Day 5 (Thursday) Woke early and wandered around San Vincezo. They have a lovely marina and I took a few photos of it. Not too beautiful around it right now as there is a lot of construction. Still, I'd love to have my CD parked there any night, day or week. I talked to Joyce about this - down the coast, through the Panama canal, etc. She said no. My second plan of trailering to Halifax and leaving from there via Greenland was also nixed. Oh well.... :wink:
We arrived by train in Rome in the late afternoon and found our way to an apartment I rented for the week. Lovely place in the Trastavere neighborhood. About 1 mile S of the Vatican, 1 mile W of the forum/colosseum. $1000 for the week. Huge bedroom, nice kitchen with granite countertops, good size living room and a small bathroom. Way better and cheaper than a hotel over here. Nice little bar-bistro-coffee place just outside the door. 1 block from a beautiful church and piaza, life is good. On the downside discovered the Bush was visiting Rome and would be visiting a church across the street on Sat! Landlord had to file special paperwork to indicate who was here, all cars had to be out, all trashcans in the neighborhood were picked up, police all over. Was advised to head out of the area early Sat AM to avoid protests.
Walked around the local neighborhood and found the laundramat. It's about $4 a load but WAY cheaper than a hotel. Got our clothes all cleaned up an had some pizza and a canole.
Day 6 (Fri). Got up early and walked over the visit the Colosseum, the forum and the ruins on Palatine hill. Took a nice tour with an English speaking guide. Fabulous place. The new doors I had put in at my house a couple of years ago are already giving me some problems - they've got doors over here that have been working for 2000 years. It's true, they don't build 'em like they used to. They Colosseum was particularly interesting - the elevator shafts they used to raise the lions up to fight could be seen from above and you could almost feel what it must have been like to be there. These places accupied most of the day.
Went home, had a nice dinner at a local restaurant (fillet mignon for me and veal for Joyce) and then wandered around the neighborhood some more. Saw some guys breathing fire, etc. in the next piaza down and wandered around just looking at the local nightlife.
Day 7 - (Sat) Turns out that Bush's visit to our neghborhood was canceled but he was visiting the Vatican and the Italian president and the center of the city was filled with protestors. So, we decided to visit some of the local churches and take a historic walk around Trasavere in the morning. The church to Santa Maria in our neighborhood was partiuclarly spectacular and the walk occupied much of the AM.
Hit the grocery store and stocked back up on supplies. We've been making our own breakfasts and usually one of the other meals. As protests were planned for the downtown area, we went home midday and took a nap. Then we packed a picnic lunch - mozzarella, tomato and basil, some proscuitto, some crostini's and a good bottle of Rosso Montelpucciano. We walked up Gianicolese park in the evening for our picnic. This is a huge park on a hill on the west side of Rome. From up there you can see all of the monuments in one sweeping view. Definitely a place to go if you're ever over here. We had a nice dinner looking over the city and soaking up the remaining sun and gentle breeze. Couples were all around and you know - when in Rome..... we had a nice time..
Walked from the park to St. Peter's Bascillica at the vatican and then crossed the river Tiber to piaza Navone. We had assumed the protestors would be gone but not so. Police in riot gear and a crowds of apparently drunk and angry protestors. Decided this was not the place to be and hightailed away from that area. Wandered back "home" to our apartment and hit the bar down below for some desert - warm chocolate brownies and some Brachetto d'acqui - Forthose who haven't had brachetto, it's a sweet, slightly sparkling, 4-6 % alcohol red wine. Great stuff, sometimes available in the states. Definitely a good desert wine. On the way back, we discovered a boat trip to Ostio Antiqa and decided to do that on Sun.
Day 8 (Sun). Got up early to walk to the boat departure point. It was a bit farther than it looked on the map. Took about 90 mins at a good pace but we made it in time for a 10AM departure. 2.5 hour ride down the Tiber to Ostio Antiqa. The Tiber is pretty ugly through here so I can't recommend the boat trip. Not much to see other than hobo camps, ample pollution and the occasional bird. Did see some beavers or muscrat like creatures and lots of fish jumping. Should have had my collapsible rod along but I definitely wouldn't eat anything from that water.
Arrived at Ostio Antiqa around 12:30 and had a nice stop for lunch. Ostio is the ancient port city that used to be (100AD) on the sea at the mouth of the river. Now it is maybe 5 miles from the sea due to silt deposits. It once was a thriving and important city but was mostly abandoned arounf 500 or 600 AD. Now it's about 1.5 x 1 miles of spectacular ruins. Wandering about here kept us busy all day and in the late afternoon we caught the train back to Rome. I think we must be losing weight with all the walking in the heat but I'll find out when I get home. Ostio is definitely a must see if you're in the area. When we got back home, we were pooped. So we watched a bit of TV. On Sun night at home we watch the Simpsons. On Sun night in Rome, we watched the Simpsons with a glass of Muscato in our hands. Much bettter...... :cocktail
Day 9 (Monday) - Today we visited the Patheon, the Santa Maria church near the Pantheon, the spanish steps, Trevi fountain, piaza Navone and the mausoleum of Augustus. Rome is very compact and everything is within 2 miles of everything else. No point in messing with a taxi or bus as you can see all the important monuments on foot. Ate lunch out and returned for a mid afternoon nap. It's coming up on 8PM so we're now getting ready to head out to see the monuments at night.
I'm on a slow connection and someone else's computer so I'll upload a few photos on another day.
