Italy trip - first day in Rome

This year Celene and I are off to Italy for four weeks.  I have been there before, a long time ago, but Celene has never been and so she's been very excited about it.

We left Vancouver on Saturday evening, and flew to Rome via a layover in Munich. The flight was long but I did manage to sleep a bit. We arrived in Rome on Sunday evening, and we had arranged for a car to pick us up and take us to the hotel. The hotel had the smallest elevator I've ever seen. 

After checking in, we went to a restaurant around the corner for our first pasta and wine meal in Rome. 

Monday was the first full day in Rome, which  we spent exploring the central part of the city on foot. The hotel was close to the Vatican, and we started walking along the river Tevere, past the Castel San Angelo. There a cool little cafe right by the river called Biblio Bar which was like a patio with a library, where you could have an espresso surrounded by books with a view of the river and the San Angelo bridge. 

We crossed the bridge and headed into Piazza Navona, which is a nice, long open space with fountains at either end and a large statue and fountain in the center. Apparently in ancient Roman times it was a stadium. 

We then turned toward the Pantheon, the ancient domed structure with powerful columns in front. 

The line-up to go inside the Pantheon was too long so we didn't bother. We continued to the Trevi Fountain but the area was so packed with people you could 't even move let alone get close, so we decide to try again later. These were the first signs we had of the huge numbers of tourists this year. 

We kept walking and reached the Spanish Steps, taking in the views of the city, and going down the steps. We took a break in the church at the top. 

I wanted to go to the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, but it was closed midday so we went to the huge park  Villa Borghese to wait and rest a bit. We rented this two-person bicycle to ride around the park. 

Back at the church I was able to see the amazing statue 'Ecstacy of Saint Teresa' by Bernini. 

I learned about the importance of Bernini, and his role in designing much of what you see in Central Rome in the Baroque style in the 1600's. This is in contrast to the ruins of ancient Rome, which is what I used to mainly associate with the city. 

From the church we walked back to the Trevi Fountain, which was less crowded by this time, and we could get right up to it. 

We started back in the direction of the hotel, following beautiful little alleyways. We had a pizza dinner. 

We passed the church San Luigi dei Francesi, in which there are famous paintings by Carvaggio. 

We crossed the river, heading back toward the hotel, stopping at St. Peter's Square on the way. 

After a stop at wine bar we made it back to the hotel. A very full first day in Rome.