I spent my Anzac/Liberation Day having lunch with the bel ragazzo and our friend Alfredo. The sun was shining, it was a warm 24 degrees and the city centre was packed with Italians and tourists alike.
We enjoyed an aperativo before lunch by Campo dei Fiori.
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After lunch we had an espresso at this famous little bar by Piazza Navona. The bar was PACKED with people - I have never seen a bar so full before. It is in a lot of guide books and was even named the best place to find a coffee in New York by the New York Times. Yes - you read right. The New York Times had an article on the best coffee in New York, and basically said that if you wanted a good coffee there was none in New York and that you were to buy a plane ticket to Rome and come straight to this little cafe (I read the article that was stuck to the coffee machine.) A simple espresso here will set you back 1 euro where as normally they are 60, 70 or 80 cents depending where you go. Worth it though - really good coffee if you can stand the waiting and the crowds.
This pretty palazzo was near where we had coffee and I thought it was worth a photo.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoxTCxV1Sak7FBkbtSwNmHXO6IjLLN0sF5F6grvQEm_wTGbWJDOuh1YfhZojGs32phmW4MR4Au48d9lzkDBjoVD3WJgh9CooiOwUz88WEOi9BzN8A9M0pUjtPWtpVoHx0LRIITu-OL1tI/s400/be+palazzo.jpg)
We did a little site seeing too. This beautiful building used to be part of the university of Rome. Imagine going to school there!
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This is the fountain out the front (see the fountain has book sculptures on either side.)
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Alfredo my friend even bought me these lovely yellow flowers from a begger type person. (She wasn't a gypsy and wasn't really begging...just a lady asking if we wanted some flowers. She had them all individually wrapped in tin foil and when I opened them to leave in the make shift vase, I saw she had wrapped an elastic band around them too. Good on her! And GRAZIE ALFREDO.)
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Would you look at these crowds? Piazza di Spagna is one of the most visited areas in Rome and now the high season after all. To be honest I hate walking around these parts but I have a hotel here so cannot avoid the area altogether. Day or night makes little difference here, it is always full of tourists!
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Via Condotti - The most expensive shops in which the windows have no price tags...and in which the street has no room to move.
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Spring has hit the normally dull Spanish Steps.
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I hope you enjoyed the day regardless in which part of the world you may be.
4 comments:
Looks like an awesome day, but oh the people! Gah!
The Spanish Steps look like a nightmare for someone with allergies (to pollen *or* people) ;)
Hi Michelle, Yes the Spanish Steps are a nightmare and I have an allergy to BOTH people and Pollen. I could not stop sneezing, literally for hours afterwards... Really Rome does become a bit much at times with the crowds.
Thanks for the tour... I can never get enough of Roma. There's always something new to discover.
Joe
Hi Joe,
Looks like there are a few more tourist in Rome now, unlike those pics you posted on your blog!
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