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May Flowers Bloom in Rome

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Spring is here, and in full effect with a beautiful array of colorful flowers blooming all throughout the city.  Even in the heart of the busy city, pops of color stand out and delicate, sweet aromas drift by.  It’s lovely here!

If you would like to enjoy Rome in all its flower glory, below are a few places where you can do just that.  Ancient city + historical ruins + lots of lovely flowers = recipe for swooning!  At least in my book it does. 😉

 
Rome’s Rose Garden


Rome’s Rose Garden, Il Roseto Comunale di Roma, is located on the Aventine Hill across from Circus Maximus, and has been open to the public since 1931.  It is truly a beautiful place, and a quiet oasis in the heart of the city. 

The garden contains more than 1,200 different varieties of roses.  It features two sections … upper and lower.  The upper section contains the permanent collection with classic specimens, and is currently open to the public.  The lower section showcases the competition entries from the international floral competition of ‘Premio Roma’, an annual competition among international floriculturists.  The 70th edition of the Premio Roma competition will be held on May 19th.  After the prize ceremony, the lower garden will be open to the public for viewing until June 24th.

 
Entrance to the garden is free.  It is open from May throughout the summer months from 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM, although the best time to visit the garden is during the May/June flowering season.  The garden is located at Via di Valle Murcia, 6.  For additional information, or to schedule a free guided tour of the garden, email premioroma@comune.roma.it, or call +39 06 574 6810.
 
Flowers on the Spanish Steps

Each day thousands of people pass by the Spanish Steps in the heart of the city.  The grand staircase is the perfect place to stop and rest, visit with friends, relax, people watch and watch the world go by.  Now throughout the month of May, you can do all that amongst flowers.  Each year the city decorates the steps with an abundance of pink azaleas.  Below is a short video on the yearly blooming event.
 
 
Flowers on the Palatine Hill 

When visiting the Palatine Hill from now until October 14th, you will be able to step back in time and visit the ancient area in all its glory.  New flower gardens have been added in an attempt to recreate the vibrant gardens the area held 2,000 years ago.  The exhibit features a variety of vegetation such as, flowers, plants, trees and fresh produce.  The chosen vegetation derives from years of study by Italian archaeologists.  You will be able to walk in the path of emperors, and experience the Palatine Hill almost as they did 2,000 years ago.

Tickets to the Palatine Hill are €12.  Tickets also include admission to the Coliseum and Roman Forum.

 
 

 

International Women’s Day, March 8th

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This Thursday, March 8th, is International Women’s Day.  It is a day marked to celebrate women of the world and their achievements.  In Italy, the celebration is known as Festa della Donna.  On Women’s Day in Italy, the tradition is for men to give the women in their life (wife, mother, daughter, sister, etc.) a bouquet of yellow mimosa flowers.

To make the day even sweeter, Italy is opening the doors to all state run museums and monuments, with free entry for all females.  That’s right, many of the museums and monuments will be free for all women in celebration of Women’s Day.  In Rome, this includes sites such as the Coliseum, Roman Forum, Capitoline Museums, the National Museums of Rome, and many more.

Enjoy the day and celebrate being a woman (or, for all you men, the women in your life)!  


© copyright 2013 – All rights reserved

Why Rome?

Water Fountains in Rome

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Rome’s water supply has been piped into the city from the countryside for centuries via ancient aqueducts.  The water is crisp, clean and fresh.  The city of Rome makes this great water free and available to everyone with the many public fountains located throughout the city.  In a time where it is the norm to pay upwards of €1 (in many cases more … much more) for a regular size bottle of water, it is refreshing (no pun intended 🙂 to find the sought after product for the low, low price of free.  It is so nice to be able to stop and fill up my water bottle with cool, fresh water when out and about in the city.  This is something I am thankful for on a regular basis, especially on warm, sunny days.  

Not to mention, the fountains are beautiful.  They are all so different and unique, and it’s always fun to stumble across a new fountain.  I have included photos of several different fountains I’ve come across throughout the city.  Keep in mind, it’s just a small sampling of the many fountains Bella Roma has to offer.  


Fountain in Villa Borghese Park

Fountain in Piazza Venezia

Fountain in Largo Argentina

Fountain near Piazza Campodolgio

Neighborhood fountain in Montesacro

 

Cheap Wine in Italy

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Italy is known for producing great wines.  I bet a plate of pasta and a full glass of wine are two of the first things to enter into your mind when Italy is mentioned.  (At least they are for me :-).

I love a good red wine.  I completely and utterly adore it to be exact.  Even before moving to Italy, my palette was always drawn to Italian reds.  Montepulciano, Chianti, Barolo, Amarone, Lambrusco, Brunello … oh Brunello!  Enough of my obsession.  On to the cheap wine.   
 
There are several supermarkets (I use the term supermarket loosely) here in Italy that offer very reasonable prices.  Two of them are In’s and Eurospin.  The first time I visited In’s and saw their prices for bottles of wine, my jaw dropped.  Literally, I stood there speechless with my mouth open, just staring at the wine.  My mind could not fathom the price tags staring back at me.  I honestly turned and asked if it was some sort of a joke.  Once confirmed it was not, I then asked how the store could charge so little.  
 
What were the prices you ask?  Are you sitting down?  €1.79, €0.99, €2.29, €1.19.  Yep, that is for a bottle!  In the States, I was used to paying a minimum of $10 for a bottle of wine.  Mind you, $10 was the minimum, and then it was usually for a bottle I picked up from the supermarket out of convenience and it was something basic like Merlot, Cabernet or sometimes a Malbec (juicy red wine produced in Argentina).  My mind started computing that I could now by 9 or 10 bottles for what I used to pay minimum for 1 bottle.  JACKPOT!  I even saw a bottle of Brunello (one of Italy’s top wines, and my favorite wine) for around €12.  The same bottle will run you around $90 (or more) in the States.  DOUBLE JACKPOT!
 
I am assuming the reason for the low cost is because the wines are produced locally.  Many of them come from small, local producers, not big industry leading wineries.  I know the wines I find here are not necessarily the ‘cream of the crop’ or the top of the line, but they are great for a girl on a budget who enjoys a regular glass of wine with dinner at home.  Cin cin!
 

The New FREE Audio App by Rick Steves

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Love Rick Steves?  Yeah, we do too!  He recently released a new Europe travel app.  The app includes Rick Steves’ self-guided tours for many museums, sights and historical walks throughout Europe.  That’s right … throughout Europe, not just Italy.  


You can download the FREE app to your Android device, iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.  Don’t have one of these devices?  Don’t worry, you can also listen to the content directly from your computer.  


*For the FREE iPhone app, click here.  


*For the FREE Android app, click here.


*To listen FREE directly from your computer, click here.


*You can also find many travel books by Rick Steves in our online store here.  

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Why Rome?