Roma - day 2

Our first night sleeping here was quite an adventure.  We are staying in a wonderful hotel that is kind of a cross between a B&B and a hotel.  They gave us a lovely room at the front of the hotel.  Last night our air conditioning wasn't working for some reason.  When we returned to our room last night, the room was extremely hot and stuffy, so we had to sleep with the window open.  The temperature was great, but it meant that we heard all the going ons on the street below.  We went to bed late enough that it was not a problem falling asleep.  Neither of us slept soundly until the early hours of the morning.  Just before 8 I was jarred from a deep sleep when the garbage man dumped a trash can full of bottles into his truck.  Once I got my bearings and my heart had slowed down a bit, I looked over to find Mike sound asleep with his noise-canceling headphones on.  Smart man!  We love the noise of the street during the day when we're in our room, but here's hoping the air conditioner is working tonight so we can have the window closed!

Personal hygiene is probably our biggest adjustment of yet.  We've experienced small European bathrooms in the past.  This one is quite done very nicely, but it is uber small.  There is about 9" between the bidet and the toilet on one wall and another 9" between the toilet and the tub.  The sink is maybe 2' from the edge of the toilet and bidet.  The tub is maybe 5' in length, but maybe 24" across at the top, but inside it is maybe 18" across.  The bottom of the tub is rounded with no flat at all.  The shower head is in the center of the length-wise wall of the tub instead of at either end.  This makes it so that you are showering in the tiny 18-24" width of the tub.  On top of that, there is no shower curtain!  Trying to keep the rest of the bathroom as dry as you can while still using the water to shower is quite an adventure.  Without much help from the fan, the humidity is only making the tile that much wetter.  Makes getting ready in the mornings very eventful!  Makes additional trips to the facilities later in the day a bit of a hazard as the tiles don't dry real well.

The weather was a bit fierce the earlier part of the day, so that put the kabosh on sightseeing plans.   It let up a bit after seista, so we headed out to see some of the cathedrals around our hotel.  The first one we visited was Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri.  It is the site of the original baths of Diocletian.  Michelangelo converted the desserted baths to a cathedral in 1564.  It was the last architectural work he did.  Some of the walls of the ancient baths can still be seen in this shot of an atrium just outside the basilica.

The lighting was poor due to the weather.  The church only has minimal lights to save costs.  You can put in 0.20 Euro to turn additional lights on for one minute.  This picture of one of the chapels is difficult to see too much detail due to the poor lighting, but it gives a general idea.  The meridian line runs diagonal across the center of the building.  There is also a large display and statue of Galileo here.  One could easily get lost for hours in a single cathedral!

We stopped for our first gelato.  I had berry and pineapple and Mike had the berry and pistachio.  Delish!  I loved that it was just a bit more than a taste and not the huge American portions. 

We visited the a couple of other smaller cathedrals within the same block, hitting Santa Susanna, home of the American Catholic Church here in Rome just as they were beginning mass.  We decided to stay for mass, as it seemed fitting to attend mass in Rome.  Santa Susanna is a smaller cathedral, but equally as ornate and beautiful.  As I sat through services, I wondered how people focused on the service rather than everything around them.  There is so much on the ceilings and walls, it is hard to know where to focus.

Afterwards, it was still a little early for dinner.  We walked by the restaurant we were planning to eat dinner at and there was only one couple in the entire place, so we decided to take a walk.  We walked up to Piazza Barbarini where the Triton Fountain is.  The fountain is absolutely beautiful lit up at night.  What fun it was to be out walking on a Saturday night with everyone.

When we returned to the restaurant a little over an hour later, it was much busier, which reassured us our choice was a good.  Italians apparently eat an appetizer, then a first course (which is usually pasta), a second course (which is usually meat), then cheese or dessert and coffee.  The second course does not come with any sides and those are ordered seperate.  I'm not sure where they put all that food. Tonight we both wanted a salad and then an entry.  The salad is apparently a side dish and usually ordered with the second course.  We ordered it as an appetizer.  I wanted to try authentic Italian carbonara, which is a first course, and Mike ordered the eggplant, which was a second course (no meat, go figure).  Both were fantastic!  We decided to share a dessert.  I let Mike choose and he ordered apple pie and ice cream.  What came was nothing like an American apple pie.  It looked more like a flat-topped muffin baked that was baked in a custard dish.  When we asked more about it, we found out it is actually a cake, but once again the consistency was more like a muffin than a cake.  It was divine! 

Back at the hotel, we have been able to chat with each of our kids.  I love modern technology!  It is time to head back to our room to see if the air conditioner has decided to work tonight. A presto!