Those would be Italian boots, of course, and our favorite purchase from one of the shops we discovered on the bustling Via del Corso during our preliminary Rome walk-a-bout yesterday.
Realizing we had missed the Spanish Steps and that they were somewhere nearby, we set out armed once again with our trusty map of Rome (available by the stack at the concierge desk), determined to capture the essence of the very chic Italian style that pervades the city en route. (Short boots, skinny jeans, scarves and fitted jackets, all you fashionistas).
One wrong turn and an impressive array of street vendors later we finally got turned around, crossed over the Fiume Tevere and were back at the Piazza del Popolo (below). Some well-dressed police officers told us we were a short 5 minutes away, so we headed down the Via Babuino.
Arriving in short order, you can see from the pic (below), the Spanish Steps are a popular hot spot for both Italians and global travelers to spend some leisure time. We think they were probably debating who was going to win the inner-city Rome playoff tonight for the Italian soccer cup…Roma vs Lazio (two fierce Rome home-town rivals).
En route we realized that this entire area is a great shopping district comprised of one picturesque street after another filled with every variety of small boutique shop you could imagine. Naturally, we did some more shopping!
We made it back to the hotel in time to meet our Travel Director, Giuseppe, and our fellow Trafalgar guests for the first time. We headed out for our Welcome Reception at a quaint nearby restaurant in the private back room. It was a good opportunity for Giuseppe to give us a run down of the week, get to know our fellow travelers and have a “light” supper with great local wines.
An appetizer, 5 styles of pizza and dessert later, we headed over to Piazza Navona on our Trafalgar coach. En route, we saw some stunning evening views and got historical insights to go along with them. One of the bridges we walked across yesterday is 2000 years old! Wow, we didn’t have any idea! Giuseppe assured us more detail to come from the local guides tomorrow.
We forced ourselves to have gelato while trying to absorb the spectacular architecture, street artists and cafes lining the piazza.
Our final scene was that of the sun setting over some incredible views of the Vatican. Not a moment we’ll forget anytime soon.
Off to bed now as our Trafalgar ‘Taste of Italy’ officially begins.
This is Lauren & Linda signing out…Ciao baby!
P.S.: Lazio -1, Roma – 0
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