Rock In Roma: Storming Bastille

So this is what we were in Rome for...

I can't believe it's 2 weeks ago already,

I'm still buzzing.

Accidentally buying those 2 tickets was

one of the most awesome things I've ever done

(hubby's the one who usually arranges 'awesome').

We've decamped from the Star Metropole in central Rome

& re-located to the Locanda delle Corse, just across

the road from the concert venue, Ippodromo Capannelle.

We've had dinner at the bar next door (and discovered that

the food came from the hotel's kitchen) - polpette, washed down

with a more than palatable vino bianco, and have 'claimed our spot'

in front of the stage, laying our picnic blanket out before

hubby decides he just HAS to have some fries

as he's still hungry.

The support act is George Ezra, and he's

a very talented musician, with a 

voice that belies his young years; in fact, 

when I first heard him after hubby Googled him

I was amazed to discover he was white.

At the end of his set, a few latecomers turned up -

OK, so the tickets did say it started at 21:45, but that

was the time Bastille were due on stage - they don't know 

what a great opener they missed.

Quick set change, a few flashing lights, complete

blackout for a few moments & then.....

The whole crowd erupted as they opened with

'Bad Blood' - there may only have been around

a thousand of us there, but boy, did we make some noise!

Dan has what I consider to be one of the most

amazingly haunting voices I've ever heard

and I threw myself into singing along & 

pogoing with the best of them - 57 on the

outside, going on 19 on the inside!

And when they performed 'Pompeii' 

as their encore, I was just totally blown away...

https://plus.google.com/u/0/106615586003207681070/posts/aQB2XvViiTY?pid=6042336582762509090&oid=106615586003207681070

Roaming Roma: Sightseeing I

For me, the trip to Rome wasn't just about

seeing the historical sites, or even the famous sights

like the Spanish Steps (which aren't actually the

Spanish Steps in Italian, but 

'Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti), it was also about

looking for other photo opportunities &

capturing sights that the 'Average Tourist'

might not spot.

So here are a few of my 'sightseeing' shots

from our long weekend......

It started with this one, which perfectly 

fitted the theme of #fmsphotoaday on Instagram to

find a creative pic involving water, I couldn't have staged

it better if I'd tried....

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink

And on Saturday morning I just couldn't resist capturing these
2 nuns walking behind La Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore....

You know we're not meant to feed the pigeons

Before a brief second when there was no traffic,
affording me this shot

Lined up for a quick getaway?

Then as we headed to Il Colosseo, I spotted

this guy working on the renovations of some HUGE gates

Not sure I'll finish this today

And when we turned a corner to discover ourselves 

in Piazza San Pietro in Vincoli, 

I spotted a vacationing 'baby priest'

trying to find his bearings on a map

How close are we to the Vatican? 

Roaming Roma: Siteseeing - Day 2

Friday 25th July

We've had breakfast, we're armed with the map again

& so we head off to do some 'siteseeing' (yes, I know

I've misspelt it again - there is a reason for doing so,

which will be obvious in my next blog post).

First stop today was a recommendation by our friend Maria,

and not far from the hotel, La Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.

Not 'the' Sistine Chapel

The Basilica became the final resting place of 

Saint Pius V, who was originally entombed in

the Vatican in 1572, but his remains were moved to this

Sistine Chapel in 1698.

Final resting place for Saint Pius V

Next port of call was the Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli, 

purely because I have a passion for religious buildings & art.

The ceiling here didn't disappoint either...

The Miracle of the Chains, by Giovanni Batista Parodi

And then we headed for the 'must see' site -

Il Colosseo, and it appeared that every other

tourist in Rome had headed there too.

But we weren't planning on joining the queue

to go inside, so we stood on the hill overlooking 

it for a while, clicking away with our cameras.
And I almost managed to make the crowds disappear.....

What happened to the hordes at Il Colosseo?

Arco di Costantino

Roaming Roma: Siteseeing - Day 1

Yes, the misspelling in this post's title is intentional,

and you'll see why later.

First ever trip to Rome.....what to see?

