Wednesday, I told her we’d shop all she wanted. The travel books didn’t have a lot of information about shopping, but they did mention a market in Trastevere, so we headed for it. After we got there, we found that they’re only open on Sundays. We talked to a couple of women in the area, and they weren’t aware of any big outdoor markets or anything. Rome doesn’t seem to be the place to find great deals.
We ended up going up and down Via Nazionale. There’s a lot of typical shops there, the stuff you’d find in strip malls in the States.
We took a break from shopping to see the Mamertine Prison and the Chisea de Santa Maria. We lunched at a little cafe near the Vatican - the service was great, and we sat outside next to a friendly couple from Holland. We talked and talked, even about politics. They’d rooted for Al Gore in the election, and clearly disliked Dubya. I wasn’t able to convert them to the dark side.
After lunch, we still had to buy a couple of gifts for people we’d forgotten, so we made trip #4 to the Vatican gift shop. The nun behind the counter was the same one we’d seen before on each trip, and she actually smiled at us in recognition, giving us preferential treatment. (I joked around that if we bought any more stuff, we needed to get jobs there for an employee discount.)
We left the Vatican and ran across a gorgeous chess set in one of the streetside shops, with medieval pieces and a leather-covered board. It was $70, and I felt too guilty about it to buy it. I wanted it, don’t get me wrong, but spending that kind of money bothers me. (For some reason, that impulse never kicks in when electronic gear is involved.) We left, and started to head home.
My girlfriend stopped to make a big ATM withdrawal, and I nagged her about it, saying, “Look, I don’t want you carrying around all that currency in the streets. Made the withdrawal closer to home, so I’ll feel better.” But nooooo, she had to get it out right there. Five minutes later, I realized why - she walked us back to the shop and bought me the chess set. She’s so adorable.
Thursday, we spent most of the day on the buses. We rode down to the catacombs and had a friendly tour courtesy of Father Richard, a British priest. That place was definitely haunting, but we didn’t get to see much. On the other hand, once you’ve seen one hallway, you’ve pretty much seen them all. In case you’re wondering, the restoration crew has ripped out all of the tombs.
Next up on the agenda: the Abbey of the Three Fountains, where Trappist monks make their own liquor, chocolate, soaps, and more. We picked up a lot of goodies for the folks back home, including the eucalyptus drops we sucked on while relaxing outside under the trees.
After dropping off our loot, we went back to the Trevi Fountain to do some pizza-eating and people-watching. Some jerk kid threw a plastic cup into the fountain as we watched. If he’d have spoken or understood English, I’d have given him a piece of my mind. That sort of thing makes me sick: there was a lot of trash in and around the fountain.
I’m glad the first time I saw Trevi, it was early in the day, before all the trash. This time of the day, it looked like hell. Looking at that stuff, I can see why anyone would hate tourists. It was heartbreaking to see such beautiful statues surrounded by thrown-away McDonald’s wrappers and Pepsi cups.
