhere.

This is supposed to be the oldest shopping center in the world. Meh.

We walked by the Victor Emmanuel Monument , locally referred to as the Wedding Cake or Typewriter, but we didn't linger because there is so much construction all around.

Worn fountain of Madama Lucrezia

Galleria Sciarra

Finally time for lunch! We risked it an ate outside, but next to the wall and under the umbrellas - it was fine. No rain, and I don't recall being cold. ... ... ... and of course: prosciutto AGAIN

After lunch, we went back to the Trevi fountain. When we went yesterday it was to visit the nearby church Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio to see the Papal Hearts but there was a service going on so we didn't have the chance. There are supposed to be 22 hearts in marble urns but I didn't see a thing, perhaps I missed it all because it was right in front of my face.

The steps of the church are a great vantage point for seeing the fountain, yet not getting crushed to death in the mosh pit

After this, it was off to explore the Coppedè Quarter / Piazza Moncio which has been on my list for a few trips now, but we never made it because it's not that close, and there is nothing else in the area to see.  From the Trevi fountain, it was about a 45 minute walk - fine for us since we are walkers, but I can appreciate that it might feel far for some people.

Afterwards, we walked though the Villa Borghese Park, it was really lovely!

And by about 3:30 it was time to stop for an Aperol Spritz...  what a charming little place in the park we found! We had to fight off some VERY hungry birds, and that became a nuisance. It must happen more than usual here in the park, the waiters had special purpose-built flags on a stick to shoo them away.  Watching the never ending battle was funny.  Those birds were NOT afraid of people.

From the park, you normally have nice views down over Piazza Popolo - but this stupid tennis court marred the views! GRRR

Next on the agenda was the Church of San Silvestro in Capite to see the head of John the Baptist.

I could not see it in there.... smoke and mirrors?  I feel like the shadows make it look like a face, I think I see a nose and lips (which make so sense on a mummy) and is that a cheekbone? I'll never know.

It was after 5 now, so that means supper mode. On the way to the church we passed by a place that made Napolitana pizzas - my favourite kind!   It was excellent!

We ended the day back in Piazza Popolo - at Rosati again. No knowing what our plans would be for the next night (the last night of our vacation) I wanted to get in a 'nice' farewell to Rome evening.

It was very pleasant, even though I spent a small fortune on two of the smallest limoncellos I have ever had in my life!!