August 4 - Rome, Italy

fountains are everywhere

Weather is a repeat of yesterday…HOT – again

Today our destination is the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna or National Gallery of Modern Art. Once we are there it is great…cool, calm, not crowded – all good. Getting there is another story…it is HOT. As usual we are shade hunting, but there are always expanses of space where shade is not available…HOT.

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna

Most of the art here is Italian and we aren’t familiar with much of it, but some we are. There also are some non-Italian artists that we know. I’m still surprised at how little security there is. Today we didn’t really even have to go through any at all – we went though a metal detector as part of the door, but it beeped and no one cared – no bag check, no anything. Even in each room of the gallery we were basically alone. There were a few rooms with an attendant, but pretty much nothing

Chris contemplating Andy Warhol

compared to other museums.

This place has the largest collection of modern and contemporary art in Italy. I realize now that I took no phots of Italian art...There here was a cool outdoor garden/terrace area that we considered for a second before Chris suggested that it might be a bit ridiculous – just a bit! Our thing is definitely to sit outside and people watch when on vacation, but this heat makes that usually fun pastime, not so fun – an no fans or misters here.

 

Van gogh

Our path away to and from the museum took us through the Borghese Gardens, the largest park in Rome – fountains, a pond, a bunch of museums, sculptures, monuments…and on and on. We grabbed a water and coke and cooled off as much as we could – although only 5 minutes out of the museum we were already a bit ‘warm’.

Monet

After the park we found ourselves in a bit of a residential / higher end area. This is an interesting change from the touristy areas we are usually in. At one point we notice a military truck and couple of soldiers, so we figure there must be a significant monument or building around…sure enough, American embassy. We’ve noticed this security a lot and it seems very typical around significant monuments or buildings.

Eventually we spotted a sign for an Irish pub and we

were sold! The prospect of an airconditioned spot for a pint or 2 was too much for us to pass up. Well, not as airconditioned as I would have liked, but after a few minutes out of the blazing heat, it was A-OK. And…they had Strongbow! Heaven. We had lunch here too…CHICKEN FINGERS AND FRIES – did I say heaven?? I know…we are in the land of wine and all kinds of Italian foods, but the heart wants what the heart wants. And…if I may discuss the wine for a moment, the red has been a bit on the warm side…Chris described it as being boiled…yeah…it’s a
million degrees outside! I know it’s not just our North American preference…the whites have been as cold as I would like and the

priest couture

Strongbow also.

 

Then a stop for some snacks and water and we were back to the ACed oasis of our hotel. I did manage to find some interesting chips at the store…salami – of course!

column of Marcus Aurelius