Written by Woke up and got straight into a HIIT workout on the small balcony of our hotel room, involving body weight exercises like squats and push ups. Managed to actually get up a good sweat, though super missing going to the gym.
Scheduled in today was a trip to the Borghese Gallery, as Pop had already organised us tickets 6 weeks prior. Pop knew the tickets sell out very quickly and have to be booked in advance, as it is unlikely you will have the opportunity to purchase them at the door. Thankfully he snapped some up for us to visit the gallery at 1pm. We took a train to Spagna where we took the Park exit and made our way to the gallery to check in, as you need to be there one hour prior. This gave us some time to wander around the lively parklands in the middle of the city. Everything was so green and the air was so fresh. There was lots of tourists, buskers, painters, dogs, runners and so many children. Lots of people had hired these 2/4 seater bicycle carts and were riding them on the wide paths around the park, under the trees.
Borghese Gallery was amazing. The once Villa, now a widely renowned tourist attraction, home to the Borghese collection of paintings, sculptures and antiquities. You’re given a two hour time frame to gaze in awe at the ceilings and explore the many rooms in this mansion. Although you are shuffling along with the crowd, it is a small price to pay for the beauty that beholds this place. Many of my favourite paintings/sculptures are housed in this very spot.
We walked back in the direction of the train station via the city, stumbling upon the Spanish Steps. We spent the rest of the day wandering the city, down to Vatican City, Castello D’angelo, along the river to Tiber Island, where we got a sweet treat of Tiramisu gelato. We kept walking until we wound up at Circo Massimo train station and headed on home. We had dinner at a restaurant around the corner from our hotel.
