I awoke from one of the best sleeps I have ever had and joined the rest of the guests at the hotel restaurant for breakfast. Once again, the Hotel Raphael does not disappoint. Being a lover of breakfast, I was pleased to see that it was an extensive buffet including Italian meats and cheeses, all sorts of pastries, a toaster for making your own toast (all sorts of breads to toast), scrambled eggs, sausages, BACON, sauteed mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and several types of freshly squeezed juices. Again, I cleaned the plate anticipating a long day of walking around and probably a late lunch, if at all.
After breakfast, I sadly collected my things, wrote gushing thank you notes to my hosts at the hotel and took a taxi across the city to the River Palace Hotel. The River Palace is located a 2 minutes walk to the Piazza del Popolo. We passed the Museo dell'Ara Pacis in the cab and all I could think of was Valentino's reaction to having his retrospective held at the Ara Pacis. Back to the hotel. The River Palace is a very nice hotel located away from the hustle and bustle of the Spanish Steps, but a very easy walk (15 minutes max):
The River Palace Hotel is in two buildings. The front desk, breakfast room and bar are located on the ground level with a nice lobby with some internet points and couches for the guests. I was greeted at check in and since I was 2 hours early for check in, I was surprised that my room was ready. The bellman promptly showed me where to go for breakfast and told me about the Happy Hour (50% off at the bar for guests in the evening) and then escorted me to my room (which was upgraded). We took one elevator to the 1st floor and then walked down the hall to another elevator (the second building) to take me to the 4th floor. My room, #406 is a cozy room with a window overlooking the courtyard (quieter on this side as the hotel is on a street with modern street cars). The bathroom is large and well equipped with a walk in shower, bidet and toilet and the amenities kit contains conditioner (which is rare in Italian hotels). I dropped my things and ventured outwards to explore this neighborhood.
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| Spanish Steps on a Sunday - midday |
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| a real child - not a doll |
My original intention was to go to the Palazzo Barberini today, but the weather was once again in the 60's and sunny so I figured since it was Sunday, I would wander all the back streets around the Piazza di Spagna and make my way to the Borghese Gardens and see how Italians spend their Sundays. They apparently spend the early part of the day around the Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps! Families were out in force and children wearing costumes (which I gather is a common things here as I have not encountered this before or perhaps hadn't noticed?).
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| Borghese Gardens - girls all dressed up |
I made my way past all of the haute couture shops of Gucci, Prada, Valentino, Gucci, Versace etc and drooled at the window displays. I went to the Hotel d'Inghilterra and wandered around their lobby to get a feel for it as the manager was not in today.
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| a bag at Gucci I would not mind having |
From there, I wandered up the Spanish Steps and found myself at the Hotel Hassler (more on that in a few days) and kept going uphill to the Borghese Gardens.
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| Villa near the top of the Spanish Steps |
As I entered the Gardens, I noticed what a truly wonderful space it is for the people of Rome. There are great paths for walking, running, biking and stands where you can rent covered bikes (similar to rickshaws but seat 2 people in the front and 2 people in the back), play a game, have a picnic or even take a nap and it goes on forever!
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| Borghese Gardens ladies |
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| riding bikes in the Borghese Gardens |
After about an hour of wandering, writing notes in my journal and taking photos, I realized it was 3 and I hadn't had any lunch yet. I strolled down the Via Veneto and looked at all of the cafes with their photos of "la dolce vita" days with Marcello Mastroiani, Sophia Loren and more contemporary stars like George Clooney etc. I also took note of all of the grand American chain style hotels along the Via Veneto. I finally settled on Don Chiciotte and had rucola, bresaola and parmeggiano with fresh lemon, olive oil and vinegar and then carbonara (no dinner tonight). I also found a bookstore on the Via Veneto that sells English titles (I forgot my book on the plane from NYC to London). After lunch/dinner I wandered around the busy (traffic wise) Piazza Barberini and started back up the hill on Via della Purificazione (I stayed at a nice hotel on this street) to the Via degli Artisti and looked in some windows of lampshade makers and back to the top of the Spanish Steps.
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| on the Via Veneto it is spring already |
I started down the steps on the other side and ended up window shopping at Frette. back to hustle of the busy and crowded Via del Babuino and to the quiet and understated Via Margutta full of decorators shops, antiques stores, grand villas and artisans.
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| great light at the end of another long day on foot - on the Via Margutta |
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| a nice place to call home |
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| frame maker hard at work |
After the via Margutta, I returned to the ultra crowded Piazza del Popolo where they were and had been celebrating Chinese New Year all day. I crossed the Piazza to the Santa Maria del Popolo to FINALLY see the Caravaggio's they have in one of the apses (sorry, no pics allowed inside)
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| Piazza del Popolo |
Tomorrow is more of a full day - tour of the Palazzo Farnese in the morning, a tour of River Hotel and then off to the next hotel.
Buona notte!
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