Growing up, every child knows that wardrobes have three main uses. Aside from the obvious clothes storage, wardrobes are also a 99% fail-safe winner in hide & seek and, for those with a little imagination, they'll take you right through to Narnia. Spending more time filling it and less time sitting in it, i'd almost forgotten about the magical use of the wardrobe. That is, until last week when i went to Rome.
Okay so we didn't get to Rome via wardrobe, although it would've been preferable to the 7hr train without any train snacks. Every train journey needs train snacks! We were, however, greeted off the train by Mr Tumnus Adam, who promptly whisked us off for drinks in Narnia (also called Les Affiches for all the muggles wishing to find it with google maps)
Brownie's honour, there's genuinely a room behind that wardrobe
Some particularly jazzy christmas lights, sponsored by Pope Francis I
Either as a result of the bright lights or the drinking like a roman, we weren't feeling at full gladiator strength the next day. Deciding that fresh air and coffee would cure all, Adam took us to Villa Borghese for an early morning stroll. It has a Central Park-esque feel about it, a little green grassy bubble away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It even has a zoo!
I'm not sure if Caesar drank coffee and bloody mary's to adios his hangover but it did the trick for us!
The sky looking like a sunset at 12:30pm
Pantheon
Hey guys, why the long face?
Fontana di Trevi di giorno
Come here twice, once at daytime and once at nighttime.
Fontana di Trevi di sera
Make a wish. Stand with your back to the fountain with the coin(s) in your right hand and throw the coin(s) over your left shoulder into the fountain. One coin and you'll return to Rome someday, two coins and you'll fall in love with a Roman, three coins and you'll marry the Roman. It's practically science.
St. Peter's Basilica
The pope's balcony
I think St. Peter's might've been the Black Keys' inspiration. Gold on the ceiling, on the walls, on the arches, on the window panes, on the statues... (you might need sunglasses for these next few snaps)
I'm slowly realising that having a great view is synonymous with breaking a sweat. To get to the top of the Cupola you can climb the stairs for €5 or get the lift for €7 (three guesses as to which we chose). If you want to go higher there's another 500 odd stairs. As you go further and further the space gets smaller and smaller until you're eventually sort of wedged between the exterior and the dome. This is not for the fainthearted or the claustrophobic! But the view. Look at the view.
Props to the poor postman who has to climb 1000 stairs every morning just to empty the postbox!
Buongiorno Roma
We then headed back down to grab a bite to eat before boarding the train to head home (this time with train snacks and this fantastic sunset!)
Thankyou Adam for being a truly great tourguide. One coin in the fountains says we'll be back soon!
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