Missing Day (3) from Rome

Rome was so flat out - in the sense of full days - that I did not get around to adding our Day 3 roamings and Deb's big surprise (actually, I had drafted one, but the Hotel internet let me down ... that's my excuse anyway). So here it is, belated, but hopefully offering some sense of the day.


The eternal flame & guards
 (& toursists)


We set out to take a closer look at, and climb the steps of the war memorial which we got back to after closing time the day before. And today was a bit tight for time because we needed to be back at the Hotel for Deb's surprise before dark. The picture the day before, shows the size of the memorial and people offer some sense of scale. At the rear of the monument there is a glass lift to take you to the very top ... for a fee, of courrse, but it was worth it. The next three photos show you two views (I was able to get some excellent panoramas from this vantage) as well as a shot from the next evening ... proved to be an excellent reference point for our explorations.



Vittorio Emanuele II at night



Looking down via Del Corso



Looking over ancient Rome



 We spent the remainder of our shorter day wandering Trastevere on the other side of the (Tevere) River that flows through Rome. This is largely a residential district with lots of monastries, convents and churches. The stand out was Chiera Santa Maria in Trastevere. The following image offers a mere glimpse of the magnificant mosaics that for all the world look like paintings (which we were to see much more of throughout the Vatican and many other Chieras). Strange as it might seem, many of these Chieras offered a far deeper sense of reverence than St. Peters and even the Sistine Chapel ... we have spent some time talking about this.

As you see, by comparison to the shots from our day at the Vatican, Santa Maria is far more like a place of prayer, devotion and quiet reflection. St. Peters and the Sistine Chapel seem far more like any museum/gallery (for example, the Louvre or the British Museum) with hordes of people moving through gawking and trying to fit in as much as possible. The sense of Christ's frustration when throwing out the money-lenders is rather palpable and it is hard not to feel the Church is behaving rather like what they accused Mary Magdelene of ...

Of course, nothing takes away from the grandeur of the Vatican sites, but reverence and devotion were not senses that arose at all. Our discussions generally concluded that this was unexpected. Let's hope that a good proportion of the revenue generated finds its way to the needy around the world. And so ends a short sermon from St Stephen ;-).



Ponte Sisto
(with Ponte Mazzini in the distance)

 It was quite a warm afternoon as well and so it was really nice to be able to get right down by the Tevere and catch the cooling breeze off the water while walking in the shade of the walls. Before we dawdled along the river, there were lots of quaint and delightful streetscapes around the residential Vias. Alas, we were out of time, and need to head back to catch our trusty shuttle to await Deb's surprise.

When we arrived back at the Hotel, we decided to have afternoon tea since time had expired in the city. So the final two shots below show that relaxation being enjoyed so the feet had a chance to recover. And then, the arrival of Deb's surprise as we came down for dinner ... and for that extra element Kylie must be thanked because she "hid" her little sister away until the last possible moment :-) and you can plainly see that the element of surprise worked a treat ... Deb had no idea Belinda was joining us in Rome and was not expecting to see her until Monday next week in Montone (tomorrow as I write this!). Needless to say, dinner was a lively catch-up.