Friday, September 16, 2011

Rome Vacation -- Part 3


Next up, Castel Saint Angelo, about a 15 minute walk away from St. Peter's Square.


It was a nice castle with rooms used as a museum (no pictures inside though). Nothing as awe-inspiring as what you found in the Vatican Museum. It's unfortunate that after you see the big highlights of Rome that other museums, which anywhere else would probably be a top attraction, is simply "okay".


However up near the top there was a restaurant so I decided to grab a drink



I certainly can't complain about the view from this restaurant, I think I sat here for a good 20 minutes just staring at the view.


The other side also had a nice view of the river and central Rome.




After wandering around the Castel I went to the Spanish Steps, a lengthy series of steps leading to the Trinita dei Monti church that has become a hanging-out place for tourists.


So what did I do? Sat there and hung out of course. Not much in the way of restaurants nearby but there were a lot of guys going around selling drinks.


From there I continued walking to the Piazza del Popolo, a huge square next to Borghese Park. The park is actually a large hill that provides great views of the city, I climbed up to take a view of the piazza.


I wandered through the park and back to the Trevi Fountain and grabbed an okay meal at one of the touristy cafés and hung out a while longer at the Fountain with a gelato.

Strangely enough, nothing weird happened to me the entire day! No drama, no bizarre encounters, no attempt to rip me off, just a mellow day touring around and seeing some damn impressive sights. Has to be a first for a vacation.

One day left (and things do get weird). Stay tuned for part 4.

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