Program 554a: Why I Love Rome; Garden Lust; Mountain Switzerland

There's something about the city of Rome that lets you know you get to be part of its incredible history. On the next Travel with Rick Steves, we'll hear how the locals love their city, even with all its flaws. The author of "Garden Lust" tells us about his favorite contemporary botanical gardens around the world. And we get advice for hiking and touring in the Swiss Alps.

• Nina Bernardo, Francesca Caruso, and Susanna Perrucchini, tour guides based in Rome
• Urban botanical expert Christopher Woods, author of "Garden Lust" (Timber Press)
• Tour guides Don Chmura

• Francesca Caruso provides photos and commentary from the Borghese Gallery in Rome in the blog section of her website.
• Nina Bernardo offers private guiding and Pilates sessions in Rome.
• Francesca recommends the Basilica San Clemente for viewing the archeological layers of Rome.
• Christopher Woods wrote the book "Gardenlust" as a botanical tour of 50 of the world's best contemporary gardens.  He has posted blog commentaries and photos from garden visits in New Zealand, India, Costa Rica and Oregon at his UrbaneHorticulture.org website.
• The Kew Royal Botanic Gardens are near London.
• Chihuly Garden and Glass is located next to the Space Needle in Seattle.
• The Rick Steves online guide to the Bernese Highlands in the Swiss Alps.
• Maisie Hitchcock is a co-host of the English-language Radio Spatkauf podcast about news and events from Berlin.
• Don Chmura wrote a detailed hiking guide to the Lauterbrunnen Valley of Switzerland in 1994.
• A guide to farms that offer sleeping in the hay as an option in Switzerland.

Riga collapses
green nets hold it together,
keeps buildings intact.
— Rebecca Saffron, San Diego, California 

Greece was calling me
Where history was first taught
Civilization
— Nick Popolo, Staten Island, New York

I'm half Italian
My blood is from Vicenza
You're in big trouble!
— Chris White,  Marlborough-on-Hudson, New York