Je suis tres fatiguee (in Roma)

(French for "I am very tired!" . . . actually, it is just my feet that are really tired) Aussi (also), I have learned that I instinctively think and speak in French here, no matter how hard I study my Italian phrase book!

Rome is an overcast, chilly and sometimes rainy place today. So, I did as much as I could outdoors until the rain really threatened, then found indoor activities. For a non-religious person, I have had a lot of religion in my day! I slept a nice long time (much needed, and a heavenly experience!) and got up just in time to scramble to locate the meeting place for my Jewish ghetto tour. Before meeting my guide, I had just a moment to eat a traditional Jewish pastry, washed down with a Coke, as I did not realize they had coffee until it was too late.

Met up with my tour guide, who it turns out is 20-something, rather than the old woman I had pictured. Much to our amusement, she had the same mental image of me, so it took a while for us to figure out who each other were and begin our tour! It was really fascinating . . . she knew EVERYONE walking around in this sort of Jewish community center, and there were a lot of people there, as they are electing a new rabbi today. Apparently, a long-ago pope thought it better for the Jews to live in a tiny walled in area, coincidentally surrounded by Christian churches (lots and lots of churches . . . I think I counted 8, which was not all of them, and it is not a very large area). This lasted about 300 years, until the liberation of the area, which now remains a center for Jewish life in Rome.

Here are my pictures from the Jewish Ghetto:

Where the rabbi was being elected--





View down the length of the Ghetto--



Ruins--



Buildings on top of one another--



After I took my leave of my tour guide, I walked through the Trastavere neighborhood, which is nice and arty.

The bridge between the Ghetto and Trastavere--



View from the bridge--



I enjoyed the scene on my walk through the neighborhood. There was wonderful detail on the buildings--







and interesting street scenes--





I checked out a (relatively) small church--





Then I strolled down some even narrower, but no less beautiful, streets, en route to lunch--





This place was another excellent hole in the wall, just wonderful! Lots of pots and pans hanging from the ceiling, small and cozy rooms, just 2 waiters for the whole place, who were constantly on the move! I was in a room so small it had only 5 tables. At one of them, an old man was on a tear about something . . . I was really wishing that I spoke Italian so that I could understand what he was so insanely upset about and what response the two very quiet old ladies with him had! Had a simple but good lunch, with pasta and then creme caramel for dessert . . . also sampled the house red, which was pretty nice.

Brimming with contentment after my nice meal, I promptly became totally lost. I ended up at some castle, but was not in the mood to tour it. After some angst regarding my lost state (I had not yet procured a large map of Rome and was relying only on the partial maps in my Rick Steves book), I located a TI with a great map of the city. Before I could even study the map (I ended up chatting a bit outside the TI with a woman from Milan who tried first speaking to me in Italian (no cigar), then jumped into French when she learned I spoke that a little . . . her sister is here visiting from Lyon, France, so we chatted a bit as well), I looked up and realized that the sizeable dome in front of me could only be St. Peter's Basilica. So, I decided to pop in as long as I was so close. I really wanted to visit the Sistine Chapel, but it was already closed for the day, so I'll save that for next weekend.

Here are my photos from St. Peter's:

The square--



Detail from the square--



The stunningly large interior of the basilica--



Interior of the dome--



and details of the canopy in the center--





Wonderful!

I am debating whether to go back to the hotel for a few hours for a little rest, then find a late dinner, or to eat dinner now, take a stroll and call it a fairly early night. I think I will do the latter, as my feet are much better rested now that I have been sitting for a bit. Also, my internet time is about to run out!

Have a wonderful evening! Ciao! :)