Walk the ‘Heart of Rome’
When arriving after an international flight the best thing to do to prevent too much jet lag is to plan nothing but stay awake for an early dinner and bedtime. A little exercise after sitting for many hours on the plane is also a good thing. Enter the Heart of Rome walk (aka ‘The Roman Death March’ if my sister is setting the pace) designed by Rick Steves. The walk is a great way to get to know central Rome and is said to be wonderful at night as well. Do it at a leisurely pace (unlike us) and don’t add too many miles to it (unlike us) and it’s perfect.
Experience Café Life in Trastevere
On a sunny afternoon nothing beats just hanging out at a café table and the Trastevere area with it’s many nooks and crannies filled with wine bars and restaurants is a perfect place to do it. Walk around the winding streets, pick a good-looking spot and settle in…
Do a Church Walk
Start from where you are, pick a destination then start walking. Otherwise, just meander. As you’re walking stop into any open churches you come across and walk around them looking for any small details that are unique to that church. Church walking can be done alone or with others and can be for as long or as short a time as you wish. Even a spontaneous church walk – as in ‘Hey, there’s a church. Let’s go in!’ counts.
Visit the lesser known museums
One of the advantages of being in Rome multiple times is after the initial visit the pressure to be ‘done’ with the big items like the Forum and the Spanish steps is off. This did leave us with the question of what to do with ourselves on a rainy morning. Luckily the Museo Nazionale Romano was within walking distance of our hotel. This museum which is built onto the ruins of a Domitian theater, is a large palazzo containing beautiful mosaics and Roman statuary. The highlight that keeps the locals coming back – re-created rooms of excavated Roman villas.
Feed the blogger: Any other ideas on how to spend time in Rome? Please comment.
Unfolded Maps 
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