It felt good to be free of the tour group. We were able to wake up late and finally get our postcards written and sent off....
Our plans for the day were to simply walk around and take in the city (literally, by eating). Our first stop was a coffee shop for some espresso and pastries. By now we've really got the Italian pricing system down. Many places have three prices for the same cup of coffee: the cheapest price if drinking coffee while standing at the bar, a bit more expensive to sit indoors, and the most expensive for sitting in the outdoor patio.At the place pictured below, we got 2 cappuccinos, 1 croissant, and 1 bottle of water for 4 Euros total. Earlier on our trip, we paid 4 Euros for a can of soda and 3.50 Euros for a cappuccino while sitting indoors at a similar coffee shop.....
It was a Sunday, so we decided to visit the St. Peter's Square and get blessed by the Pope. I'm not Catholic, but as they say..."when in Rome, do as the Romans". I'm borrowing this aerial picture from wikipedia...
Brooke is in front of the building from which the Pope is to appear at noon. He will usually bless the crowd from the top-floor window, second from the right.....
We wait, and then we wait some more. Finally, the large tv screens turn on and they show the Pope giving mass in some Latin American country.....
As we're disappointingly walking away from St. Peter's Square, we see a Peruvian religious procession heading the opposite direction. I still not sure what happened, but I'm guessing the Vatican and Peru were doing some priest exchange program....
We continued walking toward the Tiber river, past Castel Sant'Angelo....
Tree-lined walkway along the Tiber.....
To paraphrase Anthony Bourdain from a recent episode of No Reservations:Venice..."In France, the chef is the star. In Italy, it's all about the ingredients".
This phrase really explains the caprese salad we had for lunch in Piazza Navona. I realize caprese salads are inherently simple (tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil), but when this dish arrived, both Brooke and I were still shocked by it's bold simplicity. It looked even more plain prior to Brooke added the oil and balsamic.... Campo de' Fiori....
Largo di Torre Argentina, the former site of Roman temples, is now a haven for stray cats. Brooke and I could count at least 20 napping cats immediately upon arriving...
I liked the little, colorful buses in Rome....
Vittorio Emanuele Monument - a monument to the first king of Italy. I'm told that most Italians see this place as an eyesore, being obnoxiously large and glaringly white.
That evening we had a nice dinner with two other couples from the tour. The next morning (at 4 am) we took a 40 Euro taxi ride to the airport. I don't think we've ever traveled faster by car. The driver averaged around 95 mph for the 15 mile journey.Unlike at American airports, you could get decent food for a reasonable price. At this coffee shop in FCO airport, we got 2 cappuccinos, 1 pastry, and a bottle of water for under 5 Euros....
Our final moments in the Rome airport.....At this point, we were definitely ready to head home. But after reliving our trip through these posts, it makes us ache to get on the road again.
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