Welcome to Rome Sunday 4/26/26

We made it to Rome! After we settled into tour hotel, the Artemide, and had a bit of nap, we booked a sunset golf cart tour with Liv Tours. We have done other tours with them in the past and they are great. Our guide Emmanuel picked us up near the hotel, where we had met up with two other couples (the tour was six persons maximum.) We all climbed in, Emmanuel handed out bottles of Prosecco and away we went, past the Piazza della Repubblica, with its beautiful fountain.

We cruised past the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, then stoped at Circus Maximus and the Victor Emmanuel II National Monument for some photos. Next up was a stop at a restaurant (I failed to get the name), where we sat outside and had wine and cheese. We then continued on past the Piazza Colonna with its Marcus Aurelius column, through the Jewish Ghetto and past the the Temple of Hercules Victor, and then to the famous elephant sculpture known as the Pulcino della Minerva, which is topped with an obelisk stolen from Egypt.

Our next stop was the Piazza della Rotonda, with the famous Pantheon and fountain, which, by the way, is topped with another Egyptian obelisk. Apparently, Italy has more Egyptian obelisks than Egypt. By this time, the sun was beginning to set and the evening light was just spectacular. Next we were off to a boutique beer and wine shop, which was filled with obscure beers and unique natural wines which we got to sample right from the fridge. It was similar to a very small Sergio’s in Louisville, with a lovely proprietor whom we enjoyed chatting with for a short time.

The Trevi Fountain was just beautiful, all lit up in the fading sunlight. There is a special queue here now, that was not here when we were here in 2024, where you have to pay a fee to get to the front row for photos. All the Instagramers were happy to pay, and it showed! We lingered a few minutes, and snapped a few photos from the behind the crowd. That’s why you use the Apple clean up tool for your photos!

Our last stop was the top of the hill where Spanish Steps are located. Another lovely photo of the Via Condotti below, with its high end shops like Gucci, Versace, and Dolce & Gabbana. It’s the Rodeo Drive of Rome. Our tour ended here, but our guide drove us back to our hotel, since it was on his way home. Near the hotel, he recommended a Gelato shop. It was the perfect ending to the day!

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