Rome: Day 2

 

Rome Day 2

Weather: Continues delightful!

Department of hexes, cont'd: The poor transfer of pics from  the I-phone to the travel PC reared its ugly head again. Some pics get xfer'd and cannot be opened or deleted. Arghhhhhhhhh...THB will try and sort the pics into chronological orders.

Today DB and THB  take a city tour that (amazingly) started a few steps from MEH and then swept through the street in front of our MEH. We have a very small group: Emily the guide (mid-40's, has a PHD in Art History; Jen and Tim, mid 60s, have been married for two years and live on an island off the coast of Georgia near the border with Florida. All very pleasant, pertinent questions (not to many) and a cheerful, upbeat demeanor. 

Emily the guide with the latest technology: I-pad and good, lightweight headsets

Obelisk in the middle of Plaza of the People (xlated)

Xfer'd from Egypt, a one-time part of the Roman empire

lion spitting water at the base of the obelisk (note: part of the works around the plaza are undergoing spiffing up because next year is a 25 year celebration of the Roman Catholic church and 35+ million visitors are expected to visit Rome, that doesn't seem remarkable given that if feels like 25 million are here this week)

THB did not photoshop these churches: they were built a long time ago (not quite at the same time) so that road could run between them and on through Rome. How many churches are in Rome? Enough that maybe one at this plaza might have been just enough....

our group of 5 move around the corner and are now out front of MEH...we invite them in, we're on a schedule that doesn't allow for random acts of kindness

Who knew: right down the street live Pablo Picasso and Fellini

Jen, Tim and building

Remember the post from yesterday, YES you do. Had a guy covered in what looked hair leaning on his elbow and somebody had shaved his skull so well his head looked like white marble. THAT GUY! Well, he was in front of a famous guy's studio. That's Jen an Tim looking at the price tags

the famous guy's studio is also now a coffee spot

Part of the reason this stretch of Rome is so jammed: they are letting jailbirds have time off for good behavior

another famous guy had his studio nearby...those are samples of his work in the pics above

no idea

another "gift" from Egypt

Emily is respectful that we need to refuel so she has built a stop at the second oldest tea room in Rome: She treats for the thimbleful of coffee with a hint of steamed milk on top, THB pays $11 for the pastries. Not bad!

As Yogi said: nobody goes there anymore it's too crowded. You pay more to sit down for table service so most everybody (i.e., Romans and a few unlucky tourists like THB and DB) eats and drinks standing up. Most people we see in town are NOT Romans, and this seating area is empty. 

another "gift"?

Next stop: a very upscale shopping mall. Maybe the Talking Heads are the headiners doing two of their greatest hits: Take Me To The River and Once in a Lifetime (water flowing underground)

Emily takes us through the store, big-time specialty brands (like the duty-free track in an airport) and we take seats a very long table...nobody around. Is that my beautiful wife?

No, it is a small window set into a very large wall with a small hole in the center. At least we get to sit down!! Below the "window" is an antique aqueduct...

THB is watching carefully now..Emily has her hands in plain sight, and movie magic makes things come alive!!

goes on for quite a while

no idea who the guy below is...Jerry Harrison? Eventually the show comes to an end...very impressive. Of course, these are ancient ruins that the city made the mall developers save for posterity. Nobody told them they had to advertise the souped up version!

the end: a basketball backboard 

Yes, dear followers, it is that time again: THB visits the restroom; for some of you, someone watching while you piss in a urinal might be the defining moment when traveling...please self-identify if you  find this "kinky" ... does it help is someone is taking a picture of the guy watching  while you are practicing what might be called a "private" moment (see DJT having just such a moment in a Moscow hotel room bed)

maybe THB missed it, is this an indication of a trash bine? Steph making another 3? Gelato in a cone instead of a cup?

view from the mall cafe...quite nice...Emily did not schedule in a stop here

more shots from around town

Pretty much the tour has ended except the pics may not be in order because we made several more stops

THB got the same grade in his music class

more of the tour: it's a long story, something about a bad review from a local barbershop pissing off (oops!!) the sculptor

not part of the tour: there's a Botero show coming to town

Fendi commissioned this work by Penone, then gave it to the city. The crowds have not come to town to see this well known artist

These rails protect the Jewish center of town from large mobs attacking the area en masse. 

The Roman Catholic church had a better idea: they put up churches at the main entrances to the ghetto in an attempt to gain converts

The synagogue around the corner, rebuilt in 1904, and escaped being damaged in WWII(?)

Lunch at Trattoria Sora Lella

Two shared starters (cold eggplant parmigiana and panzanella), pasta and sweetbreads with mashed potatoes (THB), one glass of white wine (DB) and local bottle of beer (THB), $145...excellent. (note: we dine inside as our outdoor table is next to an accordionist who has a dog barking along in time with the Mexican songs!)

The Miracle to Come

Back to the tour for a moment. This is something THB has never seen before. People throw their phones into a circle and then bow and pray over them, then reach under the rope and pull their phone back. Their prayers are answered!!! No the did not  win the lottery, they forgot to buy a ticket. 

There pictures are now on the phone...and their phone works again.

In Rome do as the Romans do?

Maybe it only works when they cut a hole in the ceiling??? From your lips to God's ears?

Back to MEH at 3pm, exhausted. Dinner on the deck, leftovers, small portions, lovely