our first visitor! {Museo di Roma & Campo de Fiori}

exactly one week ago, Kira arrived! and she's here until Thursday! we are the last leg on her around-the-world journey that took her from New York to Seattle to Australia and, finally, to Italy. Greta had been counting down the days for a week (and Cece would excitedly chorus "fwee days! two days! one day! Auntie Keewah!" -- being unfamiliar with the concept of time was no damper on her enthusiasm). on Tuesday morning, i set out to meet her. we planned to meet at Termini station, where her airport shuttle bus would arrive, and from where we could take the city bus back to our apartment. according to the shuttle bus website, the bus would stop near TerraCafe, so we planned to meet there. of course my bus to Termini was late, and when i finally got to the station, i couldn't find anything marked TerraCafe (although Google Maps still thought it existed). i finally ducked my head into the closest cafe and there was Kira! looking remarkably put together and coherent after 19 hours of travel, i might add. 

she had ordered a cappuccino while waiting for me, so i got myself a doppio espresso and we had a lovely chat while the mass of humanity that is Termini station swirled around us. finally, in light of expectant nieces at home, we walked to the front of the station and caught the #40 express bus back across the city. Kira got to experience the gastrocnemius-busting joy of the Gianicolo Hill, and when we finally arrived at our front door, i think the girls' shrieks could have woken Julius Caesar in his grave. 

after afternoon naps for Cece and Auntie Kira, we went on an exploring expedition around the grounds. it's still surreal to me that we live here, not just in Rome but at the NAC. we happened to run into Nick, who had been doing some office work, and he joined us for the piece de resistance, the view from the roof. 

scooter superstar

just a casual afternoon on the roof

then it was time to come home and make pizza. we put the leaf in the kitchen table and i think we'll just leave it that way even when we don't have guests -- there's so much more room for the girls to color or for me to spread out all my recipes when i'm planning meals for the week. 

on wednesday, we had plans to meet our friends at the Museo di Roma at Palazzo Braschi. this palace stands at the southern end of Piazza Navona, and the views out the windows are just as striking at the museum exhibits. the Palazzo Braschi was completed in 1804, on the site of the previous Palazzo Orsini (built in 1435). 

#sherpalife

before even entering the museum, we were greeted to this beautiful sight: a "Gala Sedan", built for the marriage of Sigismondo Chigi to Giovanna Medici D'Ottajano in 1776. Greta and Elizabeth were quite enamored with the idea of princesses riding in this carriage. i myself couldn't get over the juxtaposition of eighteenth-century luxury transportation and twenty-first century motorini. 

the main focus of our visit was seeing the temporary Canaletto exhibit, featuring works by this famous Venetian painter. at least, he's famous in Italy and Great Britain. he may very well be famous in the States as well, but i don't remember ever hearing of him. after seeing the exhibit, however, i completely understand the acclaim. 

watching the action in Piazza Navona

Rome itself is a living museum

we continued our visit with the permanent exhibitions, which are gorgeous. like the Castel Sant'Angelo, this museum isn't one of the heavy hitters like the Vatican Museums or the Borghese Gallery, but the collection is still beautiful and the location is unbeatable. 

if i had to guess, i would bet she's pretending that she lives here

look closely or you might miss it -- just someone feeding her baby

this model shows the buildings on the medieval streets that were razed by Mussolini to build the Via della Conciliazione -- the broad road that now leads straight to the Vatican. Mussolini wanted to make a dramatic statement linking the Church to the political center of Rome, but unfortunately 500 years of history were destroyed in the process.

Sant'Agnese in Agone on the left, looking down over the Piazza Navona. contrary to popular assumption, the name of the church does not reflect on St. Agnes' martyrdom, which occurred in the ancient stadium here. the original name of the Piazza was "Piazza in agone", meaning the place of the competitions, and over the years "in agone" transformed into the modern name "Navona". 

you know it's going to be good when there's a crowd this size gathered around a street performer

and yes! we had a birds-eye view into this unicycle-riding, flame-juggling daredevil's act

this column shows the level of a flood of the Tiber in 1180

by this time, the girls were about through with the museum, and we embarked on the little walking tour i had devised (combining one of Rick Steves' Rome walks and some points of interest from various blogs i follow). with the promise of gelato before them, we set out for Campo de' Fiori. this is one of the main squares in Rome, and every morning, vendors set up market stalls here. it was here, in 1600, that the philosopher Giordano Bruno was burned alive for heresy. a statue of him now stands on the exact spot where he died. 

not a bad life for a pup

here we are! 

thank you, McDonaldsItalia, for your tastefully subtle presence

Giordano Bruno. the inscription reads: "A BRUNO - IL SECOLO DA LUI DIVINATO - QUI DOVE IL ROGO ARSE("Bruno - the century predicted by him - here where the fire burned"). 

 at this time of day, the square was mostly filled with tourists wandering about and restaurant hosts prowling up and down the perimeter of their outdoor seating areas. i want to check it out sometime when the market is in full swing! 

our next stop was to see the secret passage that links Campo de' Fiori with the next street over: the Passetto di Biscione. i had read about this on Natalie's amazing blog and couldn't wait to see it for myself. this tiny covered walkway is decorated with beautiful frescos and a little shrine to Our Lady. 

the secret passage is just to the right of this building ... if only the walls could talk!

speaking of walls!

i had lured the girls on this walk with promises of gelato. most of our gelato so far has come from random shops, some better than others, but we hadn't made a concerted effort to seek out thee best gelato yet. i was determined to try one of the famous ones, so we betook ourselves to Fatamorgana. and oh my goodness ... it was the best gelato i had had up til that point (spoiler alert -- i now like Frigidarium best!). the girls devoured theirs too, as you can see. i opted for a scoop of estasi (dark chocolate with hazelnuts) and a scoop of another flavor with amaretto and chocolate. delicious!

we continued on our roundabout way home, passing a bakery that had just put out a platter of pizza for a tour group. it smelled delicious! i love just wandering up and down the streets here ... you never know what you'll come across. 

MEAT

 we stumbled across the Piazza della Quercia, named because of the church Santa Maria della Quercia here (Saint Mary of the Oak). the oak tree is also the symbol of the della Rovere family (Pope Julius II was a part of this family). an oak tree has been planted here since the 1500s.

finally, our last sight of the afternoon: Piazza Farnese. the Farnese family built their palazzo at one end of this piazza, and it now houses the French embassy. 

Michelangelo and several other famous architects contributed to the Palazzo Farnese. the Farnese sculpture collection that we saw in the Naples archaeological museum (including Toro Farnese) was originally housed here.

 having explored to our hearts' content, we walked back along the river towards home. Kira, we are so glad you're here!