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Published: October 2nd 2013
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Pantheon
Hiding from the heavy rain under the front portico of the Pantheon Monday Craig went to work, Lizzie to school, Deb, Freddie and I went into Rome. Deb was on a quest to buy comfie shoes for their upcoming trip and Freddie and I wanted to see how we'd do on our own in Rome while still having the safety net of Deb and Craig, so off we went. We met the Leonardo on our way out...the friendly local handyman/security guy for the gated community. We ignored his warning about the weather "malto" rain and left without jackets (except for Deb)...we'll pay for that stupid decision very shortly. Freddie used his best Italian to buy train tickets for us...he did a fine job.
Once in Rome, Deb headed to Trastevere. Freddie and I retraced our route from Saturday night. It was very cloudy, started raining so out came our umbrella. As we walked, it rained harder so we headed to the Pantheon for shelter. The place was mobbed with like minded travelers seeking to get out of the rain. Street vendors were pushing umbrellas and flimsy ponchos...we opted for the ponchos. Once the downpour stopped we posed Sharkey on the fountain opposite the Pantheon...he seemed out of place in Rome...much more at home in
Lunch
spaghetti with clams at the Mercato on Campo del' Fiori the Caribbean.
We found Piazza Navona then kept heading west letting the force guide us with no plan or final destination, other than a sit down lunch. We found another piazza with a open air market and opted for a restaurant called Mercato. Tables outside under canvas awning, with the traditional red/white checked tablecloths...so Italian. Freddie introduced ourselves to the waiter who from then on addressed us by name...we loved the way he said "Frederico"!!! We dug out a map and asked him where we were...Campo de' Fiori....great this place was on our list to visit!!! We sat just in time to see the sky open and the real deluge begin. I took a video but this blog site doesn't allow upload of videos...too bad because the sound of the rain coming down was deafening.
We ordered calamari as a appetizer and each got spaghetti with clams and a glass of Frascati...(as recommended by David)....soooo good!!!
By the time we finished lunch, the sky was blue, temps warmed up and we were glad we wore shorts and brought hats. We headed east to get back to the metro taking a different route leaving to see some new sights. We found Largo di Torre
Il Vittoriano
home to the Italian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and a national monument and museum Argentina where stray cats hang out and is also the site where Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C. From there we found Il Vittoriano where a guy dressed up like the Pope was being filmed, walked past the Trajan's Column and Markets and headed toward the Colosseum. Along the narrow sidewalk, an elderly woman was kneeling on the sidewalk begging for money. A couple walking behind us, speaking English was focused on the workman on the highest level of the Colosseum and the guy didn't see the woman, nearly tripped over her, and still didn't give her any money...damn Americans!
We found the metro station, got on the right train to head home...had to call Craig for help on how to get from the metro line to the local train we needed for the final leg of our journey. We had dinner at Perfect Pizza...Lizzie's choice was the Nutella pizza...two layers of dough with Nutella spread in between, slits cut in the top so the warm Nutella could ooze out, then sprinkled with confectioner's sugar....OMG!!!
Tomorrow begins our time with just the 3 of us...Freddie, Lizzie and myself....and Miles (the too cute Papillion) of course to keep us all in line.
Trajan's Column
along Via del Fiori Imperiali There's a transit strike scheduled so we'll be staying home, resting our feet and doing laundry.
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