Our first stop was San Francesco a Ripa. We went to see Bernini's Ecstasy of Beata Ludovica Albertonia, which I personally thought was just as incredible as the Ecstasy of St. Teresa. But, as Rome will do, it surprised us. We were invited to join another couple for a private tour of the "cell" of St. Francis of Assisi. Here was this amazing room, where in the 13th century St. Francis stayed when he came to Rome to visit the pope. It included this incredible wooden altar sculpted by Bernini as well as St. Francis' stone pillow and the altar was full of relics of St. Francis. You couldn't help but be moved by being in such proximity to the places and life of such a devout man.
Having seen Bernini's sculptures in marble and bronze to see him work in wood just added to the experience of "getting" his oeuvre. No pictures allowed. One of those magical moments you know you'll remember for the rest of your life.
F
rom there we went to Santa Maria in Trastevere. Most likely the first Christian church in Rome. It's mosaics are renowned worldwide. It was a great "last site" to visit as we began to close out 
our first visit to Rome.From there we returned to Trattoria da Luigi for lunch. All the guys that Fernando had said to try and say hi to on his behalf were working lunch. We had a great final meal in Italy that was a two hour lunch. Pizza, pasta and wine, my favorite.
After lunch we has a few minutes to spend at our hotel before the car arrived to take us to the airport. Daniel, our host and owner, spent a few minutes talking with us. Turns out his sister works at the Tate Britain, about a five minute walk from our house. He was also able to solve a week long mystery about the fancy guarded palazzo at end of the hotel's street. Turns out it's a high end "condo" complex where one of Italy's princesses lives.
Our hotel, Relais Palazzo Taverna was amazing. I would recommend it to anyone visiting Rome, but would ca
ution that if it's your first visit it's slightly off the tourist transport path. But it's location in the heart of the ancient city makes up for having to hoof it to a bus to get to things outside the immediate area. It's worth noting that the "immediate area" includes 
Piazza Navona, Castel del Sant'Angelo, the Vatican and the Pantheon.If it's your second or more trip to Rome, why would you want to stay anywhere else? After scoping about 100 hotels in Rome we picked this one based on customer reviews on some travel web site. The recommendations did noy fail to disappoint...even the ones that complained -- those were the ones that really reinforced the idea that this hotel was for us. We were in a real Italian hotel, in a building that was several hundred years old. No br
eakfast room so breakfast was room service at the time you chose every day. The heart of Rome and roman life out our front door.In the square by the hotel is a wonderful church. Even more interesting is that their's a fountain on that church that is hundreds if not a thousand plus years old. As you can see by the photo, the face of the line is gone...the history says from wear and not from anything else. It just added
to the overall romance.
We can't wait to go back to Rome and we'll stay at Daniel's hotel without question.
