Rome Christmas shopping
Trip Start
Feb 20, 2007
1
13
24
Trip End
Ongoing
Rome,
Italy
Sunday, December 16, 2007
We treated ourselves to a weeks shopping in Rome just before Christmas to soak up some Chrissie atmosphere (obviously lacking in Tripoli). We rented an apartment which had a wonderful view over the busy market square of Campo di Fiore which has been a centre of trade since the 15th century. It was a great place to stock up for my Christmas party with stalls of herbs, spices, pasta and sauces, sweets, cheeses, meats, fruit and veg, flowers including holly, ivy and Christmas trees and Christmas decorations.
Rome was fabulous, so much to see and sooo many shops. I also went a day ahead of Lance to catch an orchestral concert - my first since February!
There is just so much to see in Rome and as we can easily go back to see more we decided not to create a checklist of things to do but rather wondered around, shopped, ate, drank and in the process stumbled across the Trevi fountain, Spanish steps, Colloseum, Pantheon and Vatican city. We did do a guided tour of the Vatican as there is just soo much to see. The 3 hour tour showed us the most important artworks, was very informative and also meant we didn't have to cue. Most interesting fact I learnt was that all the statues used to be painted to look lifelike, (see pic of head with painted eyes) it would have been really weird surrounded by statues staring at you, dressed in colourful cloths. The Sistine chapel was obviously very impressive but no cameras allowed.
We had some fabulous meals, ate way too much pasta and can't wait to go back in warmer weather and zoom around the narrow streets on a scooter.
