Walking, shopping and eating, sometimes all at once

Yesterday Sarah bought a cute pair of shoes from Altariva making Paul the only one to have not bought any from there, although he has hit the Geox shop a few times.  We all met up at Campo Marzo and got a few things there.

Sarah and Paul went off to Antico Enoteca in Via Della Croce for lunch. We have all had a few meals there - it is a relaxing environment, good food and they make a good Spritz Aperol :)

Rob bravely went to Poste Italiane and got some large boxes and bolletini to post stuff home.  It was relatively painless -hope that it is the same when we actually post the boxes today.

Rob, Jules and I went to Roscioli in Campo de' Fiori for a pizza top up -always so good there.  We then walked down to the river and along towards Isola Tiberina.  

I like this light in Via Della Maddalena

Rob and Jules wandering around near the Pantheon

This guy is a brilliant performance artist who can stay still for an amazingly long time while looking like he is speeding off to somewhere

The Tevere was in flood after all of the heavy rain and the pedestrian paths alongside the river where Jules was photographing a few days ago were under water as were the bottom steps of the stairs leading down to the river.  

 The low lying parts of Isola Tiberina were also under water.  The river was flowing really quickly and there were muddy whirlpools everywhere, we watched planks and other debris rapidly passing by. 

After never having seen Nutria before we saw several yesterday.  Some were being dragged along by the current and were unable to swim their way to shore. A large one had managed to make it to a stairway and was cleaning himself when we saw him.

Next we went to see the Bocca della Verita and the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosemedin 

The mosaics are spectacular

Relics of one of the several Saint Valentines -this one isn't the one of Valentine's day fame, he was a martyr who ended up with his skull in a gold and glass box.

Wall constructed on Roman foundations with debris from the Teatro di Marcello site

Teatro Marcellus

Autumn in Rome

The weather has been fairly mild in  Rome and while deciduous trees in the north of Italy have nearly all lost their leaves, those in Roma still have strong autumn colours.  The guys selling roasted chestnuts (castagne)  finally have buyers as the colder weather sets in.

The Piazza Navona Christmas markets are in full swing selling decorations and Christmas treats as well as the usual traveling sideshow stalls.  Yesterday we had lunch in Campo dei Fiori -said hi for you Ness :)

Today we went to the shopping outlet centre at Castel Romana - we were a little underwhelmed.  We had hoped to find gifts for our family but no such luck :(

The fine weather will be around for a few more days so we're making the most of it.

A film set in Piazza della Rotonda

I know that I'm short, but I look like an ant compared to the columns of the Pantheon

Not many tourists around after the weekend, yay!

A busker in Campo de' Fiori -he could play quite well

Campo de' Fiori when the market was ending for the day

Skulls are both sides of the doorway into the church of Santa Maria dell'Orazione e Morte in Via Giulia

The Mascherone fountain in Via Giulia

Usually Virginia creeper hangs down from the arch across Via Giulia creating a curtain -it was sad to see that it had been removed

Virginia creeper with autumn colours

Castagne seller in Piazza Navona

Ciambella seller in Piazza Navona. The ciambelle are huge, the size of dinner plates and very thick, it's always surprising to see people eating them

People hanging around the Christmas markets