Today was a return visit to one of our favourite galleries, the Borghese Gallery.
When we visited in Summer it was hot and there were huge crowds. Thankfully this time it was heated inside and the crowds were less.
We had pre-purchased tickets, and when I collected them from reception did hear two ladies ask for tickets, they had not prepurchased like us. To my astonishment, they still had some available but personally, I wouldn't take this risk, it is a long way to come, then miss out on entry.
Katie tried to drop her bag at the cloakroom and was told it is too small to be checked, we then joined the queue at our allocated entry time and when we presented our tickets Katie was told she would have to go to the cloakroom and check her bag. No point arguing, she went and checked the bag where they said it is too small for checking, she explained the ticket checker and thankfully with a sigh they took her bag.
After the gallery, we walked the park
and made our way back to the centre via the Spanish steps where once at the bottom we treated ourselves to tea with scones jam and cream at Babington's Tea Room.
The tea was an afternoon blend and the scones were just lovely, in fact so lovely we forgot to photograph them for you.
We then walked to Piazza del Popolo via the little back street of Via Margutta. This little back street provided us with the opportunity to view many different artists.
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| This was created by thousands of paper butterflies being pinned to the board |
There is one point I would like to make before I close today's blog.
Italy is in the grip of immigration and boom, particularly with refugees from Africa. It is a very sad state for these people who often have to cross seas, often on very risky boats with many losing their lives. Katie and I have noticed since we have been visiting Italy (2012, 2014, 2016 and now 2018) an increase of African immigrants, particularly in country areas.
We have discussed this with local Italians and overall most aren't happy with the situation. Apparently, the refugees are provided with clothing, mobile phones, money, accommodation and many other perks. I can't say if this is true or false and as a guest in this country I am by no means an expert in the situation.
Ourselves we have been approached by these refugees many times some just holding a cup and asking for money, others trying to sell LED lights that shoot up to the sky at night and others selling folding wooden bowls. These sellers are all very annoying and really do make our experience and the locals daily life frustrating.
There is one happy end to this story and it was today, as we were walking from the Borghese Gardens to the Spanish steps. We passed an African man who was sweeping up leaves and cleaning the path from rubbish. At first, I thought he was a council employee but realised he wasn't when he had no uniform. Council employees working on roads and streets in Rome are always wearing HiVis clothing. This man had taken it upon himself to try and help the community. He was cleaning the streets without being asked and all he asked for by the way of a sign next to a tin, was the opportunity to integrate into the community by cleaning the streets.
This was the first and only African man we have seen doing work of his own choice, it was this man who I provided my donation to, only a small gesture of 2 euro but I am happy to help those who help themselves.
His sign said,
"CERCO DI INTEGRAMI NELLA VOSTRA SOCIETA PULENDO LE VOSTRE STRADE"
with a loose translation to English;
"I look for integration into your community by cleaning your streets"
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