Great Day - Tiring Day!

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Geo: 41.8955, 12.4823

Another sunny day in Roma! better weather than has been forecasted which is great, though hard to know how to dress and what to bring. I did learn my lesson so have been bringing my new poncho and umbrella with me though haven't needed them since I didn't have them but needed them!
Our landlady came by this morning to collect the damage deposit in cash, she will be bringing it back on Friday or Saturday before we leave assuming we do no damage, don't think there will be a problem. She was very nice and helpful, she doesn't know her schedule yet so we told her to just come by on Friday even if we're gone so we don't have to come back from our touring and leave the money on the table after she looks around. We'll be calling for a taxi to take us to the Train Station on Saturday morning at 9:15 am, so won't have much time then to do it either.

After this we made our lunches and went off to visit Trajan's Forum, this has been something I've wanted to do but have not known where to even find the entrance and there isn't a lot of info online or there hasn't been in the past. We enjoyed a great audio guide and a good map that let us know where we were on the tour, it was well done and easy to follow which is nice as they aren't all like that ;-) I think we spent about 2.5 hours there, actually sat down in the forum and ate our lunch while watching a few lizards climb the wall and then get excited about a butterfly that briefly landed nearby but decided to move on.

We then walked on over to the Basilica of San Clemente, this is past the Colesseo a little bit. We got there 15 minutes before they reopened after lunch so went across the street to have a little bit of gelato! very good.... went back and saw this interesting church, the current one is built on the one built in the 400's, which was built over a temple to Mithras, an early house church, and a mint used by the Roman government. All this over 1st-century Roman houses! there was even a spring still running there which explains all the humidity. Unfortunately, no photos allowed.

We had big plans to go on to Giovanni in San Laterano, the Santa Scala, S. Maria in Maggiore, and St. Peter in Chains, but we were just worn out! and decided to go back to the apt early, then out to dinner after a nice sit down on the terrace with some tea. On our way we stopped and looked at the cats in the cat sanctuary located in Largo di Torre Argentina (where Julius Caesar was assassinated) then a bakery beckoned us and we had to stop and buy a few items of interest. Got back to the apt "early" it was now 6:15, decided not to eat our dessert before dinner, looked up the address of the restaurant our landlady recommended, it's about a 2minute walk, went there, came back full. We ate at Trattoria Da Sergio, on Vicolo delle Grotte, 17, I had the Cacio e Pepe (Spaghetti with lots of pepper, delicious). Now it is 10:25 and the crowd outside is in full swing while I'm in my pj's, there will be no sleeping for a while, not until they decide to go home or the soccer team loses? Not sure but think that may be the reason for the cheering, etc...

Anyway will post some photos of Trajan's forum, fascinating history today... tomorrow it's on to the National Museum, onward and upward!!!

Fit bit facts: 15,858 which is 6.83 miles

Only 1/2 the photos are downloading, not sure why the rest won't as of yet but will try to add them later.

A Domani!

Now for Karen's take on the day!

Since Wendy does such a great job outlining the day, there isn't much point in my adding to that. So I'll add little tidbits and impressions from my still jet-lagged brain, instead. Oh boy! 😉

Our apartment is a delightful place to be. We enter directly from the street (no sidewalk) and step into a little tiny space barely big enough to hold the two of us (and all 4 garbage cans for the building). We then pause for the briefest moment to psych ourselves for the grueling climb up 55 (yes, we counted them! 😊 ) STEEP, narrow, dark, tightly spiraled stairs to the third floor. It feels like we are crawling into an oversized snail shell. By the time we make it to the top, we are very happy to see our very own door. Unlocking it is an adventure in itself--push the huge skeleton key way into the lock, hold your mouth just right, and turn the key 4 full turns. Once inside we collapse with joy onto our comfy couch and talk about what a wonderful day we've just had. We are blessed indeed!

At this point, Wendy has arrived home. I, on the other hand, am living in the bat-cave on the 4th floor, so I get to climb another 17 even more tightly spiraled stairs. I have to lead with my left shoulder or I get stuck. Once up there, I have a wonderful room with 2 twin beds, my very own bathroom, and the door to the roof. The roof is a very special place. It's where the washing machine lives (?!!) and where the garden is. There is a picnic table, citrus trees and potted plants, and a great view of all the other rooftops around us. But, it gets even better, because the rooftop garden has its own rooftop garden! All you have to do is go up yet another even more tightly coiled spiral staircase (how is that even possible?) and you are on top of the world. More plants, a porch swing, and even more amazing views of church towers and lightning storms. Wow! (We say that word a lot around here!)

Rome is a quirky place. I'm not sure the word "quirky" does it justice, but I can't come up with anything better at the moment. You have to be prepared for anything. When you walk around the corner, you will always be amazed. You might encounter Roman ruins smack dab in the middle of everything. Sometimes they turn those into cat sanctuaries. Quirky?! Perhaps you will be greeted by the amazing voice of an opera singer pouring his heart out in the piazza (very cool!) or a really creepy clown will come up and drape his arm across your shoulders (not so cool!) Round the next corner, and there's a guy in a loincloth twirling flaming torches (definitely quirky!) and the polizzia chasing the pickpocket right across your path. Wow! (There's that word again!)

There is no such thing as a straight road in Rome, and an intersection can have 7 roads to choose from. I am perpetually lost. Thank goodness for Wendy. Heaven help me if we ever get separated! Stores are little pockets in the walls of very old buildings about the size of your average Dutch Brothers. But there are thousands of them! Restaurants are the same size, which obviously won't work, so they spill out onto the street. The street may only be 10 feet wide, but the tables are on it, and the pedestrians are on it, and the guy selling roses is on it along with his buddy that's selling the really creepy squealing dolls, and the cars are on it, too. You can touch the cars from your chair as they squeeze past.

We came home tired tonight, hoping to go to bed early, but the crowd Wendy mentioned is growing more raucous. Well, at least they are a happy raucous, and not a mischievous raucous. Me thinks there is little hope for sleep, even with earplugs! But I think I'll at least try...
Ciao!
Karen

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Comments

[Kath]

Trajan's Forum and the carvings look amazing; great that you found this place to cross off your bucket list. Enjoyed reading Karen's vivid descriptions of Rome and your apartamente. I wouldn't care to climb up 55+ spiral steps at the end of
a touring day, but imagine the rooftop view and the location make it worth it! Hope for some sleep for you both tonight. Love, Kath

[Jim]

How the heck did we miss Trajan's Forum in the past. Isn't that the wedding cake in the background? Seems like we had to have walked past it a few times. Glad you paid the cats a visit. I always like to see them. I'm glad you're gettin
g some good weather. You two are doing a great job with the blog...keep it up! Love you Wendy, have a great day. XXOO

[wendy2007]

We didn't miss seing it from the road as we did walk past it several times, just never knew the where or how of getting into it, but we finally figured it out this time around. Miss you! xoxo