Roman Holiday: design inspirations

let me start with the hotel we stayed in.  

the Rome Times Hotel just opened a few months ago and we were among the first guests.  the amenities were very modern and the rooms have dark wood flooring, crisps sheets and pillows, spacious bath and the safes are free (we've never stayed in a hotel where the safes were free, ever!).  the mister is delighted at this because he can shove all his gadgets in there without fear of it being nicked in a foreign country.

it was one of the best hotels we've stayed by far!  here's a pic of their bar below.

inside the Vatican Museum, i also saw the contemporary art of Henri Matisse defined by "gouache cutouts" made of special paper in their designs.  i love the color palette that he used! 

as we were nearing the exit of the museum, we had to go down this beautiful spiral staircase and into the Vatican post office where i mailed ourselves a postcard back home :)

in the streets of Rome:

spotted a Space Invaders street art near the Vatican! i don't know if this is one of his but sure looks like it :)

they are big on Audrey H. there by the way :)  before going to Rome, i actually watched the movie "Roman Holiday" and now it is one of my favorites :)

ahhh who wouldn't want to sit under that bougainvillea portico and sip some capuccino, eh?  la vita bella!

don't miss the shop windows!  they have the most interesting displays!  like this sea-themed one with ceramic fishes galore :)

or this leather gloves shop in all the colors of the rainbow and then some!

a beautiful stained glass display that caught my eye just as when the light of day was about to fade...

 and who could ignore CoCo Chanel?

and so, as a result, i bought these:

i saw her quietly sketching away in a corner where i found all manner of Audrey Hepburn kitsch...  she was a true artist and i could not help but love her Underground System of Rabbits!

while waiting for our coffee, this little number occupied our weary minds... made of a few different kinds of beans and a pretty little cactus, we were heady with the scent of rose in the air... 

sip, sip, sip...