Saturday 8th May

We started today with a open top bus ride around the city. It is a very different place in the day and busy like any other city on a Saturday morning. The tour took just over an hour and was followed by some retail therapy in the ancient market place of Campo Dei Fiori. This is Rome's oldest market, Campo Dei Fiori (Flora's Courtyard, not 'flower market') was lovely. They claim to have the best fish in the city, fresh vegetables and attractively-piled fruit, spice, as well as clothing and toys. We had lunch in a market side cafe, yummy pizza and wine.
After lunch we visited Piazza Navona,possibly the square that better represents the 'bombastic' Baroque Rome.
Piazza Navona, which is a pedestrian area now, has 3 baroque fountains,the central one (Fountain of Four Rivers) designed by Bernini was sadly under going restoration. The other two however were beautiful. Piazza Navona is a lively place with plenty of stylish restaurants, gelato (ice-cream) bars, and everyday musical or artistic acts. The square is home to many artists working and selling paintings on the street.
A short walk from here took us to our final destination for the day the Pantheon.
The Roman Pantheon is the most preserved and influential building of ancient Rome. It is a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods of pagan Rome. As the brick stamps on the side of the building reveal it was built and dedicated between A.D 118 and 125. We stayed a while inside before taking a Taxi home. Before settling for a nap we enjoyed an ice cream from the ice cream bar adjacent to our apartment, yum.
PS We had the quote of the holiday today when nan observed that there were a lot of MacDonalds when she looked at the bus map. She had mistaken the M symbol for Metro. Oh how we laughed!