We chose to have breakfast in the fresh air looking towards St Peter’s Basilica in the distance. Our food attracted a lone wasp so we distracted it by leaving a few scraps of food on a separate plate which kept it entertained and away from my food.

Today was Mr C’s significant birthday and he chose to visit the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Before entering the Basilica, we enjoyed a refreshing drink overlooking the Basilica and the column of peace in the Basilica’s piazza.

The Basilica was peaceful with services regularly taking place in its various side chapels. I especially enjoyed the peace and tranquillity in the Pauline Chapel. I later found out from the guide book that Pope Francis places his apostolic journeys under the protection of an icon entitled ‘Salus Populi Romani’. He visits the icon before and after embarking on each of these journeys.

Within the church a special altar has been installed to house, amongst other things, five sticks of sycamore that were part of the manger that the infant Jesus was said to have been placed into. The wood has been scientifically dated to the time of Jesus’ birth.

We also visited the museum beneath the church and regretted not going on the tour of the archaeological area beneath the Basilica.

We had lunch facing the square. I chose focaccia filled with pistachio mortadella. It was the day for flying insects and my food attracted a hornet which pestered me. Again, I had to distract it by putting a small portion of food on a nearby table.

After lunch we caught the bus to the nearby Roman Circus Maximus which looked rather dusty in the afternoon heat. We then walked the short distance to Bocca Della Verita (The Mouth of Truth) which is a stone mask representing a river god.

After that we returned to the hotel to freshen up and cool off before having a celebratory glass of prosecco on the roof top garden terrace. We then walked the short distance to La Pentolaccia for our evening meal. The food was tasty, lemon chicken in my case, but the service was somewhat chaotic. We got chatting to a German couple who were also celebrating their wedding anniversary and his birthday. We got by with Mr C’s limited German and the lady’s limited English. This more than made up for the chaotic service.

We returned to the hotel’s roof top garden for a nightcap where we found the temperature had cooled to a much more comfortable level.