It's a new dawn, it's a new day...our last day of our "ROMAN HOLIDAY" : (

Today is a low-key easy day planned. We awoke around 7:30 - Ross and Caroline around 8:30AM and slowly had breakfast and got ready. We're planning on just roaming around places that interested us yesterday that we didn't get a chance to see, and then we're going to pick up food and have a picnic at the Borghese Gardens before touring Galleria Borghese around 1PM.

A note on yesterday's post (A Funny thing happened on the way to the Forum):
First of all, it wasn't THAT funny. But in hindsight, we wore ourselves out from dawn til dusk, and looking back on it I'm hysterical. I'd venture to say no sane travel agent or tour director would schedule the day that we had ahead, but we DID it! Based on the fact that we just weren't up to the Colosseum the day before, we had to do it yesterday. And it was amazing. To view the Roman Forum and Colosseum, where the oldest structures of the ancient city are located, was just amazing. BUT it was exhausting too - hot, lots of people, alot of history to take in etc.

 THEN - we went on a 4 hour private tour of the Vatican. Take it from me - that is a very very very long time - especially when you've walked in the dirt and sand at the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine.

But the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, where we saw Michelangelo's ceiling paintings and The Last Judgement (among the crowds). But St Peter's Square was amazing and the Basilica was incredible. We had no idea that it has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world.

And no photos were allowed in the museums, but I wanted to place one or two in the blog to remember our visit.

One more pic from yesterday - we DID the the world famous "La Pieta" inside the Vatican Church (which is the world's largest church btw):

AND (although no picture proof) the Pope was actually holding Mass inside the church right in front of us! Very cool experience.

Another photo from inside:

We picked up a lovely little lunch at Despar (market around the corner from our hotel):

and headed over the the Borghese Gardens for a picnic!

It was the perfect way to spend an afternoon. "A bottle of white..."

Then, it was on to the Galleria Borghese:

The gallery houses the world's largest private art collection - amassed by Cardinal Scipione Borghese in the 17th century. It's chock full of sculptures and paintings and frescos - largely by Bernini and Caravaggio. Just beautiful.

VIA VENETO
The area where our hotel is located is stunning. It's definitely worth strolling down when in Rome - at one end is the Hotel Eden (where we're having a rooftop drink this evening, and where you can supposedly get an incredible view of the dome of St Peter's as well as the rest of Rome). Midpoint is our hotel and the American Embassy (at via Boncompagni). And at the other end are the Monk Bones - Santa Maria della Concezione - whose crypt is decorated with skulls and bones of 4000 monks buried there between 1528 and 1870.

The Hotel Excelsior has been a favorite place of ours to have a late night digestivo:

AND THIS is our new favorite drink, caipiroska (vodka, fresh lime juice and brown sugar):

We dined at La Pentolaccia (sans Caroline, who was feeling a bit puny this evening sadly), and it was fantastic:

First, MY eggplant parmegianna - the best EVER!!!!

Doug's Lobster and Fettucine Mmmmmmmmmm:

And Ross' veal with pasta - so so so good!

Note: we also enjoyed tiramisu, however, it was devoured immediately upon being placed in the center of our table, thus, no photo...

Tomorrow it's up and at em, and sadly, "Arrivederci Roma." We catch a train to Florence about 11:30AM (the train station is 1100 yards from our hotel). Rome has been a blast!