Arrivederci Roma

Oct 2: Time to end our Italian adventure. Not much time for more site seeing, so we took one last walk around our neighbourhood – down quiet Via Firenze, past the guard outside the Ministry of Defense across from the hotel, past the motorcycle/scooter parking that Peter checked out every day, past the local Gelataria which was good for a late night snack and the Pizzeria which looked good, but where we never ate, past the McDonalds which we ignored except to use it as a landmark – to the busy, bustling Via Nazionale. Strolling along aimlessly we came across a fascinating church the Chiesa San Vitale, which looked very old judging from its façade and the fact that it was significantly lower than the modern street level. Later we found out that it was built in the 4th Century with renovations up to the 16th Century. The antiquity and excellent condition boggles the mind. It was beautiful and dim; a nice respite from the pace of modern Rome, a veritable sanctuary.
As one last church visit, we stopped into the Chiesa Santa Maria Maggiore. In contrast to the previous church, this is very grand. There has been a church on the site since 350, but the current church was completed in the 18th century. It is filled with beautiful mosaics, marble, gilding and all the other displays of richness that Catholic churches excel in. There was a service taking place, so we stayed at the back and just admired what we could from a distance.
Going through frantic Termini Station once again, the express train got us very efficiently to the airport and there the efficiency ended. The next part of line-ups and security were beyond the usual airport tedium. Best not to dwell on that.
Arrivederci Bella Italia. It has been wonderful.