Strolling Rome 2004

[8 March 2004]

After breakfast at the hotel Monday morning we set out on a stroll through the city. No set objective today just walking, taking in the sights and enjoying being in Rome. And since most museums etc are closed on Monday this turns into to a day of walking and looking which is fine for us. We do make a point of walking across a swollen Tiber River over to Hadrian's Tomb. Otherwise it's just out for a stroll.

ancient Roman train circling Hadrian's Tomb

St. Catherine keeping watch near Hadrian's Tomb

Leaving Hadrian's tomb we walked past St. Catherine keeping watch over the decadent Romans and ended up strolling through the Forum and onto the Piazza Venezia, the central hub of Rome. 

When we returned to our hotel midday for an afternoon siesta there was a note informing us that the Vatican called and we have a reservation to see the necropolis beneath St. Peter's, Tuesday at 9:30am! A couple weeks before we left for Italy I had sent a note off to the Vatican Scavi Office asking for a reservation for 9 March but never heard back and assumed we were lost down a bureaucratic hole. So this note came as a pleasant surprise for us since there are very few of these tours available and it is exciting to be able to see what was once a Roman (pagan) necropolis excavated along with the road which originally separated the various mausoleums, all directly beneath St. Peter’s. The highpoint of course will come at the end of the tour when we actually get to see the tomb of St. Peter as well the remnants of the very first structures built directly over the tomb.

 The hostess of our hotel, who is also the owner, suggests a restaurant called Nino, which is just around the corner from the Spanish Steps and we get a reservation for 8:30 pm.

 This evening turns out to be the singular unpleasant dining experience of our trip. The food itself is good – I had beef grilled just right and Susan had veal - not great but really quite good. We had a Poliziano “Asinone” Vino di Nobile from Montepulciano (2000), which was also delicious.

No, the unpleasantness came from a couple of other quarters in this case. First, the staff was indifferent and minimally attentive, not just to us but to everyone. 

Second, the restaurant allowed smoking (but not of cigars) and it seemed as if every smoker in Rome was there that evening. 

And last, at a table next to ours were four young American girls who were joined shortly afterwards by the father of one of the girls, a man who, at least from the conversation which we had no choice but to hear, traveled a great deal and was in Rome for work. At one point, after they had ordered some wine for dinner and the waiter left the father said to the girls at the table how nice it was that the waiters here spoke English. He traveled so much and so few people spoke English it really was frustrating. We thought maybe he should try learning the language. God knows he would expect nothing less from someone visiting his country.