Back to Rome Day 1

Thursday 4th June 2026

We took a leisurely start to the day before walking down to a nearby Piazza for some breakfast at 10am. Our plan for the day was to visit the Leonardo da Vinci Museum. We wandered this way and that. There are no direct routes to anywhere as all of the roads twist and turn between buildings, piazzas, churches, fountains and statues, emerging near the Ponte Garibaldi to cross the Tiber River. After crossing over we discovered some interesting shops, one was a stationery shop. The quality of the writing materials, for which we both have a weakness, was extraordinary. We couldn’t help but purchase a few small items as gifts and a great birthday card for our son Sean. Conveniently the Poste Shop was across the road. Cards posted, it was time to move on but not before a coffee break and cold water.

Our meandering took us past the Mausoleum of Augustus. This massive complex has undergone extensive restoration works and whilst not yet complete, much work has been done on public thoroughfares.

We followed via Del Corso area with more upmarket shops. This led to Piazza Del Popolo, a massive public piazza, about 1 ½ hectares in size.  Surrounding the oval shaped piazza are several fountains and 2 enormous churches, side by side, almost identical in appearance. The centre piece of the piazza is the 35 metre tall Flaminio obelisk with Egyptian hieroglyphs. The obelisk, built around 1300BC for Ramses 11, was plundered by Augustus and brought from Egypt to Rome in 10BC.  On one side of the piazza we found the Museum of Leonardo da Vinci.

What a history lesson this was for me visiting this museum. Like most people I have heard about Leonardi de Vinci but until today I had not grasped just what an amazing man he was. Just to put things into perspective, he was born in 1452 and lived to the age of 67. During his life he was an active painter, draftsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor and architect. Some of his inventions included the parachute, a diving suit, an armored car, a triple barrel canon, a double hulled ship, a self-propelled cart, a machine gun and a catapult to mention a few. it is surprising to see so many of his inventions have been used in Lord of the Rings combat scenes. Perhaps Peter Jackson is a fan of da Vinci.  But this man also painted the Mona Lisa, the Last Supper and the Vitruvian Man.

I was left to ponder this wise man’s saying, “There are three classes of people: those who see, those who see when they are shown, and those who do not see”.

It was time for a coffee break before visiting the Jack Vettriano art exhibition just around the corner from our accommodation. We have been long time admirers of his work, so much so we have a piece hanging in our bedroom at home. Despite his name he is not Italian, he’s Scottish!

Now it was time for a big sit down, a beer and an Aperol Spritz after our big day of adventure.  We had covered about 11kms on foot.

One last thing to mention, I solved a 55-year-old mystery today. Well, a mystery to me at least. It came about when we ordered our dinner of Veal Scallopini, Meatballs, Asparagus in lemon oil and parmesan, roasted potatoes and sautéed chicory with chilies. It was the chicory – as a teenager my high school had an annual inter-school sporting weekend with the Ingham high school. Ingham is about 200 kms to the south and is very much an Italian community.  Having an Italian surname I was billeted with an Italian family. To this day I still remember being served a plate of these very bitter sautéed greens. I almost choked. The family could not understand why I had never tasted them before or, why I didn’t like them!! An experience that has clearly never left me until last night when we ordered them, because I do really like my greens.  Good news is that this dish was prepared in a much tastier manner and I ate the lot.