We have today and tomorrow to wrap up our sightseeing in Rome. There were a few things we needed to tick off the list. There are 2 more holy doors to go through and we have yet to go to the Jewish “Ghetto”. Monday we have a food tour in Trastavere. Then Tuesday we are off to Bari for 3ish weeks.
We hopped on a bus after a cappucino in our neighborhood; we skipped the cornettos. Two cappucinos are 3 euro. We stood at the counter to drink them.
Public restrooms are very difficult to find in Rome. There must be a powerful food lobby. Nope, you can’t erect public toilets, people must be forced to buy a drink to use the restroom. This ensures that they will need to use the restroom again soon and then will be forced to buy another drink. It goes on and on my friend. We needed to use the restroom before we got to the Trevi Fountain, so we stopped at McDonalds. I heard they have a good cappucino. Yes, sir, they do and they serve it in a real cup! And for 1 euro you get a cup of good coffee and the code to the restroom. There are quite a few McDonalds in Rome, so this is a game-changer! Also, if you really don’t want to buy anything, you can pay 1 euro to use the bathroom. Since we skipped the cornettos earlier, we had one now. Simply meh. Now *that* is the McDonalds we are familiar with.
We arrived at Trevi Fountain and the crowds were already ramping up. We enjoyed a little visit and then headed to San Giovanni Laterna. This is the official papal church. Which I find surprising. You would assume it would be St. Peter’s Basilica which is the largest church in the world. We went through the Santa Porta (holy door), drank in the beauty of the church and headed back out. The sun is peeking out finally and the rest of the day is beautiful and sunny.
After we explored Saint Paul Outside the Walls and checked the fourth Holy Door off our list, we headed to the Jewish District for lunch.
All things ticked off our list. Now what? We decided to go the the Piazza del Popolo after which we walked down the via del Corso (the posh shopping district). We headed home to watch the sunset and have dinner.
We decided to watch the sunset along with half of Rome from Gianicolo Hill at the Garibaldi Monument. While it is not considered one of the 7 hills of Rome, it is the second largest. We were going to take the bus, but there was some sort of issue and it was projected to be later and later, so finally we decided to walk. It was literally a 10-minute walk from the bus stop. Hee Haw. Probably 20 minutes from our VRBO. Ridiculous to even consider taking the bus!
These are my least favorite things about Rome:
- 1) Everyone smokes and it is impossible to escape the secondhand smoke which is frankly, just awful
- 2) There is SO MUCH grafitti – it is heartbreaking
- 3) Crossing the street is dangerous! You are not guaranteed they will stop for you in a crosswalk.
Other than that, we really have enjoyed Rome. We threw a coin in the Trevi Fountain to ensure our return.
Tomorrow we are going to pack, and take a food tour.
parleremo presto.