Day 6- whole lotta nuttin!

Didn't have much on the agenda to begin with today, which was a good thing, since moving our base took up some time, then checking back on the dog (our friends don't get back until late tonight) and making sure all the laundry and dishes were done. 

Told you we were close- this is the view from our window looking down on Campo de' Fiori

The new place we found is very nice- about 6 blocks away on a much quieter street (won't miss that noise!) It's a 5th floor walkup - puff puff! -but it's a newly renovated old building with plenty of charm and a super friendly owner-it's a B and B. At 75 Euro per night it's a steal, with breakfast and a jacuzzi tub too!. After we settled there we did some more wandering down by the Tiber, which supposedly was very high a couple weeks ago, as evidenced by the many plastic bags adorning the trees on the banks.

I took this one because it reminded me of a Maurice Utrillo print my parents had in our den for many years.

We crossed over into Trastevere (which name translates as "across the Tiber") and went down to Santa Maria in Trastevere, the old church in the heart of that part of town. It's a very pretty church, with a big 13th century mosaic above the altar, and columns that were recycled from the Baths of Caracalla. The fountain outside is a great gathering place (when will the US ever have public spaces that work as well as here?)

Fountain in front of Santa Maria in Trastevere. Like so many great places to hang out all over Italy.

Grabbed a gelato and ate it crossing back over the river on the island that is connected by the oldest bridge in town- there since Roman times- then checked out a few more Roman era ruins- the temples of Portunus, Hercules, and the 4 way Arch of Janus across the way. Just a block away is San Nicolas in Carcere, a Christian church that incorporated the columns of an earlier Republican temple right into its walls, which are now exposed. This connects to the Theater of Marcellus, the Temple of Apollo Sosianus,and the Portico of Ottavia (and the knee bone connected to the thigh bone…) taking us right back to our friends' apartment to walk the dog one last time and put away the dishes.

Ponte Fabricio is an original Roman bridge, created in 62 BC!

Temple of Hercules Victor

We got dinner at a cute, very Italian place called "da Tonino" that was inexpensive and old school. Then we wandered around the outer edges of the Piazza Navona looking at the pumping night life and wondering if we're really getting old. Decided we'd better have another gelato to prove that it's not so. Came back here and wrote this down. There you have it.

Spring is springing!