Rome, July 24, 2023 pre-planning

We are planning to go to Rome on July 23rd. We most likely we will arrive in the evening and by the time we make our way from the airport to the hotel we may just want to get dinner and go to bed. We decided to take an Uber instead of a taxi. The flat rate taxies need to charge for a ride from the airport to Rome only applies if the destination is inside the Aurelian Walls. We are staying at the Lord Byron, on Via Giuseppe de Notrais, 5, on the north side of Borghese Park. Since taxis charge by distance and even German Taxis like to zigzag through town we figured Uber is the way to go.  The Hyatt is on the south side and inside the Aurelian Walls but we like Lord Byron much better, maybe we will turn into poets.  

I want to visit some off-the-beaten-path places I had on my list for years, satisfy my Carrvaggio cravings, and hope to avoid the crowds. Rome has many more wonderful things to see, we should be able to accomplish this. With the help of my of some of my friends, I put together the following agenda. If you have been to Rome and you have some suggestions, please comment below. 

The Lord Byron Hotel is about a five-minute walk from the La Galleria Nazionale. That is one of the wedding cake buildings. Even though our location is very central but Rome is almost 500 square miles in size and Uber, due to Italian regulations, has an upcharge, plus keeping in mind all the traffic. Due to all this, we decided to use the public transportation system. It should be fun and reliable as long as there is no strike. However, something else one needs to consider when it comes to public transportation. For example, we are a five-minute walk from a bus stop and a 17-minute walk from the metro.  The bus stops at the metro station but will take 15 minutes to get to the metro station so it is actually faster just to walk. 

Here are a few things I would love to squeeze in.  I would like to see the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls I have seen it many years ago and I would like to know if it is as I remember. It is the same with the Baths of Caracalla. Now the Plazza Doria Pamphilj we have to see and we will squeeze that one in. Another fun thing I would like to do, if I have time is walk the Appian Way, well not the whole way but some of it. Plus as you know from the previous posts, Michael doesn't like walking, so it would be a solo adventure. 

 

The heart of Rome is Centro Storico or the historic center this area has a lot of sites and a lot more tourists. 

Naturally, the popular sights are always busy except early in the morning. Over the years I came to appreciate early morning walks, there is something about watching a city come to life. 
The plan for my morning walk is, of course, to get up early.  Sunrise will be around 5:30 am. I was told sunrise and sunsets at Villa Borghese are supposed to be stunning. Let’s see if I can capture a photo of the Temple of Esculapio as well as in the photo below which I found on the internet. 

The walk should take about 30 minutes if I follow my charted path.

I will pass by the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, the Tempio di Esculapio, Viale dei Pupassi (yes this is just a boulevard, but a beautiful one), Cinema dei Piccoli (yes it is a movie theater and the world's smallest Cinema in a Villa), and Porta Pinciana, where I will exit the park. Allowing time for photos this should take about an hour. 

From there I will make my way over to Piazza Navona. I think an empty Piazza Navona is worth sacrificing a few hours of sleep. I remember this photo from Wired magazine during the Covid Lockdown 

If I catch the sunset at 5:30 am at Villa Borghese, I should be at the Trevi Fountain by 6:30 am and if nobody is around maybe I have time to get some cool selfie. The Pantheon doesn’t open till 9 am but I have time to go down memory lane. 

I think I should go down to the market square of Campo de Fiori like I did years ago with my girlfriend and head down a side street just off it to seek out Arco degli Acetari, a hidden courtyard of picturesque houses, which was recommended by a former boyfriend of her. I should be there at around 7 am.  

If I recall correctly the bakeries and cafe are open at 7 am weekdays and 8:30 am on Sundays. Since it will be Monday I should be able to get some breakfast somewhere.

I'm probably going to make my way down to Marcello Theater. The Colosseum MiniMe. From there I may take the Metro back to the hotel and check on Michael, or I walk back to Trevi Fountain and stop by, Foro Romano, Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II, Are Sacra di Largo Argentian, Colonna Traiana, Palazzo Bonaparte, Doria Pamphili Gallery. The Colosseum is only about half a mile from Foro Romano. Depending on my energy level and time I could include it as well. 

I do want to see the Teatro Marcello, I know it is an apartment building but originally it was a 20,000-seat Roman amphitheater. It was completed in 12 BC, and in the 16th century it was turned into a palazzo, and in the 20th century into exclusive apartments. 

I was told it’s never very busy and you can walk through the crumbling blocks and columns next to it for free. I think there are also summer concerts here.

If I feel like ending my morning walk here, I could walk down to the Colosseum or I could walk from Teatro Marcello to the Cavour Metro Station. I should be back at the hotel at 10am or the latest 11 am.  To complete the afternoon program as planned we need to leave the hotel by 11 to make our dinner tour. 

Metro Map and Bus Route Map with Met

So I picked up my beloved travel companion at 11 am and we made our way to the Tempio di Esculapio (20 minutes) again.  It's on the way to the Flaminio Metro Station (seven minutes). If he is up to it we can wander across the Piazza del Popolo (five minutes), which is more or less across the street.  The metro from Flaminio to Barberini is about 3 minutes and it runs every 10 minutes. Hence we should arrive at Barberini taking in time for photos at 12:30 pm. From there, we go see the Capuchin Crypt, which is about two minutes away. The ticket is about 10 euros and I will tell him all about his place. Can't wait to hear what he thinks of it.  Then, at around 1:30 pm, we will wander over to Trevi Fountain (10 minutes).  From there we will turn into one of the side streets to Galleria Sciarre (2 minutes if I find the correct street right away). From there, we cross Piazza dell'Oratorio and di San Marcello to arrive at Galleria Doria Pamphilj (5 minutes). We should be able to arrive at Galleria Doria Pamphili at 2 pm but I thought it would be better to get the tickets for a 2:30pm time slot. Tickets are $15 and they are timed entries I was told one can't enter before or after the allotted time. Considering the treasures they are holding, I guess they can be stricter than some of the other Galleries. Caffe Doria serves breakfast from 8:00 am-noon, Lunch from 12:30 - 3:00, and Aperifi from 4:00 to 9:00. Recommended time for the Galleria is 60 to 90 minutes. However; the Galleria is the home of about 650 masterpieces, including Caravaggio, Velaquez, and Bernini...so I'm not sure, let's schedule two hours.  

The exhibit at Palazzo Bonaparte is "It Looks Alive" I have seen part of the exhibit in London and my travel partner is not interested in it. So we will skip Palazzo Bonaparte and make our way to the Pantheon. This is a six-minute walk. The Pantheon with require a ticket starting July 1st and reservations are required on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays. We should be arriving at the Pantheon at around 4:30 pm or 5:00 pm. I still want to add Largo Di Terre Argentian and Galleria Spada which I really want to see to this before we are going for dinner but we may not have enough time. Sunset is at around 8:45 so we should be able to make it. 

Our Dinner Tour starts at 5:30 pm at Piazza di San Cosimato, which is a 22-minute walk from the Pantheon passing the Largo Di Terre Argentian. We can make that if we cut the Galleria visit a little shorter.  If we take a different route and walk by the Galleria Spada, we will cross the Tiber at Ponte Sisto which is nicer than Ponte Garibaldi in my opinion. That would be 25 minutes but it may take longer because there is more to look at. 

Our Dinner Tour was recommended by a local person so I guess we don't want to miss it. 

After all that we probably will call an Uber to get back to the hotel.