When in Rome ... Villa Borghese gardens

 

With some steely determination to get into St Peter's basilica, we woke up extra early at 6:30am to catch an early train to the Vatican.  But it was a Sunday and everybody else seemed to have the same idea.  As soon as we got to the main entrance we were swept up by a wave of people and we ended up joining the queues to get into the square and to listen to the mass.  We were then told that the basilica does not open until after the mass which stops at around 1pm.  Once again there was no way we could wait and sit through the mass so we left the Vatican.

Swiss Guards at the Vatican on guard during Sunday Mass

So we headed back to the Metro and made our way to the gardens at the Villa Borghese.
Eleonara (our Air BnB host) had highly recommended the parks around Villa Borghese. The gardens are near the Spanish Steps so we went there again to see if we could see it without it being covered by people and guess what ... at 8am on a Sunday morning we pretty much had it to ourselves ! 

On the empty Spanish Steps

Not quite the Trevi Fountain as it was covered in scaffolding but the girls wanted to toss a coin in and so they did at the fountain in front of the Spanish Steps.

The views overlooking Rome from the top of the Spanish Steps walking towards the Villa Borghese gardens were amazing.

When we got to the gardens, the girls were keen to do a bit of riding so we hired a four wheeled pedal cart and rode around the gardens. The girls thought it was much better than walking ! 

The Water Clock that is powered by water



 Then it was more walking through the streets of Rome to get to Trasvetere for lunch.

 

 

Lunchtime !