Day One: Beware the Pines of Rome!

Ottorino Respighi apparently did not drive a SMART car

Aforementioned pines - we made a point not to park the scooters underneath.

The Hotel St. Anselmo atop the very quiet and residential Aventine Hill. Nothing but bird song in the morning. I recommend it.

Lovely entryway to the hotel - nice covered terrace and hand painted tiles on the left wall.

All of the light fixtures in the hotel were handmade - this deconstructed chandy stretched from the ground floor to the top of the second. Fun.

The hotel room - great use of a small space. Loved the ceiling treatment and grisaille painting on the back wall.

View toward the door - the 'headboard' treatment could've been omitted, but heck, more is more, right? Again, the ceiling gave a real depth to the room.

Handmade (and numbered) original desk light. Note the curtain & crown treatment that leads to the terrace.

The terrace made up for the small room. Don't think this was too expensive. This room cost less than what you might pay for a typical Marriott or Sheraton room in a convention block in the U.S.

View from terrace doorway. Loved the grisaille on the back wall.

From our first walk down the hill into town. All the residences on the Aventine have balconies or terraces to take advantage of the Roman views.

I'd always heard the light in Rome was exceptional - I had to see it to believe it

The Aventine cat - we found this one again later the same evening in the Knights of Malta park on the very top of the hill.

Looking back up to the top of the Aventine hill.

More 'golden hour light' on this building's facade (in the Testaccio neighborhood)

A peek into a private Testaccio courtyard garden.

A view of the roses in front of the church of St. Cecilia in Testaccio

An interior of St. Cecelia - testing my handheld, low-light camera ability

Crossing over the Tiber River back to the Aventine Hill at dusk.

The end of the walk - a view to the vatican from the Knights of Malta Park, behind our hotel.