Reflections and Windows of Rome . . .

Just quickly, to say hello . . . I’m sharing a few photographs taken during our first very busy days in Rome.

We landed Wednesday evening after a 10.5-hour flight, 5+ hours in Frankfurt airport, then another two hours sitting on a plane (45 minutes waiting for it to be loaded, 1+ hours flight). Not gruelling, exactly, but wearing. And yet we managed to walk down the hill from our hotel for a glass of wine and a snack before bed. . . I’ve been leaving photos on Instagram, in case you’re interested in following along.

But honestly, although posting here takes a bit more work, the blog — and that means you! — is also closer to my heart.

So quickly, quickly, let me tell you that on Thursday morning I managed to get us tickets to a wonderful exhibition of the works of Jago (Jacopo Cardillo) at Palazzo Bonaparte. . . I’m not going to try to tell you more about that until I get home (at which point I’ll link to articles and interviews as well), but oh, I have so many photos and much to think about. So glad I was introduced to Jago’s sculptures in my Italian class and then I spotted information about the exhibition in time. If you’re in Rome between now and July, I highly recommend this. . .

After the exhibition, we walked directly to the Ostiense train station to meet daughter and g’daughter and take the latter away with us for the most wonderful and energy-consuming 24 hours we could have imagined. What a joy! And so strange that something so tiring can simultaneously be so replenishing.

Then yesterday evening, after she’d been picked up by her Papa, we walked to a serendipitous discovery by La Fontana delle Tartarughe for a relaxing meal. By the time we got home, we’d logged another 12K steps (8 kilometres). That’s been our daily average since we got here; we’ve already walked 8.6 kilometres today and haven’t gone for dinner yet (today’s steps took us to San Giovanni where I found the best little shop to buy a new fountain pen and then followed the pen shop owner’s recommendation for a great little trattoria serving Cucina Romana. . . (for anyone who wonders, I receive no remuneration for links like this, but offer them in case anyone is curious or looking for recommendations).

All of which to explain why I haven’t found time for writing here, and why I’m going to leave you now to look at a few photos of mirrors and windows that caught my eye here in the Eternal City.

No full-length mirror in our hotel room, but I rather like “checking my look” in this mirror on the second-floor landing when I go down for breakfast in the morning. . .
Wandering the neighbourhood before our designated time at the JAGO exhibition, we stumbled into the Galleria Sciarra; Art Nouveau frescoes painted by Giuseppe Cellini. Glass and cast-iron dome innovative when it was built in late-19th century.
We will go back to admire the Galleria again — just minutes away the Trevi Fountain was thronged, but relatively few tourists walked through this gorgeous space — it pays to let Serendipity guide one’s steps.

We were being looked at, even as we looked. . . above, can you see?

Inside the elegant Palazzo Bonaparte, a handsome man in red pantaloni turns the stairs near a window. . . .

From the Palazzo, we could look out at the ever-so-imposing Vittorio Emanuele II monument . . .

and there were also more intimate, humbler views on offer. . . windows seen through windows. . .

Then later that day, after we’d picked up our little tesoro, she found a photo opportunity. . . (she found a few, as you might see in my Instagram highlights)

And I’ll leave you with this reflection of me in today’s OOTD, reasonably comfortable, I can tell you now, for a day that hit 26 degrees (Celsius) . . . Cotton-linen T-shirt (bought last year), cotton-linen skirt (2019, bought in Bordeaux) and new Nike sneakers which are proving very serviceable. . .

I’m finishing the post after a refreshing afternoon nap, and it’s almost time to think about where to find our dinner. . . Hope you’ve enjoyed this idiosyncratic wander through Rome with me. More to come, I promise. Oh, and thanks so much for all your comments on my March reading post. I hope I’ll get to answer them before long, but do know that I’ve read, enjoyed, and noted recommendations. If you’re looking for something to read and haven’t visited that post yet, I can tell you that between my recommendations and those of the commenters, there is a wealth of choices.

For this post as well, I hope you might leave a comment, and I assure you that I will read it, but I am unlikely to answer as diligently as I normally do. This time in Italy is precious and fleeting; I imagine you’ll understand.

ciao for now,

xo,

f

20 Comments

  1. Ronda
    16 April 2022 / 9:55 am

    Love your blog!!! Ronda

    • fsprout
      Author
      16 April 2022 / 11:20 pm

      Thank you!

