Sunday: Last day in Rome

Sunday, October 14^th 2012: Last Full Day in Rome

(Written by Steve) The pace of activity was definitely been on a downward slope as the week progressed. Today we barely got out of the apartment by noon. We walked past the throngs at the Spanish Steps and then along the very charming Via Margutta. This side street, which parallels the Via del Babuino in the Tridente neighborhood, is filled with high-end art dealers, luxury Italian clothiers, exclusive lodgings, and some fine restaurants. On this Sunday, however, most of these were closed, and the atmosphere was quiet and relaxed, even if Michael had to be pulled away from a painting displayed in a gallery window.

When we reached the Piazza del Popolo, there were many people out enjoying the beautiful weather. Since we hadn’t really breakfasted (again), we got some paninis and drinks at a store and sat on the steps of the Santa Maria di Miracoli church (surprisingly, the church was closed). The people-watching in the piazza was wonderful – many photos were taken of passing cuties.

With renewed vigor, we proceeded down the Via di Ripetta (closed to vehicular traffic today), noticing the many 19^th century apartment buildings in varying states of decay. Eventually, we came to the Museo dell’Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace), an Imperial era temple built by Augustus Caesar that was beautifully restored and then had a modern, museum-like building wrapped around it (designed by Richard Meier). While we didn’t go in (nine euros just seemed like too much for what you were seeing), we did get to see the temple through the huge windows that faced the Tiber (Tevere) River. The temple was quite beautiful, with ornately carved marble, like so much else in this city. Only this time the structure was intact.

We continued our stroll, meandering in the general direction of the Centro Storico (historic center). We came upon the lateG gelato store, where we once again enjoyed some terrific gelati (I had my twin favorites, coffee and pistachio). We headed to the Piazza Navona, which Michael hadn’t seen the other night. It was even busier on this Sunday afternoon, and I’ll have to admit that I enjoyed the fountains and the piazza more at night (hear hear – afk). Probably true with a lot of Rome: quieter, less crowded, and warmly lit in the late evening hours.

On our way out of the Piazza Navona, we stopped at a haberdashery where Michael and Shawn bought some snappy new caps. Allan came THIS close to buying an orange fedora, but thought better of it. Of course, we’ll be back in Rome on the 26^th, so don’t count this one out yet!

(I only thought “the better of it” because the hat is made by Bailey hats of USA and I can find it more reasonably priced at home. €85 is too much to pay… - afk)

Shaun wanted to see the Campo di Fiori, another piazza that today was filled with vendors ranging from fruit and produce sellers to those selling toys and knick-knacks. There was a lot of good fresh food to be bought, but since we were leaving town the next day, it seemed a less than stellar idea. Allan did buy some sun-dried tomatoes, which he snacked on for the next several days.

At this point we’d been on our feet for hours, so we decided to head back to the apartment. Along the way we came across a large open block of Imperial-era ruins called the Area Sacra. There were some temples standing in partial glory, but noticeable among the ruins were the feral cats that made this place their home. Many blocks later, we were trudging up the Via Francesco Crispi to our 4^th floor home at number 99.

After a few rest hours rest, we took a cab to the Trastevere neighborhood, on the other side of the Tiber from the Palatine hill. We had visited this area in 2004, but it’s become very trendy since then. Using the Rick Steves’ audio guide, we started a walking tour of the area. On a Sunday evening, the streets were mostly quiet. The highlight of the tour was the visit to the Basilica of Santa Cecilia, named after the early Roman Christian who was martyred. Her house became an early church, and the church now standing dates from the 13^th century. The beautiful interior was made even more special by a nun playing the organ (apparently St. Cecilia is the patron saint of music). Just as the tower bells were pealing (for what reason, we don’t know), we had to cut our tour short to make our 7:30 dinner reservation at a restaurant in another part of the Trastevere.

Allan and I became separated from Michael and Shaun, and it took some texting (of the restaurant name and address) and data roaming (grrr!) to find the address on the iPhone Maps app and walk there. The walk, however, was great; we passed many busy cafés filled with throngs of college students. This is a very lively neighborhood, and we need to visit it again when we have more time. (We never did finish the Rick Steves’ walking tour).

The restaurant we ended up at was called Romolo Ristorante Nel Giardino di Raffaello e della Fornarina (whew!). Somehow we got there before the other guys. We ended up at a table in the outdoor patio, which was fairly pleasant that night. Americans seemed to occupy a half-dozen other tables and there was an attractive blonde man eating alone at the next table – not American based on his accent or his Rome guidebook title (Rom). But otherwise the restaurant was dead. So it was surprising that the level of service was so haphazard. There was quite a lack of communication between the waiters, and sometimes I felt our table was being ignored. After the previous night’s warm and snappy service, this was a letdown.

I found out that a restaurant had been in that location for hundreds of years - an interesting historical tidbit. The dinner was okay, but the haphazard service only detracted from the experience. By the time we able to finally get out of there, it was after 9:30. After all of the day’s walking, a taxi home seemed in order.

When we arrived outside the apartment, some local friends of Michael and Shaun’s were waiting for them. We all went upstairs, but then Allan and I retreated to our room in order to pack. I had a terrible night’s sleep, which was unusual on this trip.