My stay at Francesco's place was the highlight of my 12-day Euro trip. I was not expecting a giant piramide and beautiful park/cementery as you exit the metro. A 10 min walk provided a nice stop at the CONAD grocery store to get some Lemoncello, snacks and red wine to enjoy on the balcony. I asked for a destination to view the sunset and 20 minutes later on his cool 'city bike' I was watching a glorious sunset over the nearby St. Peter's Basilica from the Giardino degli Aranci. I enjoyed the coffee and mueslix he left out for me on the balcony the next morning. I felt like a local and Francesco was like my cool cousin. Then I took the main tour from his website and the rode up the River Tiber to the Vatican on my 'chariot' bicicletta, over past the Pantheon to the Colosseo which was fantastic. But the end of the day surprised me the most. I wanted to rest at the park attached to the Pyramid of Caius Cestius and pay my respects to the fallen Canadian soldiers at the Rome Commonwealth War Cemetery. The ladies at the Cimitero Acattolico di Roma will give you the code to the bike lock to get in there and I enjoyed a somber stroll through the cementery and cleaned up the plastic bags all over the place. Then the Roma Ostiense Station is a 10 minute walk away, where along the way I stopped at the Gelateria La Romana and took the Airport train to FCO. A perfect day in Roma came from being drawn to the fact that Francesco advertised a free provided Bike to his Bed and Breakfast AirBNB page. A 4th B should be added for the Balcony off my room. Thank you Francesco for this great combined AirBNB stay and experience all in one. Incredible value. Incredible memories.
Grazie mille Francesco!