  2. 16 April 2022 / 9:59 am

    Enjoying your fabulous photos! And, inspired by you and some of your earlier posts, I bought myself a sketchbook yesterday!

    • fsprout
      Author
      16 April 2022 / 11:20 pm

      Ooooh, have fun with it!

  3. Dottoressa
    16 April 2022 / 10:18 am

    Your time in Rome is precious indeed! Enjoy every second! There will be time to talk ….later!
    Buona Pasqua!
    Dottoressa

    • fsprout
      Author
      16 April 2022 / 11:21 pm

      Anche a te! xo

  4. Elizabeth Ferry
    16 April 2022 / 10:36 am

    There used to be a restaurant atop the Victor Emmanuele that we found because of the Rick Steves programs. You could have a spritz AND enjoy the view. The last time we were in Rome it was no more. Fortunately the view remains. One of the most moving experiences we have had in Rome was to visit the Ardeatine Caves where during WWII there was a mass killing of 335 Romans in reprisal for an attack in the city on a Nazi regiment the day before. It remains a burial site for many of those Romans whose families chose to have them interred there.

    • fsprout
      Author
      16 April 2022 / 11:25 pm

      Wow! That would have been a very cool vantage
      You’ve reminded me of the podcast I listened to months ago about this memorial site — I’d made a note to seek it out and then forgotten. Thank you!

  5. Wendy in York
    16 April 2022 / 11:37 am

    Lovely photos of reflections & windows . I especially like the puddle picture . Your little one was blonde & now she looks like a dark haired little Italian girl . I’m wondering , do you two speak Italian together ?

    • fsprout
      Author
      16 April 2022 / 11:30 pm

      She’s still quite blonde, but through that window her hair does look darker. I do try out my Italian with her but am careful not to do too much. She’s very good at using whichever language works best for whomever her interlocutor, and that’s obviously English for me. She’s patient if I want to try my Italian and I think she holds back her wincing at my accent when I order food, etc. in Italian in front of her 😉

  6. Sylvie
    16 April 2022 / 1:30 pm

    Yes, this time is ever so precious! Chaque instant, chaque vue est à savourer! Love your photos and texts. I’m in Switzerland for a fortnight, Italian part for Easter (with daughter and g’children /same as you) and it’s heavens! Lugano and the lakes around are beautiful ☀️☀️

    • fsprout
      Author
      16 April 2022 / 11:30 pm

      Oh lovely! And that Swiss chocolate at Easter!!

  7. darby callahan
    16 April 2022 / 1:47 pm

    This brings back such happy memories. Two weeks in Italy, with four days in Rome, at Easter. It was years ago. My daughter and I still talk about it. Hoping some day to be back, especially when I see your photos.

  8. Lesley
    16 April 2022 / 3:17 pm

    Enjoy your time in Rome and with family, precious indeed. Love your blog and photos, you have an ‘eye’.

  9. Lisa
    16 April 2022 / 6:35 pm

    So so so so fun and beautiful:) You AND Rome.

  10. Georgia
    16 April 2022 / 7:04 pm

    There is a video interview with Jago featuring this exhibit on the RAI website today (Cultura/Arte)…if this isn’t one you’ve already seen it might be worth a watch. Such detail!

    The Vittorio Emanuele II monument aka the Squirrel Building because to me, from a certain angle (from the side), those statues look like squirrels with their tails erect. Ah, Rome.

  11. Susan
    18 April 2022 / 6:02 am

    Thank you for so generously sharing your trip to Rome. I am enjoying it vicariously and admiring your energy!

  12. Genevieve
    18 April 2022 / 2:38 pm

    Beautiful photos and text! Thank you 😊

  13. Margaretanne Clinton
    29 April 2022 / 5:17 pm

    This is a stellar post.
    Beautiful photos.
    Thanks for taking the time.
    Great writing too.

  14. 11 May 2022 / 1:55 pm

    Wonderful photos! Thank you for sharing your visit. I’d love to see Galleria Sciarra in person. What a find!

Copyright

Unless otherwise stated, all words and photographs in this blog are my own. If you wish to use any of them, please give me credit for my work. And it should go without saying, but apparently needs to be said: Do not publish entire posts as your own. I will take the necessary action to stop such theft. Thanks.