Love is in the air

 




Our perfect Valentine's Day in Rome would start with breakfast (or brunch) in the prettiest little café - Coromandel (Via  Monte Giordano 60/61). We would choose cake and pastries  from a laden table and enjoy eating them off delicate porcelain  plates.


 
We would then wander through nearby Piazza Navona towards the Pantheon, stopping at Café Sant'Eustachio,  where the cappuccino comes appropriately decorated.

 
 
Walking behind the Pantheon brings us to Piazza Santa Maria Sopra Minerva with its cute Bernini elephant statue.
Not far from here is Moriondo e Gariglio (Via Pie di Marmo 21/22), a delightful box of delights of the chocolate variety. After choosing between the many different freshly made fillings, our chocolates will be lovingly wrapped in  signature red paper. We will have spotted the hollow chocolate hearts which may have been pre-filled with love notes.......or even a diamond ring!!
 
 
 
The Trevi Fountain beckons , although at the time of writing it is only partially visible due to restoration. Very close by, however, is consolation in the form of Baccano (Via Muratte 23). We head to one of the cosy booths and order oysters & a bottle of Franciacorta  then while away the afternoon in this vintage dining room.
Our early evening passeggiata starts at the Spanish Steps. if we are lucky with the weather we will spend time here watching the world go by. Nearby is

Via Margutta. This romantic ivy-draped street, full of antique shops and artists studios, is also home to La Bottega del Marmoraro (at number 53B). Here we pause to have a small marble plaque engraved with a message - may be with lines from a love sonnet penned by Elizabeth Barratt Browning.
 
 
We retrace our steps to the bottom of the Spanish Steps where, at the Keats-Shelley House, between 6.15pm - 7.30pm there are readings of  those self same sonnets.
 
'How do I love thee....let me count the ways'
 
From here we will be picked up to enjoy an Illuminated Night Time Tour of the city on the back of a cherry red Vespa with Scooteroma Tours
Rome is beautiful by night.......and incredibly romantic!
 




 
We will have arranged to end our tour at Marzapane (Via Velletri 39). This dimly lit restaurant is the perfect venue for our Valentine's dinner. A wonderfully relaxing environment in which we enjoy the culinary magic of talented Spanish chef Alba Esteve Ruiz. We make sure that we end our meal with the chocolate dessert that resembles a Ferrero Rocher