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La Dolce Vita Series: Surreal Moments

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As I’ve mentioned before, the hubby and I like to ride bicycles around the city.  One of my favorite places to ride is next to the Tiber River.  It’s so nice and quiet along the river.  At times, I almost forget there is a big, bustling city carrying on right above us.

On this particular day, we stopped to take a drink of water from our bottles (that we filled from one of the public fountains in Trastevere, which you can read about here), and watch the ducks interact with each other as they swam by.  As we were getting ready to hop back on our bikes, a saxophone player all of a sudden appeared and starting playing a beautiful song.  I had to ask myself, “Ummm, is this really happening?”  The moment felt surreal.  Although I know differently (I think), it was like he was there just to serenade us as we enjoyed the lovely afternoon.   


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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

 

A Day Trip to Tivoli

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As great as the city is, sometimes you just need a little break from the city life.  This past week we escaped the city for an afternoon and headed to Tivoli.  It was my first time visiting Tivoli, but it won’t be my last.  I was smitten with the ancient, picturesque town.  Tivoli is where ancient Roman emperors built their ‘summer homes’ just a short distance outside of Rome.  Rome is filled with antiquities, but did you know history and settlement of Tivoli can be traced back to 13th century BC?  Pretty incredible!  

We decided to visit Villa Gregoriana.  We had heard Villa Gregoriana had beautiful waterfalls, and boy did we hear correct.  It was BEAUTIFUL!  We had a wonderful afternoon there…complete with waterfalls, rainbows and amazing views!  

Be sure to wear comfortable shoes.  The steps can be a little difficult to manage in certain areas.  Be prepared to do a good bit of climbing up and down stairs too.  Don’t let the steps deter you though, the villa is worth a visit.  

Once you make your way through the winding trails and waterfalls, you will exit the villa near the Temple of Vesta.  The temple was dedicated to Vesta, the goddess of hearth and home in Roman mythology.  

Directly next to the Temple of Vesta is a charming restaurant with the quaint town of Tivoli as the backdrop.  We did not have a chance to eat here as we arrived a little early for dinner, but we will plan to do so next time because it looked really lovely.  

Below are two short videos of the waterfalls and rainbow we saw during our visit.  Hope you enjoy!

 
 

Piazza Treasures in Rome

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Clichés converge in Piazza Navona

I love walking around Rome and stopping in the piazzas.  There is always something going on in the main piazzas.  They are a perfect place to people watch and be entertained by street performers.  


The performers never cease to intrigue me.  They put me in a good mood, make me laugh, sometimes make me dance, sometimes make me wonder and always make me smile.  It’s so great to sit down and take it all in (and even better to do so while eating gelato :-).  


Every time I’m out and about and stroll through the piazzas, I always see someone I haven’t seen before.  It seems the talent is in constant rotation.

P.S. – All the ‘piazza treasures’ featured today were spotted in Piazza Navona.   


The Statue of Liberty in Piazza Navona.  This is one of those that made me wonder.  I am not sure if this street performer came to Rome on vacation from New York and is trying to make a little extra cash, or if she is completely confused as to which country she is in.  Not sure, but it made me smile and gave me something to think about.

Just a puppet on string.  What?  Don’t you see this every day?  Haha!  The outfit alone made me giggle. 😉

The headless man.  Notice the hat and sunglasses above the body.  This person would bow in appreciation after someone put a tip in the jar.  My parents were in Rome visiting when we stumbled upon this person, and the headless guy gave us all a good laugh.  

A large group of bicyclists from Holland riding through Rome to bring awareness to energy efficient transportation.  

Treasure Chest Known as Rome

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One of the things I love about living in Rome is having access to such amazing art and history.  The city itself is like a museum, giving wonderful exposure to history, art and architecture. 


Ceiling painting, inside the Vatican Museum



Walk by the 2,000 year old Coliseum where gladiator fights took place in front of 50,000 spectators.  I have passed by it hundreds of times, and I am still in awe of the magnificent, grand structure.  I always wonder how the ancient Romans were able to build such a structure capable of sustaining the tests of time for so many years.


Coliseum

  
Stop in Piazza Navona to enjoy a gelato and imagine the games being played in the Domitian Stadium at the very spot during the 1st century, or fast forward to the 15th century and think what it would be like to visit the square when Bernini was creating his masterpiece, the Fountain of the Four Rivers.  


Piazza Navona



Visit the Trevi Fountain which celebrates and marks the ending point of an ancient aqueduct discovered in 19BC.  While you enjoy the enormously magnificent fountain, recall the story of how a virgin girl showed Agrippa’s soldiers the location of the aqueduct and the abundance of water so many, many years ago.  The story is a legend, so it may or may not be true, but it sure is cool to sit and imagine.  


Trevi Fountain



Rome itself lends enough art, sculpture, history, architecture and magic at no charge, but the city takes it a step further by offering free access to the city museums on a regular basis.  The city is currently sponsoring ‘Martedi in Arte’, with museums being free to enter from 7:00pm – 11:00pm, on the last Tuesday of every month.  The Vatican Museum is also open for no charge on the last Sunday of every month from 8:00am – 2:00pm, with the last entrance at 12:30pm.  In addition to these set days each month, the city also opens its museums for special celebrations throughout the year.  


Vatican Museum Entrance



It’s definitely sweet to be able to view the work of some of the world’s great artists like Michelangelo, Raphael and Bernini (just to name a very few). . .all for the low, low price of FREE!


Michelangelo’s Pietà, inside St. Peter’s Basilica