Bike tour of Rome and Piazza De Novona

The neat thing about our trip without the kids and family was the thrill of just going with the flow as against planning excursions ahead of time. The not so neat thing is the consequence of the last minute plans! We tried to book the bike tour of Rome online at mind night on the 5th, however it didn't go through. So we decided to call them first thing in the morning to check for availability of the 8.45am tour. While we were lucky enough to get it last minute, we took a taxi and rushed to the bike rental place near the Colosseum. Once there, I realized I didn't have my phone! After frantically searching in my purse, failed attempts to call the hotel to see if I left it on the breakfast table, we decided to just enjoy the 3.5 hours of biking through Rome with our friendly guide and fellow tourists. We got to see parts of Rome that we would not have explored on foot ourselves. The Campo De Fiore produce market was in action and the panoramic views from the Capitolline hill were well worth the uphill ride! 

The Pantheon or the "Temple of all Gods" built by Emperor Hadrian in the early 2nd century A.D. is a massive structure supported by 16 pillars. We only spent about 10 minutes inside appreciating the interiors and the circular opening on the roof to the sky. 

We had received the unwelcome news about my phone not being found at the hotel. Chinmay's techno efforts had pinned the location down to the airport which either meant someone was heading out of Rome with my phone or it was in the taxi which was at the airport! I was optimistic for the later and rightfully so! "Vienna 22" was the taxi name which Chinmay remembered and it helped us get the phone number from the hotel. The honest cab driver delivered my phone to the hotel and this incident made it to our family list of "lost and found" objects on our trips! And of course to my personal list of the "magic of gratitude"! 

Lunch was worth a mention, at a small hip joint, "Good pizza" that sold a variety of pizzas by weight. Gelato stops were a daily (sometimes twice daily!) occurrence! 

A little siesta went a long way to combat the lingering effects of the jet lag and the heat. A trip to the beautiful church of "San Giovanni in Laterano", where the pope comes to celebrate Mass on certain holidays was a nice little detour. Across the street are the "Scala Santa" (the holy steps), supposedly the 28 marble steps originally in Jerusalem that Christ climbed the day he was brought before Pilate and brought to Rome by Constatine's mother in A.D. 326. Today devotees come here to climb these steps on their knees. 

A leisurely evening at the very lovely and happening and utterly gorgeous Piazza De Novona was made even more lovely with the "Spritz" drink I had and meeting our friends Arti-Amit and their twins on the only co-incident evening on our trips!