Sunday afternoon – our first day in town and after 24+ hours awake – Andrew and I were both dozing off on our feet. Around 3p or 4p we were able to go back to the bed and breakfast, officially ‘check in’ and get our room key.
And take a nap.
Ugh. I felt sooo dirty and gross and TIRED.
We pretty much fell asleep right away … and had about a 3 hour nap.
When I woke up (7p-ish) it was still a little tiny light out. But only a little. … I took a shower (and the water was sooo nice and hot with perfect water pressure. mmmm …. I love a good hot shower), while Andrew woke up.
Being 8p on a Sunday night, there wasn’t a whole lot of sight-seeing we could do …. but there was some gelato we could eat. So Andrew and I elected to go out into the neighborhood to see what there was to be seen …
As we left the building that our bed and breakfast was in, we found this little hole-in-the-wall gelato place … just around the corner and behind some construction fence …
(note: we learned some Italian just in trying gelato flavors. Like Fragola, Limone or Melone)
This place was GOOD and inexpensive. 1 euro for what you see below (2 flavors)
We walked back to the piazza of St Maria in Trastevere. Guess what!? Rick Steves was right. What a surprise. The place was crowded and really seemed to be a meeting place for the neighborhood.
I heard somewhere that the public outdoor lighting is intentionally orange and sparse, to mimic the torches that would have lit the squares/streets centuries ago …
So relaxing to just sit, eat gelato, and people watch.
It was this very first night, as we sat on the steps of the fountain, that Andrew started talking about how we could possibly find a way to move to Rome.
When you travel …. make sure you make time for hours like this. Relaxing, people watching, taking in the local scene. There is so much more to traveling than sight-seeing. So much. Even in a place like Rome.
stopped by to get gelato again on the way back to the room. Chocolate chip. Not as good as the fruit flavors, but still great …
Sunday night: day one in Italy done! Long. Exhausting. Over-whelming. We already learned so much and had 5 days left.
Love the feel of these photos.
Your night shots are so good Amy. Great lighting. Such a warm, cozy feeling.
And the gelato looks dreamy.
Amy! I am crazy for that picture of Andrew sitting on the steps with his blazer and his glasses! He looks like a Versace ad! Great photo!
Also the one of the front of the gelato shop! gorgeous!
Yeah, I like the one of Andrew too. Of course all of them are good. What is Fragola?