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Published: October 1st 2012
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Forecast for rain made for a strange day to tour Rome. On Sunday, we were not sure what or if there would be many shops open, but we did hear about a "flea market" that was operating in the north part of the city on Sunday only. First we wanted to get our tour bus tickets as we had scoped out the variety of options on the previous day. We found a vendor (110Open) that had a two day pass and hop on - hop off options throughout the Rome Down-town City Center.
We decided to ride the bus all the way around the route to see the sites and take advantage of the tour before the rain started (if it ever did). The day was cloudy but didn't seem too humid or dark (yet). Once we made it all the way around we did another 1/4 circle to get to the north part of the city for the "market". Turned out to be a big garage sale of various items and things we just hadn't seen in the other retail shops. There wasn't a whole lot that interested us, but it was different to see old Italian vintage items
that were similar to US items that people collect and sell over time. Then we started wandering towards our next ancient target, and found some shops open to distract us from the looming weather.
We made our way south towards the Castille d' Angelo, which was close to the Vatican, but not terribly far from another bus stop if we decided to hop-on after our tour. But first our vino level had reached the refill mark and needed to be adressed urgently. We found a friendly, reasonably priced pizzerria with some variety and covered tables. The skys started to look a lot more dark but we really wanted to enjoy the outdoor atmosphere as much as possible. Our wine and then our meal arrived right before the sky's opened! We enjoyed our wine and food, and lingered as long as we could under the cover of the table tents. After a coffee and then dessert we decided to move on as rain let up just a little.
We did a little more shopping, looked in a few stores and continued on our way. We darted between buildings and found our next form of cover in a local Gellato
shop. Yum! Each of us enjoyed a different gellato flavor except Gia. She was hankering for a brownie and settled for some chocolate cake, filled dessert item. Of course, they were small, so she was alos able to try a bite size tiramasu! Then we moved on towards the Castille only to be distracted once again by the Piazza d' Novona. None of the books or tour information had suggested this site even though it was an attraction on the area map. Wow, what magnificent works of art! From the fountains to the building to the obelisks, perfection carved by true artists! This is truly a must see!
Then we trudged along in the rain around a few more streets to find the Castille d' Angelo. The building was across the Teveri river. The bridge we selected was adorned with angel statues. The rain was coming down so hard that the vendors had left and all that remained was a woman praying on the bridge begging for money. We have seen a lot of beggers on this trip. Sad reality to civilized countries. Many people seem to fall through the cracks for one reason or another.
As we
approached the entrance to the museum, the gate attendant directed us to the biglietto for our free ticket. I found out later that the free tickets were only for EU citizens and students. It's always great to receive a gift, even in the rain. We started touring the castle not sure what we would find. There was amazement of the structure, height of the walls and rooms at the top decorated in true works of art, the ever reaching views on the terrace, pluse the dungeon in the bowels of the castle, which made the tour greatly appreciated by all!
After the tour we crossed back over the bridge to find a bite to eat before we hailed a cab for our trip back to the hotel. Well on Sunday all the sidewalk cafes were closing early. We went towards the main street (Calvour) to find a cab. As we crossed another doorway of a restaurant we were sure to find closing, this one was actually open. So we decided to eat there! Their wine list was a little scary. "We have red and wine! You decide!" Hmmm. let's chance something local!
The wine wasn't too bad. The
price was very reasonable, too! The pizza oven turned out some very delicious pies which made the local eatery a very good find. There were two novice priests eating separately with their visiting families. I overheard one of the priests tell his family, when you find a good place to eat, you don't tell too many people, because it will get too crowded and no longer have the great appeal that drew you to the restaurant in the first place. Not sure if that makes sense. It was just a little funny coming out of the mouth of a priest.
We had the pizzeria call us a cab after our dinner and we made it back to the hotel for our last night at this hotel. Then we move to the Sheraton Golf Resort for the last leg of our trip.
Ciao Bella!
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