Our last full day in Rome, and also of our vacation has arrived!

The last ticketed adventure of our stay was a visit to the Galleria Borghese, about a half hour’s walk from our hostel. We stopped first for some coffees and pastries and then made our way through the narrow streets once again. Today was also sunny and warm (we’ve been in the upper 20Cs this week) but we were walking mostly in the shade, encountering fantastic architecture around every corner.

The Galleria Borghese was originally started as a gallery in Cardinal Borghese’s country villa. He was an especially big patron of Bernini and Caravaggio, but there are also works here by Titian, Raphael, and Rubens.

Our guide did a great job of providing the art history for about an hour and a half, focusing first mostly on sculpture and then on the “picture rooms” on the upper floor.

Again, actually being able to approach masterpieces like these to appreciate how lifelike the sculptures are while having the guidance to understand the balance, movement, and technique being used is quite awe inspiring. Bernini’s Rape of Persephone, for example, is both more horrifying and amazing up close, where you can appreciate everything from the use of opposing forces within the work, to the subtly of the imprint of Pluto’s fingers again Persephone flesh.

After our tour we returned outside to the vast gardens of the Villa Borghese and spent another half an hour strolling through them and then back into the city. We continued on to the Piazza del Popolo which is a huge city square where the big New Year’s Eve parties take place, political rallies are held (though there were none today) and, apparently, soccer fan gather.

Just off the square we found Canova’s, a restaurant which was favoured by Fellini several decades ago. We had a refreshing meal of salads, pasta and wine and watched the people go by for nearly an hour.

Then we drew a Google map line to our hostel and traced our way back, stopping for an appreciation of the site of another Roman Holiday, the Spanish Steps, as well as several other monuments which decorate the city at every turn.

We were back in our room by late afternoon where we took a little break. Mimi and I wandered back out briefly to the immediate neighbourhood where we did some light souvenir shopping, and then we reconvened to decide where we wanted to find our dinner.

We ended close to where we started in Rome, in the Plazza Della Madonna Dei Monti and we settled on La Botetega del Caffe, adjacent the fountain and the growing crowd. We shared more pizza and pasta (an endless variety) had a few last drinks and reflected on our trip. We finished up with a final visit to Don Nino’s Gelaterria – a great end to a warm day.

Then the pack and sort – times to the train and the airport; totals on things we were bringing back; how to balance the luggage; would we need to check any bags (we don’t, thankfully!). We’re all checked in for our flight home – tomorrow will be a long day, but it will be good to sleep in our own beds and to see our puppy again!

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