On to Rome

Eye candy along the way. Our first stop at a bakery and gelato shop.
Pillars and Obelisks everywhere we went.

Peeking inside a shopping mall. Now does this look like any shopping mall you have seen?

Trevi Fountain

It was so full of people we couldn't get down to toss a coin in.
We were warned to watch our pockets here, but we were fortunate not to have any pick pocket problems.

Ahh! Babington's Tea Rooms

Flying into Rome we had one afternoon to explore before joining the cruise ship.

We decided to follow the walking tour listed in Rick Steve's book on Rome.

It was suggested as a night walking tour, but we took it in the afternoon. We found Rome confusing to adjust to directions and the walking tour was the perfect way to become familiar with directions and locations of sights.

We soon found ourselves in Nuvona Piazza, where there once were chariott races. Then wandering down narrow passageways past obelisks and pillars, stopping for our first gelato of the trip, we came to Trevi Fountain. We stood enjoying the sights and sounds of so many people clustered around the fountain, as we ate our gelato. For 1 euro I had a large scoop of raspberry and another scoop of pistachio - what a bargain and so good.

Next we were on our way to the Spanish Steps to find Babington's Tea Rooms at the foot of the steps. What is it about finding a tea room in another country for us lovers of tea? It is like coming home and taking a break from the chaotic crazy world for a few minutes.

Since we were not ready to eat I just bought tea with the promise to come back at the end of our trip for the full tea experience. Our full tea experience was at the end of the trip, but I will share it tomorrow.