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Published: October 14th 2013
After getting Lizzie off to school, we did laundry and house keeping getting ready for Craig and Deb to come home and our departure on Sunday. We kept an eye on the weather, hoping the clouds would clear. We decided to head to the city about 11:30 and visit San Clemente....the old basilica near the coliseum. We got of the blue metro at the Coloseo station and started walking to San Clemente. The weather was "perfecto", finally a gorgeous fall day in Rome....I was sooo happy, happy, happy!!! We knew we were too late to visit it before it closed for the long lunch break so found a nearby trattoria. We got a table outside, next to three German ladies - one of whom was a nun. They listened as we ordered our lunch in really bad Italian, then asked where we were from....how polite! The nun had spent time in Wisconsin in the winter....that's one tough Sister!
Lunch was tagliatelle with truffles for me, Freddie had cannelloni stuffed with beef along with a cute little half carafe of red wine...it was all very good!!! We then walked up the Via San Giovanni, met two couples from Maryland who were
Organ pipes - San Giovanni
There were more pipes on another wall...not sure if the organ works but bet it would sound awesome!looking for the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano. We consulted our map and sent them farther down the same road. We then found a large white church with a small piazza in front of it and went in. It was gorgeous inside, statues, frescos, small chapels along the sides....just incredible. We'd found San Giovanni and didn't even know it. The heads of St. Peter and St. Paul are reported to be in the altar of this basilica.
Our new friends from Maryland showed up and we apologized profusely for sending them on a wild goose chase and they laughed...no problem. We were all in awe of the basilica, so beautiful but also evidence of the enormous wealth of the Catholic Church. We chatted about U.S. politics (we shared similar views), the current government shutdown, football and baseball...we confessed to being Red Sox Fans, they support the Orioles...OOOPS...AL East rivals! We wished each other well and continued on our search for San Clemente. We asked two priests we met on the side walk and soon found it.
There was a crowd gathering for the 3 pm opening, including a tour group from France. The doors finally opened and
San Giovanni
Freddie in one of the long corridors. we went to the office to purchase tickets to see the excavations beneath the basilica. There are two levels of ruins underneath, the first level is a Christian basilica dating from the 4th/5th century with marbles columns, partial frescos from the 4th - 10th centuries. The next level down is called the Mithraeum - an eastern temple devoted to the pagan god Mithras from the 2nd/3rd centuries. There's a room used as a school, and a 1st century Roman home, complete with a spring offering running water. There was a mass going on in the Basilica while we were down in the ruins....very cool hearing the choir singing. It's well worth the visit...sorry no photos are allowed in the Basilica or excavations.
By this time Deb and Craig were back home and we came up with a plan for the evening. They, along with Lizzie, were up for coming into Rome and meeting us for dinner. We walked from the Coliseum to the Pantheon, sat on the fountain steps, listened to a guy playing tunes from the Beatles, Pink Floyd, etc on an electric guitar while we people watched...sooo cool hearing classic rock echo off the walls of the
The main altar - San Giovanni
this is where the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul are supposed to be. ancient Pantheon...as Leonardo would say...PERFECTO!!!
Someone had recommended a restaurant called "Spaghetti" to Craig and it was supposed to be near the Pantheon, we couldn't find it and ended up at a place called "Ristorante Vernissage" on Piazza dei Caprettari. Deb and I had caprese salads, the boys had salads of mozzarella and prosciutto...love the buffalo mozzarella! Pasta dishes were good, bottle of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo was good too. Deb had a hankering for crème brulee so we ordered two, and then the show started. We were serenaded by the waiter playing a small wooden accordion and the head waiter shows up tableside with the crème brulee. It's not the same as we have stateside...it's more golden yellow and softer consistency...almost like a pudding. It was served on a plate with berry sauce and raw sugar. The torch he used to carmelize the sugar was almost industrial...got the job done in no time. The waiter started singing "Volare" and Freddie chimes in with the verse from the old TV commercial, from the late 1970's, selling the car by the same name...does anyone else remember that???? We were also served grappa....ahh...next time I'll say "no thanks"!
We decided to call
it an early night and head for the metro. We did some souvenir shopping and also bought Lizzie a leather purse to hold her new Iphone her parents bought her...she's a happy girl!!!!
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