A Day in Rome

Hotel Santa Prisca

Yesterday we arrived safely in Rome after a rather boring flight from Seattle via Amsterdam. The most interesting part was that the plane we flew (NW/Delta) had individual viewing screens with on-demand movies. The lesson learned was do not start watching a movie too close to the end of the flight. They came and took the headphones away with five minutes left to go at the end of Slumdog Millionaire. Not reading lips well, I was left to guess at the dialogue but was able to get the gist of the ending.

Once here in Rome we made our way to Hotel Santa Prisca. It is a modest hotel located in the Testaccio district. We like it for a number of reasons not least because the area is less touristy than the Centro Storico. It is always very clean. The breakfast is good. It is close to Piramide Metro station and Roma Ostiense rail station. We have stayed here five or six times so we also know how to catch the bus to wherever we want to go in Rome.

Market stalls at Testaccio

After lugging our voluminous baggage (mostly “stuff” and few clothes!) to the hotel we took a nap from about 3:30 to 7:30. Then we went and had pizza for dinner. This morning we were awake early and were down for breakfast at 7 am. After that we wandered around the Testaccio daily market for a while. Yesterday’s rain had given way to blue skies and the sunshine promised a warm afternoon. Everything was freshly washed and sparkling in the early morning light. The market vendors were still setting up but it was fun to see their beautiful displays of vegetables, fruit, fish and meat. Meandering through the market always makes me long for a kitchen so I can prepare some of the interesting items on display. There were lovely looking zucchini with the flowers still attached, multiples sorts of tomatoes and a mixture of bite size pieces of sausage and meats marinating in oil and spices.

From there we went to the train station and bought our tickets for tomorrow’s trip to Pisa. We have not made a rail journey for some time so we are looking forward to the three hour trip.

Parking is limited in Rome so you see LOTS of tiny cars. Smart cars rule!

From one of the expat-in-Italy blogs that I follow we learned there is a temporary exhibit of early Renaissance paintings by Fra Angelico at the Capitoline Museums. These museums are the two buildings that bracket the famous Campidoglio piazza behind the Vittoriano monument at Piazza Venezia. The bus ride was about ten minutes but it was a great mini tour as it passed by the Colosseum and Foro Romano before we reached our destination.

Fontan di Trevi - note the guy in boots walking across the fountain. Almost no one was there at 9 in the morning.

It was still early so we walked a few blocks away to the Trevi Fountain. There were very few people there and the fountain was not running when we arrived. However, within a minute or two the water started flowing (Dom thinks they might have had to prime the system as a worker was doing something with a hose) and the piazza began to fill with tourists. One of the funny things we saw was a husband and wife taking pictures of each other tossing coins over there shoulders into the water. Unfortunately the wife looked like her coin was sure to bean someone on the head. It did not but also fell short of the fountain. She seemed oblivious to all this but Dom and I, as well as the Italians standing nearby, found it hilarious.

The roofs of Rome - multiples layers of history visible in the picture on right.

Dom and the giant foot of Rome + the original Marcus Aurelius statue

We made our way to the Capitoline Museums and went in. Neither of us had ever visited them before and we discovered some interesting things. The Fra Angelico exhibit was very well done. They had gathered works of his from museums all over the world and the display and commentary were all superb. On the top floor of the museum is a panoramic terrace where one can see all across the roofs of Rome. It was worth the price of admission just to go up there. The bulk of the museums are devoted to ancient Roman art—mostly statues. The most important item in the collection is the original equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. A copy is now the centerpiece of the Campidoglio (designed by Michelangelo) and the original is well displayed in a huge atrium style room.

A lovely little building in Trastevere I liked.

We finished up at the museums about 1 pm and then found a restaurant for a rather mediocre lunch. Afterwards we walked across the bridge to the Trastevere area. Meandering through there it took us about a half hour to walk back to our hotel. By 3 pm we were back in our room ready for our afternoon nap. At 7:30 pm the alarm went off, waking us for dinner. The evening air was still balmy when we left the hotel about 8:30. A nearby restaurant provided our best meal yet followed by a little cup of gelato for me.

It has really been a wonderful first day back in Italy. Strangely, once we arrive here my Italian language skills always seem to come to the forefront of my brain. Each trip it gets easier and easier.

Tomorrow we are off to Partigliano. I can hardly wait to get there!