Thursday, June 08, 2006
Journal of Italy - Rome - Castel Sant' Angelo
Rome - May 18, 2006
After the Vatican, I realized I was famished and headed for the first cafe I saw,
"The Universal Bar" which was wrought for turistas. I ordered wine and a plate of spaghetti arrabiatta which is supposed to be highly seasoned, and I was disappointed at the blandness. The vino alla casa was a wonderful house chianti. I never had a bad glass of wine in Italy.
The Universal Bar
Then it was time to begin my walk again. I snapped pictures along the way.
Everything intrigued me, including this. Someone had a bad night?
You can't imagine the traffic in Rome. And the scooters may be more numerous than the zillion automobiles whizzing around. Case in point:
They have minivans and buses as well. I was particularly taken with the advertising on the side of this one. Well, of course they'd be interested and everyone knew who Tom Hanks was, you can be sure!
The city still reeked of mystery and I couldn't resist shooting these small streets that had a come hither appeal.
My last stop was Castel Sant' Angelo. This building was built by Hadrian in AD 135 as his own mauseleum, but has since functioned as a fortress, prison and papal residence. Today it hosts temporary art shows among other things. I didn't tour the inside. I actually wasn't aware that you could tour it, as there were no lines and there was something very forbidding about the huge edifice. I walked the promenade around it, lushly lined with trees, and later wished I'd spent more time
seeing the "Passetto" (passageway) built in the 13th Century to connect to the Vatican, so that terrified popes could retreat to the castel during invations from outside forces. Puccini had Tosca (his operatic heroine) hurl herself from the top of the Castel Sant' Angelo in the final act of the opera by the same name.
I took a siesta (and boy was I tired) when I got back to the hotel, and slept for four hours. I was very, very pleased with the Hotel Dei Consoli and the bed was perfect.
That night I went to a nearby ristorante for dinner. I didn't wear walking shoes and dressed up a little. I ordered Risotta and a plate of plain rice was brought to me. I sent it back and ordered a pasta in a cream sauce which was delicious. Drank another 1/2 liter of red chianti. One doesn't seem to get a hangover on Italian wine. I was told there's no sulphites in it, and that's the reason. It was the smoothest, mellowest wine and I remember being told years ago that Italians save the best wines for Italy and export the rest.
There was a young pretty girl sitting to my left and a handsome man sitting at the table in front of me. I asked them both if they knew the Italian word for "hanger" since I needed a few more at the hotel. Neither of them know the answer, but it was an ice breaker which turned out to be most pleasurable. The girl was Russian and very beautiful with blond hair and blue eyes. Her English was excellent. The man was a dark haired and very attractive young Canadian. Need I mention his English? Rather perfect. They both moved to my table where we enjoyed coffee and more wine.
Then we decided to head out and look for a night spot with music. Natalie and Joe and I walked and walked and walked. We could find no music in the area and ended up at an Irish Pub where pictures of George Clooney and the owner were tacked up on the wall. George Clooney also appeared on a coffee commercial when I switched on TV one night. For those of us interested in George Clooney, this is pertinent.
We had a wonderful time and when I got home, I realized I had worn the skin off of one foot because of the danged shoes. Not a smart thing to do on an Italian vacation where walking fills your days.
##
Next
Home
After the Vatican, I realized I was famished and headed for the first cafe I saw,
"The Universal Bar" which was wrought for turistas. I ordered wine and a plate of spaghetti arrabiatta which is supposed to be highly seasoned, and I was disappointed at the blandness. The vino alla casa was a wonderful house chianti. I never had a bad glass of wine in Italy.
The Universal Bar
Then it was time to begin my walk again. I snapped pictures along the way.
Everything intrigued me, including this. Someone had a bad night?
You can't imagine the traffic in Rome. And the scooters may be more numerous than the zillion automobiles whizzing around. Case in point:
They have minivans and buses as well. I was particularly taken with the advertising on the side of this one. Well, of course they'd be interested and everyone knew who Tom Hanks was, you can be sure!
The city still reeked of mystery and I couldn't resist shooting these small streets that had a come hither appeal.
My last stop was Castel Sant' Angelo. This building was built by Hadrian in AD 135 as his own mauseleum, but has since functioned as a fortress, prison and papal residence. Today it hosts temporary art shows among other things. I didn't tour the inside. I actually wasn't aware that you could tour it, as there were no lines and there was something very forbidding about the huge edifice. I walked the promenade around it, lushly lined with trees, and later wished I'd spent more time
seeing the "Passetto" (passageway) built in the 13th Century to connect to the Vatican, so that terrified popes could retreat to the castel during invations from outside forces. Puccini had Tosca (his operatic heroine) hurl herself from the top of the Castel Sant' Angelo in the final act of the opera by the same name.
I took a siesta (and boy was I tired) when I got back to the hotel, and slept for four hours. I was very, very pleased with the Hotel Dei Consoli and the bed was perfect.
That night I went to a nearby ristorante for dinner. I didn't wear walking shoes and dressed up a little. I ordered Risotta and a plate of plain rice was brought to me. I sent it back and ordered a pasta in a cream sauce which was delicious. Drank another 1/2 liter of red chianti. One doesn't seem to get a hangover on Italian wine. I was told there's no sulphites in it, and that's the reason. It was the smoothest, mellowest wine and I remember being told years ago that Italians save the best wines for Italy and export the rest.
There was a young pretty girl sitting to my left and a handsome man sitting at the table in front of me. I asked them both if they knew the Italian word for "hanger" since I needed a few more at the hotel. Neither of them know the answer, but it was an ice breaker which turned out to be most pleasurable. The girl was Russian and very beautiful with blond hair and blue eyes. Her English was excellent. The man was a dark haired and very attractive young Canadian. Need I mention his English? Rather perfect. They both moved to my table where we enjoyed coffee and more wine.
Then we decided to head out and look for a night spot with music. Natalie and Joe and I walked and walked and walked. We could find no music in the area and ended up at an Irish Pub where pictures of George Clooney and the owner were tacked up on the wall. George Clooney also appeared on a coffee commercial when I switched on TV one night. For those of us interested in George Clooney, this is pertinent.
We had a wonderful time and when I got home, I realized I had worn the skin off of one foot because of the danged shoes. Not a smart thing to do on an Italian vacation where walking fills your days.
##
