When in Rome ... our last full day already!

It feels like we arrived yesterday but in another sense, we have done so much and we both feel extremely comfortable here in Rome.  Leanne put it really well this morning when she said she and Rome have an awful lot in common - both waking up early(ish) for a busy morning, then a long siesta over the lunch hours and then the shops open again for another 4 hours shopping and then there is always a great meal at the end of the day. 

The city seems vibrant, easy to get around (fortunately the high summer crowds are not here yet) and the weather has been brilliant (except for late this afternoon).  We've loved every second we've been here and our apartment has been wonderful.  Having new friends nearby also makes it totally different for us - if we'd been staying in the middle of town in a hotel we would not have the same impressions - or information about - this city.

This morning we had breakfast downstairs in our local cafe.  Finding a bottle of red wine (on display for the evening menu - not imbibed at breakfast thank you) called 'Vertigo' was interesting, and the one next to it was 'Sosso' (we took to mean 'so, so').  We had planned to spend the day following our nose through the alleyways of Trestevere, one of the older sections of the city.  Mimo drove us first though to the Capuchin church.  This is one I remembered from NAT and Contiki days, or more specifically, the Crypt I remembered.  Passengers always seemed to remember it, because the rooms of the crypt look like they are fancily decorated and then you realise that they are decorated with human skeletons.  Interesting history which I won't go into here.

Mimo was then going to drop us off near Trestevere, but today in Rome is also a major public holiday.  Their version of ANZAC day too, and so there was a lot on in town, lots of roads closed for ceremonies, rallies, and also a major cycling race was on too.  Busy, busy.  It took nearly an hour to drive via all the detours to Trestevere and we were dropped off and started our wanders.  We had a very looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong lunch at a great little place in a quiet back street and then realised we need to move quite quickly as we were supposed to meet Pat at Villa Borghese by 4pm.  We decided it was quicker to try to walk there than find the right bus stop and then wait for a bus, and there were no nearby metro stations, so we set off.  In the end, we were going to run out of time so Pat came to collect us from where we were and we made it in time to be admitted to the art collection, which was well worth it.

And as it was our last night, you guessed it - dinner was at Pat & Mimos.  Pat took us for a drive after dinner - there was minimal traffic out as it was a public holiday, and seeing Rome by night was just magical and an amazing way to end such a fantastic week here.