Oh a city I truly love - Roma. We happily escorted Leslie & Bob back to Rome, any excuse to visit this incredible city once again!

Rome is only about a 3 hour drive from our house & we had a nice easy drive along the via Flaminia (the ancient road built to connect Rome to the Adriatic Coast.) We arrived before lunch, dropped off the rental car & started our visit in the Piazza del Popolo.

First stop, the Spanish steps, we wandered the side roads & found the most perfect quiet street in all of busy Rome -

- just a block off the hustle & bustle everything settles down, oh the smell of lilacs in the spring - god i love that!

After lunch a must-stop, artisan gelato - Giolitti, opened in 1900 & is voted best gelato year after year by the locals. 

There is a line out the door for this gelati - so no dilly dallying, know your order when its your turn & get moving for the next person in line.

Here are a few of my favorite Rome shots from years past:

The Pantheon, one of our all time favorite spots in Rome.

Vatican Guards

Trevi Fountain

The Colosseum

Our favorite place to eat: Augusto - This family run trattoria is well known by locals, a perfect dinner spot with outdoor seating & a no frills menu with pasta made by mamma!  (Trastevere is just across the river from Rome.)

Augusto, Trastevere
Piazza de' Renzi, 15

After a day ramblin' about the streets of Rome, we stayed at our good friend Denise's dollhouse of an apartment & took the train home the next day. (The first time Rome's been affordable!)  Can't wait to visit again....

Ashley Bartner is the Living in Italy Editor for Wandering Educators.

La Tavola Marche Agriturismo & Cooking Holiday

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