Day 5 - Tues, Apr 23 - Start of Tour

Not an auspicious beginning to the day - the same dog as yesterday was howling, but this time at 8:00 a.m. We were not impressed. Doug went to the front desk and complained. The agent was indifferent, justifying the canine's behaviour because the family had left the dog alone while they were at breakfast. We happened to run into the offending family at the elevators on our floor on our way back from breakfast. Doug chided the humans for their bad behaviour. More indifference. They were checking out, so hopefully, that's the end of that annoyance.

It's an overcast, cool day here. I read the Globe and Mail on line and then watched Netflix. Doug had a post-breakfast nap. Tough life. The sun finally came out so we headed out for a walk along the barbed-wire fence road which is less scary in sunlight. We found that we are across the road from the European University of Rome which offers legally recognized degrees in Economics, Law, Psychology, Science of Primary Education and Tourism. We walked for about 20 minutes along the road, past several 6-storey apartment buildings. We didn't see one store or café or convenience. People living here must choose to do so for the affordable rents, because it sure isn't because of the availability of services. We also passed the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina, Apostolorum which educates priests and seminarians, religious, and lay people from all over the world. On 11 July 1998, Pope John Paul II gave permission for the institution to style itself as a Pontifical University. They even offer a course on exorcism!

We had picnic lunch in our room which by the time we got back was very warm. (The room has been too warm during the nights too.) The AC doesn't get turned on in the hotel until May so we had to get a maintenance person come in and unlock the huge window in the room so we could get some cross ventilation. We sitting tight now until our 3:00 p.m. rendezvous with Simoni from Great Tours of Italy. Blessedly, all threat of rain had disappeared and the sun was shining brightly.

And right on schedule, Simone met the eight members of the tour in the lobby - there are four people from California (Karen, Dave, Marge and Carol) and two from Michigan (Deb and Tony), plus ourselves. After we introduced ourselves and got details out of the way, we piled into the 9-passenger Mercedes Sprinter van. (That detail was supplied by Doug - I only knew it was a van.) We headed into the city. Our first stop was a little known spot called Piazzale Garibaldi which is dominated by an equestrian monument dedicated to Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian general and nationalist (1807-1882). From here, we were treated to glorious panoramic views of the city.

From there, Simone drove us into the old city where disembarked by the Court House. Access for big buses is very limited in the old city - our little bus is going to give us much better access. We met up with the man who had headsets for us and then we rendezvoused with Monica, our local guide. The guide Simoni usually uses broke his ankle two days ago.

Off we went with Monica in the lead - she may be short, but she is NOT short on humour, or knowledge or history! Our first stop was the Piazza Navona where Doug and I had been the previous two days. What a difference having a tour guide makes!

This square used to be an arena for athletic events (rather like an Olympic stadium). Imagine 30,000 people cheering on chiseled Roman hunks. Must have been quite a sight. The church facing the square is the Church of St. Agnes who suffered martyrdom at this spot at the age of 12 or 13 during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, on 21 January 304. She was sentenced to death for following Christianity. She was bound to a stake, but the bundle of wood would not burn, or the flames parted away from her, whereupon the officer in charge of the troops drew his sword and beheaded her, or, in some other texts, stabbed her in the throat.

From there, we headed to the Pantheon. It used to be a Roman temple, but is now a Catholic church dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs. The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43 metres (142 ft). (Thank you Wikipedia.) The top is open, so when it rains, water comes into the building, but the floor is sloped in the centre and water drains into an underground water tank. Romans know how to handle water. The building holds the tomb of Victor Emanuel whose huge monument we saw yesterday, the tomb of Queen Margharita (yes, after whom Margharita pizza is named), and Raphael, the painter (not the Ninja Turtle). On Pentecost Sunday, firefighters climb to the top of the dome and release thousands of red rose petals to symbolize the coming of the tongues of fire upon the Apostles on the first Pentecost. Monica has been at that ceremony and showed us her incredible photos.

We made our way through the maze of narrow streets and alleys passing many street vendors and performers. The crowds were heavier today - we saw hundreds (thousands?) of young students on tours. We came out eventually at the Trevi Fountain where we, as I promised yesterday, tossed our coins for good luck. So far, so good!

More maze walking until we came out near the Spanish Steps. We stopped at the statue commemorating the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Flowers are placed at the very top (via firefighters again) on December 8 each year to commemorate the feast day.

The Spanish Steps were thronged, just as they had been on Sunday. This area is the high couture section of Rome. Many of the little shops in the area used to house photography studios who encouraged every family to have at least one nice family portrait done. Smart entrepreneurs latched onto the idea of renting out lovely, fashionable clothing for families who had only workday clothes. The photography studios eventually closed down, but the emphasis on fashion in the area stayed.

Monica artfully guided us to our meeting with Simone who led us to a lively restaurant where we refuelled after all the walking we had done. We took the opportunity to get to know some of our fellow travellers better.

Simone took us on a short drive around the city to see how some of the buildings are lit up at night. Most spectacular was St. Peter's Basilica.

We have an 8:15 departure time tomorrow so we can meet Monica at 9:00 a.m. at the Colosseum. Time to add some pictures to this posting and get some sleep. We have a very full day tomorrow. We will be in excellent hands!

Today's observations:
1. Public trash containers are clear plastic bags suspended from a metal ring. Why so? To discourage planting of incendiary devices.
2. The Canadian obsession with takeout coffee has not spread to Italy.Read more