We wanted to see the famous sites, but

we didn't want to 'do' them.........as in we didn't 

want to queue for hours to wander round with the hordes. 

When in Rome, do things your own way........

so we did!

We'd arranged to meet up with Maria at 7 pm on 

the first evening, so we had a few hours to kill beforehand.

Unpacked & having had a cup of tea (being English we do,

of course, take our own teabags with us when we go away),

we set off 'a piedi', armed with a map from the front desk.....

first port of call, Piazza Barberini & Fontana del Tritone;

not as famous as the Trevi Fountain, but at least it

wasn't mostly hidden by scaffold AND it had water in it......

Bernini's Fontana del Tritone

On the way to Piazza Barberini, we found ourselves in

Piazza San Bernardo, which is home to

Fontana dell'Acqua Felice, the 

terminus of the Acqua Felice aqueduct restored by Pope Sixtus V.

Again, nowhere near as impressive as the Trevi Fountain,

but an important part of Rome's medieval history.

Fontana dell'Acqua Felice

Walking back to the hotel, we passed the Teatro dell'Opera - this 

fast became our 'landmark' for knowing we were heading

the right way back. One of the stage doors was open, so I 

cheekily popped inside, camera in hand &

grabbed a few shots

before heading round to the front of the building for this pic...

Then our evening meet up with Maria gave us our 

first glimpse of the dome of St Peters, as we stood on

Ponte Mazzini at sunset

First sighting of  La Basilica di San Pietro

Roaming Roma: Seeing The Pope.....Sort Of

Sunset in Rome

It was our first evening in Rome & we'd set off 'a piedi' to meet 

Maria, the eldest sister of our friend Attilio. Needless to say,

we got lost, ended up getting a taxi, only to discover

that if we'd carried on walking for another 10 minutes

beyond Piazza Spagna, we could have saved ourselves

10 Euros.

Meeting up with Maria was like having our own 

private guided tour of the city - she was so full of enthusiasm

for Rome, the sights, the shops & life in general.

She walked us down to the Tiber (she called it 

'Roma's Thames') and that's when we got our first

glimpse of the dome of La Basilica di San Pietro, 

just as the sun had disappeared from view.

And I thought that was probably as close as we were

going to get to the Vatican.....but I was wrong.

Not only did I get to stand in Piazza San Pietro yesterday morning,

taking a 'selfie' with hubby, just to prove we'd been there....

Never thought we'd get here!

I also got a shot of the Pope!

Papa Francesco - he's awesome!

OK, so it's artwork on the wall at the Metro's Stazione Spagna,

but it's just so cool, isn't it?

And Today Is The Final Day......Or Is it?

Some days it was easy,

others it was incredibly difficult

& others I had more than one,

which explains why there have been more than

the allotted one hundred.

Thing is, I can't believe how quickly it's come

to an end, especially as it seemed

such a daunting task to make the effort

every day.

But maybe the fact that hubby became

one of the 72% who give up spurred

me on to see it through.

I am, of course, referring to #100happydays.

Today is the final day, and this is my final pic....

I'm going to miss hashtagging my photos

with #100happydays......

time to get used to the hashtag #365daysofhappy

Another Year Older

For those of you who may not have realised,

it was my birthday on Thursday.

Yes, the number on the page has changed from 56 to 57 -

not that I feel a year older. If anything,

I feel younger than I did last year - maybe I'm 

a female Benjamin Button?

This is my birthday, in picture form...

It started with fireworks at midnight

I went to bed at 1.30 am, only to be up again 

at 5 am, which meant I saw the blush of dawn

Followed by that perfect moment when the sun breaches the mountain

An afternoon walk along Via Flavio Gioia

Took us to Baffo, who makes the best gelato in Santa Maria....

I chose Menta & Cocco and it was absolutely delicious!

And in the evening we dined at Lo Sparviero, both opting 

for Spaghetti alle Vongole.....

It's been more than 12 months since I had that dish

& it was utterly mouthgasmic

Followed by a walk under the moonlight

Before going home to celebrate as couples who still love each other
to bits usually celebrate