Day 3 - Shopping, and some Catholic guilt

Today was a day of no tours, just doing whatever we felt like. Adrian didn't feel like doing much, so I decided it would be a good chance to go out and do some shopping. I would love to buy a good pair of shoes here, plus a few souvenirs and things like that. Also to just look in some of the designer boutiques is really interesting :)

I looked up some of the best places to go, and came up with the area around the Trevi Fountain. Within walking distance there are some streets with a number of decent shops. So after consulting with Adrian on the best way to get there, off I went to catch a bus in the street behind us.

Now, this particular bus route is serviced by one of the electric mini buses. This is still rectangular bus shaped, but only around 1/3 of the size of a regular bus. This allows it to go through the smaller streets and through piazzas.

Boy, is this quite a trip. The tight squeeze of this bus through some of the streets is amazing. It is a testament to the skills of the bus driver that we didn't hit anything. It seems that the driver has a knowledge of the width of the bus right down to edge. I was sitting at the window, and I could swear that we came within cms of hitting things several times. And that includes people.

After that little adventure, I managed to find the right stop and hopped off. I started to walk around looking for shops, when I saw up ahead a large throng of people. Although I knew I was in the Trevi Fountain area, it didn't really compute that it was what the throng was about, until I turned the corner and laid my eyes on it. WOW. What an absolutely fantastic work of art it is. It was totally breathtaking. The day was perfect for it too, with the sunlight shining on the water.

I didn't linger too long though, as I knew I'd have to come back with Adrian so he could see it too. I went on my way to keep shopping for a few hours. I won't bore you with the details, but I bought a few things - some souvenir prints, a necklace, a Gucci knockoff handbag. Also I bought a calendar, which features photos of young priests - most of whom are totally HOT. There's nothing like a totally hot, celibate priest. I found some shoes I liked, but they didn't have any in my size, so I left disappointed. They are a particular brand though, so I am hoping I might find another shoe store that stocks them before we leave.

Shopping in Rome is a different experience to home. For a start, the shops don't like it if you touch anything. There's signs everywhere saying not to touch. This is completely against everything I've learnt about retailing. Usually the rule is that people like to pick up and touch what they are buying. But I guess this is just one of the many situations where europeans are different.

Once finished I bought some lunch and came back to the apartment to relax for a bit. After resting I grabbed Adrian and we set out for Trastavere. On the way we stopped off at a gelato place that Michaela had recommended on her list of places to go. Oh my god! It was really excellent. We have had gelato a couple of times since arriving, but only in Blue Ice which is a franchise. The gelato there is still very nice, but this new place is a total cut above.

As we ate our gelato we walked across the bridge into Trastavere. It is an interesting place with a great vibe to it. It is definately more suburban, but still part of the city. We made our way to Santa Maria church. Apparently it is the oldest church dedicated to the virgin Mary. It is really beautiful inside, very much the decadent catholic church. Although I am not exactly a practising catholic anymore, I still felt reverant, and decided against taking any pictures. This is the first time i've set foot in a church since being married (outside the church) so of course, there is a bit of guilt there. Not that I would change anything. Still, guilt comes part and parcel of being Catholic.

After walking around a bit more, we slowly made our way back to the apartment, stopping on the way to take some photos of cats and spend time at the internet cafe. Given that the weather forecast for the next couple of days is not so great, we decided it would be a good time to go back to the Trevi Fountain. It seems to get even busier there at night. Adrian was suitably impressed.

We found a nice Trattoria nearby to have a meal - actually our first proper dinner out since we've been here. It didn't disappoint, the food was very nice, and there was plenty of it. We went for the italian approach - an antipasto, a primi & secondi, but no room for dessert. Finished off with an espresso and a glass of limoncello it was a really nice meal.

Time now to get to bed - tommorrow is the grand tour of the Vatican - which is sure to be interesting yet exhausting. And probably a bit more guilt to come my way.

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