Day 17, Sept 14. We breakfasted in a small cafe near the hotel, our first Italian breakfast “out.” The Vatican, Sistine Chapel, and St Peter's tour was very full...lots to see and LOTS of people. We saw centuries old frescoes, paintings, mosaics, maps, tapestries, and ancient Greek and Roman sculptures. Sistine Chapel was amazing. How did he do it??! The enormity of St Peter's was hard to comprehend. The total picture of the entire Vatican complex was just overwhelming. Laura, our guide, did an excellent job of showing us the highlights. Hot and tired, we walked to a restaurant near the Vatican for a place to sit down and have a small bite to eat. The entrance featured Romanized figures of Obama, Bertuliscni, and Putin. Not a classy place, but it fit our requirements! Next we walked to the Piazza Navona area for a larger bite, an assortment of meats and cheeses, and wine of course. Very pleasant, and to our surprise was back in the piazza with the Pasquale statue. Again, we registered our complaint, this time about South and Central American children being held in detention in the US. We then walked home for a rest. In the evening, Anne and Susan went to a neighborhood cafe, and then gelateria. Diana decided to sit that one out and relax in the room. Day 18, Sept 15 Very relaxed morning. We made our way to an eatery that featured a real Amurican breakfast--eggs and bacon. The typical Italian breakfast has lots of carbs (croissant, toast, pastries) and we wanted a break. Afterward, we explored the Trastevere neighborhood, shopping and just soaking it in. The streets and buildings have a medieval feel. We went into Santa Maria in Trastevere Church, dating from the fourth century just after Christianity was legalized. It was built on the site of a home where Christians worshipped illegally in earlier years. Much of it was built using pirated materials, wherever they could be found because the neighborhood wasn't wealthy. Column bases and tops were mismatched. Also, the fantastic mosaic floor was made from marble taken from Roman ruins. There were mosaic scenes around the entire church above the columns, and behind the altar. Intricate and beautiful. Short rest at a sidewalk cafe, then returned to our room to get ready for our foodie tour. It was in the Testacchio neighborhood, and it was lots of fun. Sarah blended history, humor, and food for 4 hours. We were full when it was done!!
Day 19, Sept 16. Our breakfast today was at a different cafe. They were out of croissants, so the owner indicated our alternative choices. Communication is always an adventure! We then walked to the taxi stand for a ride to Piazza del Popolo, or Piazza of the People. This enormous square has been a meeting place for Romans for centuries, used for games, public executions and recreation. There is an Egyptian obelisk carted over by Augustus, three churches (one built above the burial site of Nero), and fountains with gargantuan statues. There is a Caravaggio painting in one of the churches that we wanted to see so we waited for Mass to end. But so little time(5 minutes!) was allowed before we were ushered out that we didn't even all find the painting, much less have a chance to enjoy it. Not a satisfying visit even though we did see some Bernini statues. So we decided to try again at another church, this one with 3 Caravaggio works. On the way to the Church of St Louis of the French near the Piazza Navona, we passed by the mausoleum of Augustus and the Ara Pacis. This “Altar of Peace” was consecrated in 9 BC and honored the return of Augustus after a successful 3 yr campaign abroad. We found the Church of St Louis and had a very interesting visit there. Flash photography is forbidden...but visitors are allowed to put a coin in the box in order to activate lights. This is helpful, especially as Caravaggio paintings are quite dark. As a result, the paintings spend very little time in darkness, or at least that's how it was during our visit. There were 3 Caravaggio works in the same small chapel. Breathtaking! Then we found a sidewalk cafe and rewarded ourselves with a small snack. Not a big meal, as we were saving ourselves for the buffet our food tour guide had mentioned. We finished our snack, found the taxi stand, and took a cab back to the Testacchio area. Cue sad music. The buffet place wouldn't open for another hour, and we'd had very little to eat all day. Problem! But, being ingenious, we remembered from the tour another local eatery that featured wine and appetizers, so we headed there. We whiled away the hour with conversation and a glass of wine, always a good alternative. Then we made our way to the buffet restaurant, which did not disappoint. It wasn't really advertised, just set up in a back room for those who knew to look. It featured lots of vegetable dishes, cheeses, meats like prosciutto and salami, rice dishes, eggplant parmesan, bread, and desserts. We also had a great glass of wine. Surrounded by local patrons and eating authentic Italian food--what could be better!?! The restaurant called us a cab, and we were soon back in our B&B. Our day finished with conversation, limoncello, David Sedaris, and Randy Rainbow. Again, very difficult to improve on that!
Day 20, Sept 17. After packing up and checking out, we left our bags and spent a lovely day in Trastevere. There is always something new to explore there. We shopped around, ate lunch, meandered down narrow medevial lanes
Some thoughts at the close of the trip about interesting things we encountered … and other musings by Anne:
Smartest thing we did was to rent pocket wifis that were delivered and picked up at our hotels- we always had wifi- (or most of the time- wifi doesn’t work in caves and in some mountains)
Second smartest thing was to use local guides for special tours when in Rome- we used Walks of Italy and they were amazing.
To quote Diana “taxi rides in Rome are like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” and some of the drivers spoke
We struggled with some of the Italian technology and engineering- often it took all three of us to figure something out:
Hotel room air conditioners are often hung on the wall up and one must determine how the hell to use the remote to turn it on and control the temperature- sometimes without any written instructions and sometimes with translated ones… AND each one was a bit different from the other.
There are bidets in every hotel bathroom...one must be clear headed enought to NOT sit on it in the middle of the night. Voice of experience shares it can be a bit of a shock.
There are often steps up to or in the bathrooms….be careful.
If the sink faucet has no handle and you wave your hands for the sensor and nothing happens- look for the pedal on the floor ...I am not kidding!
When you order a meal, Americans expect to get the sides with the entree-however in Italy, unless you ask upfront, you receive the antipasto or appetizers, the main entree, the sides, and last-the salad.
Except in the major tourist areas of Rome, most cafes, tratorrias, and ristorantes close for siesta and do not open up again after lunch until 7 or 7:30. Merchants follow the same schedule.
We are planning on initiating the very civilized practice of siesta upon our return and when we become in charge.
Cross a street where it is marked- cross with a group if you can and make and maintain eye contact with the drivers while you cross...oh, and never go back once you begin crossing.