i would walk five hundred miles and i would walk five hundred more

I've been surprised at how easily we've been able to walk everywhere here. I thought we would be taking taxis or the metro more often, but we basically just schlep. It takes about half an hour to get to school, near the Spanish Steps, from our apartment, which is on the Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore. In the piazza, across the street from our place, is an enormous church decidated to Mary. In the 4th century Mary appeared in a dream to Pope Liberius, asking that a church be built in her name on the spot where he would find snow. The next morning, in August, he found snow on this square and so began building this church. Our landlady's son, who is studying to be a tour guide, told us that every August Rome celebrates this event by making artificial snow and holding mass.

We wanted to go to mass here, so Saturday we walked over to tour the church. In the nave there is a gold and silver sort of urn with what is supposed to be pieces of the manger in it. Before the urn there is a statue of a pope praying. (I'm sure it's a specific pope but I didn't catch which one.) Also in the church, which is decorated in the Baroque style, is the tomb of Bernini. His tomb is a simple step, I was looking for it and still missed it at first. Interesting that the father of baroque would have such an austere resting place.

I looked to see when mass was held, and there was a sign to inquire with the sacristry. I walked towards the sacristy and there was a schedule of times, and below that a sign in Italian that I couldn't quite translate, but was something about persons with documents who are authorized to celebrate the High Religion. This was all very intimidating. I don't know what documents would authorize me to celebrate the high religion, but I'm pretty sure I don't have them. I gave up on the idea. I'm kind of a wimp with stuff like that.

Saturday night we went to see a performance of La Traviata at an Anglican church on the Via Babuino, and got gelato on the way home. (Kristina, the gelato is good enough to make me forget the blisters I was getting walking in my going-to-the-opera shoes, I don't know if that answers your question or not.) Sunday morning our landlady Maria left us a note saying she had a booth at a flea market all day and we should come visit her. We decided to do that, which took us a couple of miles west and out of the city center for the first time. We made our way through the Piazza di Popola (where I saw the Statue of Liberty, thank goodness I can check that one off my sightseeing list) and half a mile into a sleepy area where everything was closed. We found the market and Maria, which I was kind of proud of. Yvette bought a necklace from a vendor, haggling by way of not really understanding the numbers the woman was saying.

After that we took our first metro ride to the Colosseum, arriving in time to see the Roman Forum but not the Colosseum or Palatine Hill. I'm trying to take pictures for you, Bethany. I don't know if 141 A.D. is "really ancient" or not, but this is the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, the most intact structure in the Forum besides the arches. (You would love it, by the way, and need to come here.) It was very strange to stand there and think about the history of it. Yvette and I were talking about that Hanna-Barbera cartoon where the kids go back in time and meet David, etc., and how it just seems like the world should work that way.

We walked down and saw some of the other ancient sites, like the Circus Maximus, where Ben-Hur and those guys raced their chariots. It's mainly a big park now but you can see how it used to be a track. There was this group of people standing in a circle in the park. At first I thought they were doing calisthenics before a soccer game but then noticed one of the men was wearing a skirt, and they were doing a hokey-pokey type of dance to "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", with Italian accents. I watched them for a couple of minutes but couldn't figure it out.

Later we did a little night walk and took some pictures. I bought a little mini-tripod from a street vender so I can have a longer shutter speed. Here are some pics...

The Roman Forum:

A crowd at the Trevi Fountain:

Random alley on the way home:

p.s. In case you were concerned, Yvette and I were reunited, and I read 14 pages of Harry Potter in a cozy little pizzeria, the warmest I've been in three days. It was the part where the Prime Minister meets Fudge, or Caramell in this version. I followed it pretty well, probably since I've already read it... twice.

p.p.s. Happy Birthday, Brie!