Hanging out in Rome

I've got to admit, it's pretty cool that Rome is only a short train ride from Zagarolo. Today I caught an early train to Rome to meet up with Elena, a new friend from Sweden. We met last week through the woman I'm house-sitting for, and we decided to hang out in Rome today, before her family arrives for the Easter holiday. They have a house in Olevano, a village east of Zagarolo, and they often come to Italy for short visits.

Roman fashionista. Check out those heels!

After meeting up in Termini, Rome's train station, we walked across town to Trastevere, to check out The Open Door Bookshop, which sells used books in English. On the way, we passed by Piazza Venezia and "Il Vittoriano," a monument built to honor Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of the unified Italy, more commonly known as "the typewriter" by Romans. See the resemblance? All that marble!

Il Vittoriano

We also stopped in for a Roman breakfast, which consists of caffè and a pastry, and looked at some of the Easter "baskets" for sale.

Elena

Only 115 euros!

This one is 250 euros, complete with wine, in a treasure chest!

More commonly kids get these, (less than 20 euros) which contain huge chocolate eggs with a toy in the middle.

 On our walk, we also came across this classic Fiat.

We had a long, leisurely lunch at a ristorante that serves typical Roman food, then walked around to see Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps, all crowded with tourists in Rome for Easter.

The river-god Ganges by Bernini , Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, Piazza Navona

I never get tired of seeing the Pantheon!

By this time, Elena had to leave to pick her son up at the airport, so we parted ways and I headed back to the train station, happy to have shared the day with my new friend. We'll meet up again in Olevano before she heads back to Sweden.