A Taste of Rome

Right / lower left / the family makes it to Rome

There should be no rivalry between sisters who love each other. Still, Wyona’s venture to the Russian Market on her own was in my mind when I started to buckle over doing an afternoon in Rome on my own. “What is the worst thing that could happen to me?”, I thought.

Number one on that list was that I could get lost and miss the boat home.

What is there to fear in that, I coached myself – catch up with it at another port. I also considered the idea that in the next 20 years I am going to drop dead at some point, but I am careful now to carry a photocopy of my passport, so I won’t be an unidentified body.

Finding no other fear, I struck out on my own – to find the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steppes, Navarone Plaza, the ancient Tiber River, a stroll past Vatican city ... all within walking distance from St. Paul’s Cathedral.

so much to photograph ... so little time

I forget to fear the obvious – how to get a five Euro bill into the ticket machine so that I can get on the subway, for example.

When the line up behind me is long enough, I turn to the next patron and confess, “I need some help here. I have no idea which button to push so that this machine will spit out a ticket for me.”

Luckily someone who speaks English steps up to help me.

Mary and I were in Rome on All Saint’s Day last year – the only time when the cathedral is closed to visitors because a religious service is in progress.

Pantheon -- yes, there is a hole in the middle of the ceiling!

The literature reminded me that 10,000 people can fit in the cathedral – so I walked around it, imaging how many times it has been filled and enjoying a sight I had missed the first time around.

Arta