Gotta love those mini-buses!

Wednesday, 22 September, 2010

Ciao!

Another very busy and delightful day – and it’s not over yet! We still have the soccer match tonight, but as it doesn’t begin until 8:45 p.m. and there is no telling what time we’ll be back to the flat, I’ve decided to write now so that I can do the soccer game in the morning.

One of the results of having a really nice lunch is that one is not terribly hungry in the evening! Thus, last night, we decided that as no one was really enthused about going out for dinner, we would get some “walk away” pizza – pizza by the slice that is sold from little shops all over town. Visited one of them and got some very good pizza – slices of plain pizza (Marguerite – tomato sauce and cheese) and then some pizza with grilled vegetables – zucchini and eggplant. Both very good, and we went to bed very happy around 10!

This morning, we decided to explore the Piazza del Popolo and surrounding area, as we had yet to even see the Spanish Steps. Took the trusty #62 down to Via Del Corso and caught a cute little 117 bus. (One of the little electric buses like we took yesterday. I saw today, though, that it says it can hold 8 people seating, and 22 people standing! Right! Talk about sardines in a can or clowns coming out of a car!) This took us to the end of Via del Babuino, where we got off and headed to Santa Maria del Popolo. Lovely church; (featured in “Angels and Demons”). From there we recrossed the piazza to Santa Maria del Mirocoli, one of the twin churches at that end of the piazza. We then walked down Via Del Corso toward the Spanish Steps, looking in some really lovely store windows. It’s rather odd, as the stores are putting out all their winter things – wool, sweaters, and of course lots of fur – made me wish for cooler weather in Tucson, and a chance to wear things like that – only for a few minutes, though!

The Spanish Steps were beginning to fill up for the day (not many kids, as I’m thinking most of them are in school, but definitely with tour groups!). We used the opportunity of our knowledge of Rome to good advantage – there is a lovely McDonald’s right there – clean bathrooms and all! Took the opportunity for a sit-down, and Mom had her first cup of café Americano (American coffee) in days! She said it was wonderful!

Having still quite a bit of time before lunch, we decided to take the 116 mini-bus out to the basilica of San Giovanni Lateran. It’s a bit past the Coliseum, and we had a nice albeit bumpy ride out. We hadn’t been to St. John Lateran in years, and to be honest, I had forgotten what an incredibly impressive church it is! The ceilings are truly incredible – in several places, they have more than full-size statues that are gilded and attached to the ceiling in such a way that they look like they are standing up! We spent quite a time inside, including the cloister and the treasury – very, very impressive, and I would put it only second to St. Peter’s Basilica in grandeur. In fact, for hundreds of years, it was the traditional Catholic residence of the Popes – which I suppose explains the impressiveness! Across the street from the Basilica is a separate building that contains the alleged steps from the house of Pontius Pilate up which Christ walked on his way to being condemned. There is a long story on how they got to Rome, but they can be seen now (even though they are covered in wood, with the stone peaking out) and even mounted, as long as it is done on the knees. We didn’t avail ourselves of that opportunity.
We got a little cross-wise on our return to Rome – R getting caught up by the world’s longest traffic light, and Mom and I reaching the little 117 first … on we went, and off the 117 went – still leaving R at the traffic light! Oh my!! Mom and I took the bus back to Via Del Corso, where we got off – and the next 117 was just a minute or so behind – and there was Robert, so what was lost was found! (Good thing, though, as I didn’t have my cell phone with me…)

On to lunch! The only thing that Mom said she wanted to do in Rome was to eat in one of the glassed-in restaurants on the Via Veneto that she remembers so fondly. So, today was that day! We picked Café Alex, right in front of the Hotel Alexandra where we had stayed once. Almost had the place to ourselves! We wanted to eat a good lunch, as no telling what/if/when dinner might be. Mom had eggplant parmigiana to start, followed by a large mixed salad with lettuce, hard boiled eggs, cheese, carrots, tomatoes and corn. R had a caponata of grilled eggplant, celery, onion and olives (very similar to one he makes at home, but this was served warm and was terrific!) to start, followed by a lovely seebass (I’m using the spelling on the menu!) with an olive tapenade. I had a plate of spaghetti alla Norma (red sauce with eggplant and goat cheese) to start, followed by a grilled chicken breast with balsamic vinegar, fresh cherry tomatoes and mixed lettuce. It was GREAT! For dessert, R had a dish of mixed fresh fruit, and Mom had a bowl of strawberries and vanilla ice cream. I passed on dessert, requesting gelato on the way home. Washed everything down with another great bottle of Frascati (I know it’s becoming monotonous, but it’s wonderful wine that doesn’t really travel well – but we are SO close to Frascati that you can see it from Rome!)

Back on the #62 and to Piazza Bologna. Really, we are in such a terrific transportation hub! Stopped and got a chocolate and stratciatella cone – yummy!

Then upstairs for wonderful naps – a solid two hours, minimum, for all – (Mom still sleeping!) – which I’m sure we’re going to need to get through tonight’s soccer game – which is already presenting problems, as we are in Rome, and the home team is Lazio – but I’ll be rooting for AC Milan! I’ll just have to do it very quietly…

Much love!
m
x