Rome, Part 2
11/27/2001,7:32
AM
"OK, so I am really writing this on Wednesday morning...today we have reservations for the Borghese Gallery.
Yesterday we again went our separate ways. I left and headed out in the direction of the Capitol Hill Museum and ancient sites, but first I called Mark with my 5000-lira phone card just because I missed his voice. I woke him up, but it was wonderful to speak with him... I read some really good things about the museum. Unfortunately it was going to be closed due to a union meeting. I opted to eat a chocolate dessert and some milk in the cafe. Note to self: if you want to eat outdoors, find out if you have to order at the outdoor tables. I ordered my goodies at the counter and was told that I could not eat at the outdoor tables. I finished my snack and walked out for the heavenly view, then walked down, crossed the Vittorio Emmanuelle monument and walked towards the Coliseum. On my way I viewed Gesu church (the site of much Counter-Reformation activity) but there was a funeral in progress; I did not have the chance to see much of the church. Saw Trajan's Column, the Forum, and the Market.
I arrived at the Coliseum to find some young guys dressed up in gladiator costumes to promote walking tours of the site. I spoke to a young British guide who reminded me that one did not "hook up" with young priests--I told her it was different in American English. Anyway, I walked around and did not see as many cats as I expected...but I did run into a young American woman named Maggie (from dinner the night before at the Hostaria Romana.) We decided to walk around together and check out the sites.
Afterwards we took a bus back in the direction of the Pantheon. We talked about meeting on Thursday, after her cousin arrives, and traveling together to Pompeii. We may yet do so. Maggie was very tired, but we made it to the Pantheon, where some older ladies pinched my cheeks and advised that there was no way that I could be American--my "faccia" was Italian.That happened quite a bit during this trip.The Italians I met were very warm, and they were even MORE friendly when I told them that I was part Italian.
I
saw Rafael's tomb, then we went onward to …another
church…look it up…?--look it up--St. Catherine's
tomb sans tête, plus Fra Angelica) ...then we walked toward
the Plaza Barbarini, where we ate dinner at a neat little
restaurant and chatted. Maggie just quit medical school.
She has done many interesting things; lived in Africa, taught
in various locations...now she is 29 and isn't yet sure what
she wants to do. Anyway, we ate soup and marvelous grilled
veggies, then left for Easy-Everything where we both checked
our e-mail. We went our separate ways and agreed to
keep in touch about possibly meeting in Pompeii."
11/28/2001,5:23
PM
"I took a little nap, and I'm feeling better now. Lots of walking today. We had reservations at the Borghese Gallery for 9AM, so we tried to move quickly through breakfast. For some reason, the taxi that Stefano's father ordered for us never came, so we missed our 9AM time slot. We called the gallery and did get a 1PM time slot, then separated for the morning.
I walked to the Spanish Steps, looking around at various shops along the way.
I haven't done as much shopping/browsing here as in Paris. I did walk down several of the little side streets near the Plaza Spangna: lots of designer shops like Gucci, Ferragamo, Fendi, etc. The clerks looked intimidating, but some of the jewelry was beautiful. I finally went back to the Steps, and had lunch at Babington's Tea Room: chicken, bacon, melted cheese club sandwich with some very good iced tea. I then took an elevator up to the street that runs around the Borghese Villa. I was running late and it was a very long uphill walk, so I took a taxi from there to the gallery. Mom was there. We both really enjoyed the gallery; I never thought that stone (even marble) could be worked until it looked as malleable as wax. The £8000 audio guide was very worthwhile. No photography allowed, so here's a nice link:
Official Site: Galleria Borghese
After
nearly two hours of walking around the gallery, we walked
homeward slowly. I think we arrived home at around 4PM.I
took a little nap; I should have gotten more sleep yesterday.
I think that tonight we won't want to venture far from our
hotel room.So...will we go to Pompeii or not? One
bummer: none of the tours seem to go to the Archeological
Museum.Mom is into taking a tour, but most of them stop at
various tourist traps (wood carving, cameo-making, etc. which
do not interest me.) I would just as soon find my own way
there.I'm tempted to go, whether or not Maggie and her cousin
decide to make the trip. Mom isn't into this one...
After
our nap, we were up for dinner. We stopped at what I would
consider the equivalent of a neighborhood pizzeria for a
quick dinner. I had gnocchi for the first time--YUM--with a
couple of slabs of pizza. Really good. We also bought
some souvenirs."
Well, it's nearly midnight. We took a chance on a flyer at the hotel: "Opera Concerto: I Musici Veneziani".The flyer showed the musicians and singers dressed in 18th century costume, performing arias and pieces by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, etc...I'm so very glad we went. We had a terrific time; the musicians were wonderful, and the singers were excellent. The soprano had such control over every note. She had this amazing ability to float these very high notes softly over the audience... We sat next to Bishop Christopher Epting, University of Florida grad and the Episcopal Bishop responsible for the Office of Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations in the Episcopal church. We chatted about ecumenical matters, Word Alone, and other neat things.
11/29/2001,4:15
PM
"Well,
I'm back in the room a bit earlier than usual. This
morning I was too whupped to think about Pompeii.Mom made
arrangements for a shuttle service to pick us up Saturday
morning. After getting that out of the way, I decided
to go shopping at La Rinascente, just to check it out; there
look to be several interesting places to visit in the area.I
hung out in the area most of the day, had lunch, and then
hopped another bus home towards Termini. I e-mailed Mark
again, then came home
I'm not sure what my plans are for tomorrow. I hope that the weather is as nice tomorrow as it is today; it was sunny and a little warmer, not a cloud in the sky.
11/30/2001,10:30
AM
"Nice chat with Stefano this morning. I stopped at our little 'tabacchi' to get a picture of the nice guy behind the counter. I also took a nice photo of Mom with Armando (Stefano's dad).
We took the Metro to Spagna (Spanish Steps) for some photo ops & shopping. Stefano recommended a jeweler (Rocchi) & I bought some very nice earrings & a necklace. Mom bought me a pair of earrings as well.The family who owns the jewelry shop was very nice.Mrs. Rocchi (I have her card) was very interested in my Bath and Body works hand sanitizer, so I gave it to her and told her that I would ship her some more if she could not buy it on the Internet.She was very appreciative. After buying the jewelry, she gave us both small gifts--mine was a Murano glass poinsettia. Afterwards we had a very big (& good) lunch at Othello ....then we made our way towards home.Mom went back to the Hotel Oceania; I walked to Santa Maria Maggiore, the final "pilgrimage church" I had yet to visit in Rome. The relics there were pieces of the manger where Mary placed Jesus after his birth.
More on Santa Maria Maggiore:
Churches of Rome: Santa Maria Maggiore full screen interior
Churches of Rome: Santa Maria Maggiore: Building Features
Tonight I did a bit more walking around, sort of a "ciao Roma""...I think I will miss Rome more than I missed Paris.”