Sunday November 8, 1992 – Rome, Italy
I woke up late (~10 AM) partly because I was pooped. I decided to go to a flea market I had heard about that happens every Sunday in the Trastevere section of Rome. The flea market was a zoo. There was a main street that was jammed with merchants selling their stuff and side streets also filled but not quite so much. I walked up and down the main street which must have gone for a mile and at some points, the grid lock was so bad, I couldn’t move for 5 minutes. I found a collapsible umbrella for 10,000 Lire which I bought on the advice of Ron who said the weather can be quite unpredictable. I went back to the hotel (~2 PM) and rested for about ½ hour and then decided to walk over to the Catacombs of Callixtus . The catacombs were on the edge of old Rome outside the old Roman wall, and I got there by walking down the Appian Way which was one of the few original roads left intact from old Roman times. The road was composed of cobble stones and was quite a challenge to walk on since there was little or no road edge. Cars seemed to come in bunches and whenever a group of cars would come, it sounded like the start of an Indy race with about 3 lanes of cars competing for what should have been one lane. Whenever a group of cars would come, I would just cling to the side of the road until they passed. On the way to the catacombs, I stopped at the Domine Quo Vadis church which was supposed to be where Peter saw a vision of Jesus after he was crucified. Peter supposedly asked Jesus, “domine quo vadis?” (Where are you going?) To which Jesus replied, “Eo Romam iterum crucifigi” (I’m going to Rome to be crucified a second time). At which Peter turned back to Rome and was martyred. The church and countryside where it was located was one of the more memorable sights I had yet seen in Rome. I made it to the catacombs just as an English-speaking tour was going in. So, I bought a ticket (6,000 Lire) and made it to where the guide was giving some preliminary info. There was a sign that said “No Foto” which was a little disappointing. I decided to hang out at the back of the group and as people left each room (crypt) I would be very discreet and take a quick video. This worked great until suddenly, my group disappeared and couldn’t be found anywhere. I tried looking up and down some of the passages but no luck. Finally, I came across a German speaking group and decided to tag along with them. No one seemed to notice me, but I felt a little conspicuous since I couldn’t understand a word anyone was saying. Finally, further down the tour, I caught sight of my old group and was able to switch back. The catacombs were very interesting, and I would like to visit them again to see if I missed anything. After leaving the catacombs, I decided to walk back to the hotel following a different road that was not as narrow as the Appian Way . BIG MISTAKE! I managed to find a road that was not only narrower but had a continuous stream of cars and motor bikes. It was pretty hair raising at times and to compound my problem, I got turned around and couldn’t figure out where I was. I ended up taking a road that went off my map, so I had to use my basic instincts to figure out which way was correct. I finally made it to a main road and after walking what seemed like forever, found a sign that told me where I was. I couldn’t find any of the street names on my map and was getting a little disturbed since it was now about 7 PM and dark. I kept walking though hoping to find some sort of landmark and finally, I came to a Metro (subway) sign. It turned out I had walked way out of my way in a completely different direction and was on the edge of the city! After studying the subway map and route, I determined I could ride the subway to the Colosseum which was a huge relief. The subway was clean, modern, fast, and FREE! It should have cost 700 Lire, but I think the guy at the entrance felt sorry for me and just let me go for free. I made it back to the hotel in no time, took a shower, and went to a Pizzeria down the street. It was a bit intimidating going into some restaurants and not being able to speak the language. However, I at least was able to order pizza and birra which hit the spot. So far, I’ve had pizzas at two different pizzerias and have determined that Italian pizzas are plainer but much better tasting than American pizzas. The thing I really liked was the thinner crust and surprising flavor Italian pizzas had compared to American pizzas.
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