Saturday 1/23

So many days gone by - so little time!  Best to start with today and then maybe Pete can backtrack.
We've gotten lucky with the weather which has been bright and sunny for many days - yes cold, but we dress warmly so we're comfortable.   We are still getting out of our cave very late in the AM.  However, i don't think I would be happy with longer days as we seem to be able to pack in so much that by 6 we're ready to stop, do what both of us are doing right now (computers!) then dinner and bed.   Today I walked across the Ponte Sisto to Campo Dei Fiori where Pete met me as he had something else to do 1st.   I needed to get to the cheerful guy from whom Gretchen and I bought a bunch of plastic magical kitchen gadgets as there was one that I had no clue how to use!   Now I know.   The market in the campo was flourishing and a fantastic day for photos - sun, shadows, great faces, beautiful fruits and veggies...it was hard to tear myself away to go to our next destination, the Villa Giulia to see the collection in the Palazzo Spada - OK,  I really have to leave this part up to Pete as he commits to memory what he sees;  me....I see it,  enjoy it and promptly forget.   In most of these Palazzi there is SO much to see it's impossible to remember.   I enjoy the experience though.  
The sun was dropping fast and as we felt that going someplace high would give us a longer day we walked up to the Quirenale - the seat of the goverment offices and way back when was where the Pope hung out.  We were right.   It was beautiful and sunny up there as most of the city began to fall into shadow.  We noticed people walking into one of the large buildings with an equally large inner court yard.  We found out there was a special exhibit inside so in we went.  It was a small fantastic exhibit from a museum in Jordan of ancient relics from that area:  the oldest statue in the world,  date on plaque - 7500 BC.   No photos allowed but somehow I was able to capture this statue ;-) -  I had a wide lens on my camera so that I did not need to look through the view finder:  just cough and push the shutter release...
We walked back slowly to our cave.   Rome is hopping on Saturdays and like last Saturday night it feels as if everyone is out and happy.  We stopped on our way back at the Trevi fountain where it seemed the hordes were photographing each other more than the fountain.

Now out for dinner.  Gretchen and Jill left this morning.  We'll miss their company.

I'll try to get some good photos up either after dinner or tomorrow.
bye bye for now...Giannetta