Roma - Day 2

Sept. 30: We had a slower start today and spent some time after our pastry rich breakfast booking tickets for the Vatican Museum and planning our day’s sightseeing. The hotel staff are very accommodating, making phone calls and giving advice. We had hoped to visit the Borghese Gallery but there are no openings this week. Ah, another reason to come back to Rome!
The Roma Pass includes travel on public transportation, so we hopped on the Metro to the Piazza del Popolo which is dominated by the tall Egyptian obelisk dedicated to Ramses II. From here we climbed up the hill for a view of the piazza from the Pincio. We wandered without any real destination, through the park which is part of the Borghese Gardens, until we found ourselves at the church at the top of the Spanish Steps. It was baking hot in the sun, so we didn’t linger but continued to wander until we found the Trevi Fountain. It was thronged with tourists; throwing their coins into the fountain and enjoying the relative cool of splashing water. Of course, we dutifully tossed coins into the fountain so that we would return to Rome one day. The sculpture of the fountain is luscious with gorgeous flowing marble. I noticed something about bird traffic. Only one pigeon landed and stayed at the fountain. Others swooped by and then took off without landing. This seems to be the same at all the major sites in Rome. Is there some pigeon deterring device that is installed? If so, would it work for geese on the beaches in Toronto?
Toursist-ing is punctuated by the need to find good places to munch and people watch. So, next stop was a restaurant under a colonnade where pigeons behaved more like the pesky creatures they usually are, and made quick forays to the empty tables where plates had not been cleared. The wait staff had to hustle to keep the tables clean and the birds at bay.
The afternoon’s adventure started with ride on Bus # 64 on Via Nazionale to the Mercati de Traiano and Fora. The Roma Pass got us free entrance and we found it practically deserted. This remarkable site includes well preserved remains of buildings that housed stores, markets and offices as well as the ruins of for a built by three different Roman emperors. The famous Trajan Column looms over it all. Some of the rooms had well displayed artifacts, with excellent annotations. A short film explained the layout and changes over the centuries. Well worth the visit.
Getting back onto the bus, we found it was crowded to the point of invasion of personal privacy. Italians apparently think nothing of cozying right up to the person next to them on the bus; with some suggestive moves thrown in for good measure. At least that was my experience. It was hard to see where the bus was going so we opted to get off and find our way by foot to the river and the Synagogue. This was the place where we had arranged to meet my good friend Marina’s cousin, Paola. We had a brief meeting, but sadly Paola had to get back to her mother’s bedside in the hospital on Tiburna Island. This was very disappointing for all of us, but we planned to meet the following day, with her husband, for dinner.
I think we were starting to get a little blasé as we walked by temples, ruins, artefacts, random bits of marble…. So we were somewhat nonchalant as we strolled casually with the Palatine Hill on our left and the huge expanse of the Circus Maximus, where chariot races used to take place, on our right.
For dinner we decided to try Gusto’s a restaurant recommended by a friend in Toronto. We found Gusto’s with the help of Peter’s I-phone and an unexpected free WiFi access. The food was good, the service excellent and wine superb – Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (Reserva) 2003.