Sunday, Monday, Tuesday – 19-21 October 2014
Sunday
Leaving on this trip is complicated by a text message that a
Lufthansa pilot strike has cancelled my flight from München to Roma. Grief and disbelief followed. I rushed from the choir concert at Saint
Mark’s (which I regretted having to leave) in order to drop by the airport and
make other arrangements. Lufthansa is
not there, so I go home, grab my bag, and Arthur takes me back. Long and short: I am rerouted on United to
London and then on Alitalia from Heathrow to Rome. At Heathrow I have to get a boarding pass
from Alitalia, which proves to be a minor problem (such disorganization) and
has to be produced manually – but I am given a Business Class Seat.
Monday
I arrive at 8:05, Passport control is easy, no visa stamp,
however. My baggage, which is marked
“Priority”, is the last piece out! My
driver is there, and getting to the apartment is a bit of an ordeal. It sits a good three flights of stairs up
from the street, but is lovely. Bonnie
and Wendy are already here, so we walk over to Navona for a bit, and have
dinner at a place Louis and I enjoyed a couple of years ago. Now we are all tired, so it’s back to the
apartment, and I crash.
Tuesday
Breakfast at Navona, and the plaza is crowded – there’s no off-season
here. Bonnie and Wendy have Spaghetti
Carbonara pizzas (who knew) and I have bruschetta pomodoro along with carciofi
giudia. Delicious! We walk to the Pantheon coming at it from the
far side of the piazza. It is always
overwhelming, and Wendy is beside herself with excitement. She and Bonnie take photos while I stand in
place and just absorb – it think it is the most wonderful sight and place in
Rome. We walk the perimeter to see the
brick construction and how the building was once a part of a much larger
complex of buildings, some of which is preserved at the rear. Wendy is gracious as I mention my mounting
misanthropy – “At least there here, looking at it, taking it in.” – a good
comment.
We go by Barbiconi, a wonderful vestment shop, but I don’t
go in. Perhaps later I’ll see if there
is anything that “I need”. My intent is
to take them to Campo di Fiori, but we get lost in the Jewish Quarter, and make
our way over to the Capital, and then an overlook of the Forum right by the
Arch of Septimus Servus.
Wendy is amazed at the extent of the ruins, and wants to go
down right away. I convince here that we
will need a whole day, so we will go on Wednesday. We walk along the edge, giving them both a
taste of what is to come. There is a
huge excavation at the base of the Basilica of Maxentius where they are
building Linea C of the Rome Metro. The Colosseum
looms beyond and both are anxious to visit there. We are there in the evening and the light is
just magic. We talk about architectural
details and the various stages of development of the arena.
We take time for a quick antipasto and drink across the
street, first looking at the remains of the gladiatorial school. Then it’s back up to the Trajan Forum, whose column
is bathed in blue light and up the Trevi Fountain (which is being restored and
not magic at all). The Spanish Steps are
disappointing as well with Trinita dei Monti all covered up for its
restoration. We go to Otello della
Concordia for dinner (zucchini fritti with anchovies – really good, and Wendy
and I have osso bucco with rice, and Bonnie a spaghetti dish). Lots of memories here.
We walk down the street and end up by the Tomb of Augustus
with its marvelous Mussolini buildings on the northern and eastern edges of the
site. I show them the Richard Meyer
building with the Ara Pacis, and hope we can come back. We walk back to Navona for tartufi at Tre Scaline. Wonderful
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment