Sunny Sunday

I can't believe how lucky we are to be waking up to this wonderful view every morning we are here.

After breakfasting on scrambled eggs and pancetta we take the metro to Circo Massimo and walk up to the orange garden. Today the weather is glorious and Rome is looking stunning in the sunshine.

Sshh - don't tell anyone but I gathered up some of the fallen fruit to make marmalade when we get home.

After an obligatory peek through the keyhole we walk down the Aventine to Testaccio. Café Barberini beckons for a quick coffee fix.

The BioMercato is our destination this morning. The Citta dell' Altra Economia is busy with a car boot sale and setting up for 'Testaccio on Ice' which starts later today. The ice rink is surrounded by food trucks one of which is Rec 23 where we ate in the summer.

We buy vegetables and bread from the farmers stalls . This is only a small market but the produce is exceptional.
Back on the metro and this time we alight at Repubblica for the short walk to Dagnino where Sicilian produce is the speciality. We stock up on candied peel for our Christmas cake and can't resist the arancini - the Sicilian version of suppli.

Back to the apartment to prepare Sunday lunch of roast chicken, broccoli ripassati and roast potatoes accompanied by a Veneto Lugana wine we had sampled in Venice.

We definitely need a passeggiata later and, as dusk falls, we stroll down to Piazza Navona. The annual Christmas market was due to start here today but the administration has been mired in controversy hence no market . Instead we can enjoy the beauty of Bernini's fountain and the church of Sant'Agata

It is cocktail hour so we walk a short distance to Etabli. What a cosy spot.....

........and the cocktails aren't bad too.

The evening was made more special as Etabli was visited by the bagpipe playing shepherds - a Roman Christmas tradition.

We ended the evening with a stroll along the river to Castel Sant'Angelo