Our last full day in Rome and the morning is not actually spent in the city. After a conversation with the reception staff at the hotel, we take their advice and head via train to Frascati, a small village in the hills that provides a view back over the whole city. The train trip is uneventful but the process to purchase tickets and ensure that they are validated is a bit of a chore. You essentially use a vending machine at the central train terminus to purchase the tickets but you then have to have them validated via a machine on the station platform. There are few signs to guide you so its a bit confusing but we managed and thankfully don’t fall foul of the ticket inspector on the train.

The village of Frascati is a hilltop township consisting of cobbled roads and more staircases than you can poke a stick at. Everywhere you turn its either up or down with few patches of level ground. We wander the streets looking at the various shops and piazzas and seeking the elusive photo opportunity. Unfortunately the day’s weather is not that kind with the humidity adding a layer of heat mist over the whole of the city below. We manage glimpses of what it could be while enjoying lunch on the terrace of a local restaurant. (Best Gnocchi so far!)

Coming back via train we hit a storm that has been building for the last several days. By the time we make it back to our hotel the temperature has reduced and the humidity has tapered off to a more comfortable level. It reminds us of Brisbane after its typical summer’s afternoon storms.

We spend the afternoon walking the gardens of Villa Borghese taking in the statues, fountains and ponds before stumbling upon Ferrari heaven. Their is a yearly cavalcade for historic Ferrari collectors and it happens to be in Rome this year. The cars, while having suffered the afternoons storm, are simply stunning. The range is vast and, while I didn’t count them, I would think there were about eighty of them in total. 

 

After the drooling over expensive sports cars we happen upon a short cut from Harry’s Bar down to the Spanish Steps via the Spagna Train Station. It saves a lot of time and has only one set of stairs to negotiate. From there its onto our new favourite restaurant for dinner and a few drinks. As usual they excel with the food and we head back tot he hotel with happy memories of Rome.