The gorgeous Roman weather continued on June 12, 2010. After a full day of sightseeing in Rome the day before I decided it was time for a little out-of-town excursion. So I went to the Termini Train Station and bought a ticket to Frascati, a city in the mountains just about an hour southeast of Rome. Once arrived in this scenic spot, I walked around for a couple of hours and stumbled upon the main square where a market was set up and the locals were sitting on benches chatting. I chatted with one local merchant and ended up buying a porchetta sandwich -- a delicious traditional local snack of slow-roasted pork inside a crispy bun.
A couple of hours later I headed back to Rome for my second city bicycle tour with my expert guide Roberto from Top Bike Rental: the Panoramic Tour of Rome. We started our ride on the Equiline Hill, rode down on the Oppian Hill past the Colosseum and up on the other side to the Aventine Hill from where we enjoyed a gorgeous view across to the Vatican. Coming down on the west side of the hill we cycled into Trastevere, the quarter on the other side of the Tiber River, with its narrow cobble-stoned streets and dozens of restaurants and bars. Trastevere has evolved from a rather poor fishing village into one of Rome's most popular entertainment and real estate districts.
Past Trastevere we started cycling up another hill, this time it was the Janiculum Hill (Gianicolo in Italian), past the gorgeous Fonte Acqua Paola fountain, a huge fountain that marked the end of the Acqua Paola aqueduct. On top of the hill we cycled through the Parco Gianicolense to the Monument to Garibaldi, past the Gianicolo Lighthouse and down on the other side towards the Vatican.
Roberto gave us about an hour and a half to explore Saint Peter's Basilica, the world's largest church which holds about 60,000 people, one of Christianity's holiest sites. Construction on the church started in 1506 and was completed at the end of 1626 and it holds some of western art's most treasured works, including Michelangelo's Pieta. The interior of St. Peter's Basilica is so massive and so intricately adorned, it simply takes your breath away. I was extremely impressed by this mysterious, beautiful space.
Further points on our itinerary included the Castell Sant' Angelo, and back on the other side of the Tiber River, the Piazza Navona, the Fontana di Trevi, and the Pantheon. Towards the evening we cycled through the Jewish Ghetto to the ancient Teatro Marcello and then came back via the Campidoglio on the Capitoline Hill, from where we had the most amazing view of the ancient sites that are part of the Roman Forum. By this time the ancient ruins were bathed in gold by the setting sun -- an almost surreal vista. Rome's packed collection of ancient architectural treasures is absolutely mind-blowing.
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Travel Italy: Rome, the Eternal Cityby travelandtransitions88 views
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