last day in Rome for Les

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It happened so quickly. I'm flying home tomorrow, mixed sadness and anticipation. I love Rome - it's noisy and crowded and hot, but I love it. But, I miss my family too. I'm plotting ways to get us all here for a year so that we can explore the city and surroundings at a leisurely pace.....
The day before yesterday we hurt ourselves by staying out for 14 hours and walking for probably 12 of them. In the blistering heat. We went to see if we could get into the Vatican Museums and see, especially, the Sistine Chapel. Once again, the lineup was a good 2 hours long, so we decided to do something else. First of all, though, we had coffee and a pastry to fortify ourselves for the day. This time, we chose the Bar Moretto, around the corner from the Caffe Vaticano. What a surprise! A lovely coffee and treat for each of us, for 2 euro each. Amazing! We wonder if the rent on the Caffe Vaticano side is 5 times as high as it is around the corner, because the prices were so different. We can't think what other reason there could be for such a difference. The Bar Moretto is on Via di Porta Angelica, 49, if you're looking for good caffe at a reasonable price.
From there we hopped on the Metro and visited the Basilica San Giovvane in Laterano, very beautiful. And from there we took a bus to the catacombs of San Sebastiano. Margo will probably tell you that I made her get off the bus about 1 1-2 km too soon so that we had to walk uphill in the heat, but don't believe everything she says.
The catacombs are incredible. Well worth going way out of your way for. Not for those with serious claustrophobia, though. San Sebastiano has 4 levels, and we saw 2 of them with an excellent guide. The 4th century graffiti was interesting: invocations to Sts Peter and Paul, asking them to pray for the community, an underground crypt and meeting place with a simple altar, spots for bodies of all sizes. They've lost a little of their popular mystique, since historians-archeologists have discovered that they weren't secret meeting places. The Romans did know about them, and they were used as cemeteries by Christians and Jews as well as pagans who chose not to cremate the body or to bury the ashes in urns rather than scatter them.
From there we took another of our very long "let's see where this bus goes" rides, and ended up back in the city to catch the metro. Part way home, perky Margo says "Let's go see the Spanish Steps!" Off we hopped, and found the steps, which aren't worth the trouble. They're just steps next to a fountain. So we wandered through the exclusive shopping area and stumbled across a beautiful church on Corso, the Basilica dei Ss. Ambrogio e Carlo. The priest(s) there have made a priority of providing information on each of the chapels, and encouraging a prayerful atmosphere. I'm going back today to spend some more time there.
The rest of the day is kind of a blur, because that's when we started to lose it. I'll leave the story for Margo to tell as only she can.
Yesterday, we stayed home, except for a short trip to the local market to get stuff for lunch. I think we both had heatstroke, and we certainly had sore feet, and sore muscles that we didn't know we owned. So we had our first Italian siesta, and it was wonderful.
Today, I'm just going out so soak up the atmosphere a bit.
BTW, a tip for those of you coming here on Air Canada: get their phone number in Rome before you leave. They don't seem to be listed here.
Ciao,
Nonna Leslie

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