After breakfast, we set out for our first sight: the Trevi Fountain. Along the way, we saw a fabulous church called Sant'Andea della Fratte. We also popped our heads into what looks to be a really nice shopping mall built into an older building -- how nice! This was not likely here on our last visit to Rome. When we arrived at the Trevi Fountain, we are disappointed to see that it is under renovation. The fountain has no water and is partially hidden behind construction barriers. Fortunately, the barriers are made of plexiglass so we can look through to see the beautiful statuary. Needless to say, the area is somewhat overwhelmed by tourists. Here is my photo:
After this, we made our way to the monument to Vittorio Emmanuelle II, whom (I think) was the final king of Italy. On our way we are waylaid by another church called S. S. Apostali. The interior is just beautiful. It is unbelievable how many churches are in Rome and how many would be a major tourist draw anywhere else, but in Rome -- they are nothing special! Here is my photo of the altar:
... and the gorgeous ceiling:
Then we continued on to the Vittorio Emmanuelle II monument. This monument has the nickname of being "the wedding cake." I believe that I had been told by someone that the Roman citizens are not so fond of this building, built by Mussolini in an (failed) attempt to rival the old Roman architecture. Anyway, there is no missing it on our walk, and here is my photo:
From here we had thought we would revisit the church known as St. Mary Maggiore, which we had seen in 2000. This church is considered the second most impressive in Rome after St. Peter's in the Vatican ... but we never made it. We wandered over to the Roman ruins in the Forum and became fascinated by viewing what is left of the various emperors' forums, such as Caesar, Augustus, Trajan, and Nerva (Nerva?). It is really hard to imagine the glorious buildings that once stood here, but one has to try. My photos of this side of the Imperial Way didn't turn our very well given the angle of the sun, but I did get a pretty good shot of a statue of Caesar:
Say what you will, that man could make a great salad!
Crossing the street, we were able to look down into the more impressive Roman forum ruins -- these are the ones that require a ticket to get in (which we did in 1992), but we decided that would not be one of today's priorities. So we just admired them from above. I did get a good photo on this side of the street:
Then we continued on down the street to take a look at the exterior of the Colosseum -- always amazing how big this is! We also walked to the adjacent Arch of Constantine, one of my favorites:
Not a great photo, but there it is.
Our next objective for the day was to visit my favorite place in Rome: the Circo Massimo, or Circus Maximus. This oval, home to chariot races two thousand years ago, still exists, but in my memory it is a relatively untended open public space. I don't know why it captures my imagination so much, but it does. Today, when we arrived, we see that archeological excavations are happening here. People are at work uncovering from beneath the soil, remnants of the structure that had long been buried. At first, I am disappointed that the place from my memory is being altered, but of course, it is best to unearth the Roman ruins. I knew that I needed to have a picture taken of me here, so here it is:
Here is picture, taken in the other direction, of the archeological work in progress:
I imagine that if I ever make it back here again, the whole place will be utterly transformed. I am glad I have my memories.
From here, we made our way to a tourist site where we had not been before: the Bocca del Veritas, or the Mouth of Truth. This landmark is probably best known from the movie, "Roman Holiday," in a scene where Gregory Peck inserts his hand in the mouth, where, according to myth, those that are untruthful have their hands bitten off. When Gregory feigns a great pain, his companion, Audrey Hepburn, shreiks -- he fools her good. Today, the place is, of course, mobbed by close to one hundred tourists, all in line for a photo op. We declined to invest that time and instead, I stuck my phone through the fence and took this photo:
It was just as well we didn't stand in line -- who knows, it may have bitten my hand off?
Now it was time for our most loved section of Rome, Trastevere, which means across the Tiber River, so that was what we did: we crossed the Tiber. It is our favorite for the charming narrow streets and the feeling that maybe you are not in the tourist over-run part of Rome anymore, but in a place where people actually live, albeit in a very historical setting. In addition, this is the neighborhood where our friend Moira lived when we visited her in 1992, so of course we have sentimental feelings.
We walked through the streets trying to settle on a place to have lunch (Rob had his heart set on pizza), but don't really see any restaurant that seems compelling. Then we enter Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere and think of the restaurant Sabatini's. Why would we eat anywhere else? This is probably a fancier restaurant that we had in mind (there is no pizza on the menu), but it is perfect for today's somewhat sentimental occasion. Here is the view from our table:
And here is our lunch:
What could be more pleasant or perfect? It is a leisurely lunch that is just right for today. After lunch we walk across the piazza to enter the church, parts of which date to the 400's. Inside, it is more beautiful than we remembered -- we suspect that some restoration work has been happening.
And the ceiling:
Leaving the church, we can't help but look up on the terrace for our friend Moira's apartment during her time here. That is it in the center and on the top of the building that is just a little shorter than its neighbors. Can you imagine a better place to live than here in Piazza Santa Maria in Testevere? We spent several days on the rooftop terrace, drinking wine, watching people stroll on the street below, and sharing time with Moira. Such great memories!
verFrom here, we strolled to the north and then along the river until we reached the Vatican. We admired the Castel Saint Angelo, the pope's fortress, when he had to worry about security and then walked the approach to St. Peter's Cathedral, always magnificent. The lines are so long to get in, but we had not planned to enter anyway (it is hard to tell from this photo, but they stretch all along the length of this photo in the background and beyond).
We continued walking and crossed the Piazza Cavour with the enormous Palace of Justice, then made our way back across the river to the Piazza del Populi, another of Rome's famous piazza's. Naturally, there were a lot of people here, but the place is so big, it didn't matter. The fountain here, too, is also undergoing renovation, so that view was not available. Here are two views from the middle of the piazza that were available:
The weather now seemed as if it wanted to begin raining, so we walked the short distance back to the Spanish Steps and our hotel. We've gone about 10 miles today, so we are ready for a rest. Once inside, the rain does begin.
For dinner, we walked in the rain to Piazza Navona (can't help but go back there one more time, even in the rain!) and ate at a restaurant called Vacanzes Romane (translates to "Roman Holiday"). The restaurant is nothing special, but I had pizza and Rob had spaghetti and meat balls. Inside the menu, there are photographs of Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck from the movie, "Roman Holiday" with one problem. We point out to the waiter that the third photo is actually of Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly from "Breakfast at Tiffany's." This elicits a big laugh as he agreed, but admitted that he had never noticed this before.
We walked back in the continuing rain and turned in.
A little side note: this evening was the first, and only time that we needed our umbrellas on tis vacation. Turns out that September is a great month to visit Europe.
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