This morning we woke up and had a small breakfast in our room. The Hoxton Hotel offers a complimentary in room breakfast of a banana, yogurt (with granola), and orange juice. Greg enjoyed this light breakfast while I enjoyed tea and oatmeal (brought from home due to my dairy allergy). I must say I am very impressed with The Tube in London. The website is extremely informative of pricing, maps, and trip planning resources. The Tube itself is clean, easy to navigate, has friendly staff, and is all around efficient (comparing this to Boston). Here's some easy resources for the Tube: Purchasing tickets before traveling to London Maps Pricing Trip Planner Greg headed off to work and I headed to the Tate Modern. The Tate Modern has a mix of free exhibits and paid exhibits. This time around I opted for the free exhibits. I left the museum after a leisurely 2 hour tour and didn't feel as though I missed out on anything. For lunch I hopped back on the Tube and headed to Borough Market. It was a quiet Monday at the market and I will admit that even though fewer stalls are there I prefer it to the packed house on the weekend (Last day in London we also visited the market). I walked around trying to decide between the wonderful smells, displays, and lines for food. I finally decided to get a Porchetta sandwich from Roast Hog. I enjoyed tender Porchetta (roasted pork) on a ciabatta, with rocket (arugula), and a spiced apple sauce. The "icing on the cake" was a crunchy and lightly greasy piece of skin. A perfect sandwich! ![]() Time to walk off the sandwich! London Bridge is just up the road from Borough Market so I headed in that direction. I stopped and took photos from both sides of the bridge and enjoyed the gorgeous weather. I decided to head back to the hotel for a rest but no rest for the wicked. My room wasn't quite ready yet so back out I went. I walked down Great Eastern Street and ventured into Old Spitalfield Market. The Market is a wonderful mix of stores, vendors, restaurants, and stalls. It's definitely more upscale and less hectic than Camden but has a certain charm about it. I purchased a couple of tops and found a great restaurant for dinner one night this week. Back at the Hoxton Hotel I decided to have a drink and relax in the lobby. I chose one of the couches and ordered a Lychee and Rose Fizz (a small but interesting drink) and relaxed with my AFAR Magazine. Once Greg got out of work we headed across the street to The Jones Family Project for dinner. To read my full review visit here.
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![]() This morning we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel although we hit a small snafu. When asking for soy milk - definitely tell the staff you would like it cold for cereal or hot for beverages. I received hot soy milk for my cereal. Eh, go with the flow I guess. We walked through Piazza Barberini and headed for the Borghese Gardens. The gardens are so peaceful and beautiful that we wanted to spend some extra time just wandering about. We pre-purchased our tickets (online) and so when it was our allotted time we made our way over to the Galleria Borghese The Galleria Borghese is one of my favorites! I love sculptures by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and one of my all time favorite paintings is Raphael's Lady with a Unicorn. One of the frustrations though as with any museum is people and their need to be pushy. Guess what the paintings and sculptures have been there for hundreds of years taking 10 minutes to not be pushy won't stop you from seeing them. At lunch time we walked through the Gardens to the Piazza del Popolo. We tried to visit the 100 Presepi (Nativity Scenes) however at that exact time a full school load of children were visiting so we opted for lunch instead. We chose to eat at Canova again this year and were just as happy as last year. For the review visit: http://wanderlusthearts.weebly.com/rome-italy.html After lunch we decided to do some foodie shopping. We visited Altromercato which is a fair trade organization offering goods from several countries. Next we went to Lauderee for some delicious French Macaroons (yes I know I'm in Italy but I can never turn down French Macaroons). and also a chocolate store for some more sweets. The concierge helped us arrange dinner reservations at Nonna Betta's in the Jewish Ghetto tonight. This restaurant was a highlight for us last year and we had the same feelings about it this year. For the review visit: http://wanderlusthearts.weebly.com/rome-italy.html After dinner we took part in our usual night time stroll. This is always may favorite memories of Rome. Walking late at night back to our hotel (perhaps stopping for some roasted chestnuts or gelato) past all the sites lit up and empty. There is something truly magical about this time of night in Rome. ![]() This morning we woke up early and asked the concierge for a taxi to St. Peter's Basilica. We arrived early for the Scavi Tour so we walked around St. Peter's Square and then visited the Basilica. It was so beautiful to walk around without crowds and without camera's going off everywhere. We then made our way over to the archaeological department and checked in for our tour. Our group of 15 were lead inside and I don't want to give away too much about the tour because I think it's something everyone should experience but you see some diagrams, the actual Necropolis (mausoleums of Romans), artwork, tiles, and finally arrive at the tomb of St. Peter. The tour ends in the middle of the Grotto. Tip: to book this tour visit http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/uffscavi/documents/rc_ic_uffscavi_doc_gen-information_20090216_en.html Tip while on the tour: It says it right on the site if you are claustrophobic, or have problems with warmth of low oxygen levels don't chance the tour. It can truly disrupt your experience and those around you. Be respectful, don't take pictures, don't crack jokes, and don't pretend that you know everything. It's okay to be new to this information, it's okay to be in awe, and it's okay to just listen and learn. After the tour we wanted to head back into the museums as fast as possible so we decided to just grab a quick bite to eat in the museum. Big mistake! The food is below average, cold, and not worth it! The last time we visited the museums we were inundated with crowds inside the Sistine Chapel. This time we were fortunate that it was a light day and could take time to look around, experience and enjoy the amazing work of art. In addition to this Greg was enthralled that he finally got to see the doorway to the "Room of Tears" ("the new pope goes to the "Room of Tears", a small red room next to the Sistine Chapel. The pope dresses by himself, choosing a set of pontifical choir robes (white cassock, rochet and red mozzetta) from three sizes provided. Then, he vests in a gold corded pectoral cross and a red embroidered stole. He wears a white zucchetto on his head.") As we walked from the Vatican to our hotel (in the rain), we walked past the Castel Sant'Angelo, the Tiber River, and Gelateria Del Teatro. I had read so many great reviews about this Gelateria that we wound through many side streets to find it. The flavors we chose were Chocolate and wine (dairy free) and Sage and Raspberry. Both flavors were bold and inventive unfortunately, both gelato's were icy and not up to par. Our room wasn't ready yet when we got back to our hotel so we went up to the Rooftop Bar and ordered a couple of drinks. Lorca was also happy to make dinner reservations for us in the hotels Rooftop Restaurant. Finally, we headed to our room to rest and then freshen up. The Rooftop Restaurant of Hotel Artemide offers a casual atmosphere, easy going service, and fabulous food. Both Greg and I felt that the food is actually worthy of more formality. For the full review visit http://wanderlusthearts.weebly.com/rome-italy.html We ended the night back in our room for a night cap and some cookies from Il Fornaio. |
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