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The big news in Rome was that the public transportation workers had called a one-day strike. Actually, it was not even for a complete day. The Metro, the buses, and the trams were all running during the rush hour in both the morning and evening. So, it was barely noticeable that anything was amiss. Furthermore, strikes in Italy were always well publicized, and they must be registered in advance. In fact, we already knew that the work stoppage was coming even before we left Connecticut.
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Before breakfast I got dressed and hiked back to Termini to obtain more euros. The unexpected taxi fares were causing us to burn through them pretty fast. I withdrew another €250 from the BNL bancomat and walked back to the hotel. I had earlier discovered that it was much easier to cross the busy Via Giovanni Giolitti a few blocks before I got to Via del Viminale.
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When I got back to the hotel room I worked on the journal for a little while.
Sue and I went down to breakfast to discover the group from the Best of Europe tour saying their goodbyes. We easily identified the tour guide and another person who might have been the assistant guide.
During breakfast we made plans for the day. Sue planned to request that the breakfast crew make a brunch for Tom. We decided to ask the taxi driver to take both of us to Trastevere with our luggage. He would drop me off with the bags. I would check in to the hotel and hang around nearby until the room was ready. Meanwhile Sue planned to have the cab driver take her back to the hospital to deliver food to Tom and see what she could do to help. She would then take another cab back to Trastevere in time to make the 4:00 p.m. meeting with our tour group.
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As usual, Sue was not ready at the appointed time. I dragged all of our luggage down to the ground floor. I then went over to reception and checked out for both of us. I then watched for a cab on the street. Every so often I would dash back into the hotel to see if Sue was coming. I had no way of communicating with her, and it always drove me crazy when I had to explain to someone that she was coming soon when I had no real knowledge of how long she might be.
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The driver found himself stuck when he reached Piazza Trilussa. He would have had to turn southeast onto the Lungotevere, which was one-way, but the hotel was in the other direction. So, he let me off with all of the luggage. I had to drag all the bags across the piazza and down the alleys while I searched for the hotel. Before I set off on this quest, I gave Sue €70.
My hike was not as bad as it could have been. I found the Casa San Giuseppe Hotel and checked us in. There was no hassle whatever. To my surprise the clerk told me that our room was ready.
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I learned from the gentleman at the desk that the Internet connection at this hotel was only accessible in the lobby. However, our spare room was right behind the reception desk. A little experimentation revealed that my wireless adapter could sometimes pick up the signal in that room if I held the computer just right. It worked long enough to download my e-mail for the first time since we landed in Italy. There was nothing of any import.
I did not have a lot of time left for touring. I decided to limit myself to the area just across the river. I walked across the Ponte Sisto and headed up the very narrow streets in search of Piazza Navona. I took the required photos of the fountains there. I was surprised to find so much artwork on display in the north end of the piazza. A less seasoned photographer might have found it difficult to frame elegant but provocative shots.)
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) Piazza Navona. | ) Bernini’s fountain and obelisk in the center of the piazza. | ) The Four Rivers Fountain up close. |
) Artists dominated one end of the Piazza Navona. |
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) Sant’Ivo’s was difficult to find. | ) The façade of San Andrea della Valle. |
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Our tour guide, Rainer Metzger, a young[2] man with shockingly blonde hair[3], showed us the way to the room in the hotel in which our meeting was scheduled. I sat in one corner with a couple from Wisconsin, Ed and Charlotte Zieve.
The place was surprisingly well stocked with wine and diverse snacks. I had not eaten anything except the gelato since breakfast. So I was not ashamed to make a pig of myself; free food is free food.
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Rainer told us that he was from the Seattle area, and he went to UDub. He had worked for Rick Steves for ten years. He first came to Italy in 1992, and after spending a few months in Rome he informed everyone that he did not want to leave. His academic interest was primarily architecture and architectural history.
I was very happy to hear Rainer assure us that, contrary to the company’s general policy, wine would be included in most of the meals. Skimping on wine would not be a good idea for a tour of Italy.
Everyone introduced themselves very briefly and paired up for buddy checks. Rainer made it quite clear that the traveling companions needed to “cross-pollinate.” All but two couples understood what he meant and complied. My buddy was Bob Horenkamp, a dentist from Bloomington, Illinois. Sue chose Charlotte Zieve, a retired professor in the field of environmental studies. She had already visited an astonishing eighty-six countries.
Dramatis Personae
) Mark and .... | ) ... Gloria Ascoli. | ) Diann and ... | ) ... Ed Bradley. |
The Ascolis were from Charlottesville, VA. Mark’s father was born in Vieste. The Bradleys hailed from Anacortes, WA. Ed worked for Boeing.
) Wilson Cheung and .... | ) ... Ching Fong. | ) Gail Glode. | ) Amy Marchant. |
Wilson and Ching were disgustingly young workaholic geeks from the Bay Area. Gail and Amy were from Vancouver, BC. Gail was fluent in Italian. Amy was Gail’s daughter.
) Bob and .... | ) ... Connie Horenkamp. | ) Jeff Redding and ... | ) ... Robbie Griffith. |
The Horenkamps lived in Bloominton, IL, home of the Pantagraph. Jeff and Robbie were from North Carolina. This was the first Rick Steves tour for both couples.
) Debbie Radcliffe. | ) Judy Bass needs to get something off her chest. | ) Frank Buonpane. | ) Renee Roncone. |
Debbie was from the San Francisco area. Judy, who had been on ten previous Rick Steves tours, was also from the Bay Area. She was an afficionado of Caravaggio. Frank was from Brooklyn by way of Beaver, WA. Renee was from Phoenix.
) Steve Royce ... | ) ... and Edie Martinelli. | ) Tom and Kathy Neithercutt. |
Steve and Edie were from the Portland, OR, area. Kathy and Tom hailed from Grass Valley, CA. They were celebrating their thirtieth wedding anniversary.
) David and Janelle Jones from Austin, TX. | ) Charlotte and Ed Zieve from the Starship Enterprise. | ) Benino thought that Rainer’s European carry-all was to die for. |
Sue introduced Benino, her new finger puppet.[4] She insisted that he was the only child of the failed marriage of Va Bene Bunny and Jana.
The formal buddy introductions would be on Thursday evening in Vieste. Rainer made it as clear as he could that each of us should emphasize one memorable thing about our buddy.
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Renee asked to be allowed to leave the meeting early. Evidently she needed to take a shower. Sue confided to me that she was in the same condition, but she decided to blame it on the bossanova.
After the briefing Rainer took us on a walking tour of Trastevere and the area on the other side of the river. We passed a restaurant named L’Antico Moro, which he said might make a good choice for supper on Tuesday. He said that there was an abundance of good restaurants in the vicinity, but there were also quite a few tourist traps. He recommended that we just point at something on the menu and try it. This, in my opinion, sounded like a good way to end up eating tripe.
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What a surprise! The Campo dei Fiori was almost deserted when we entered as dusk neared. At least the garbage had been pretty well cleaned up. Evidently it would get lively again in the morning.
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We then walked to a nearby restaurant named Trattoria moDerna, which was definitely not a back-door place, for supper. Its exposed ductwork and totally filled chalkboard were reminiscent of the kind of restaurants that were trendy in the States a few decades earlier. The inside of the restaurant was completely empty when we went in and completely full when we left. I had to assume that we got a deal for coming so early.
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I did learn that Mark Ascoli (which he pronounced ah SKO lee, but his Italian relatives pronounced AH sko lee), had gone to quite a bit of effort to arrange meetings with his relatives in Vieste. He and Gloria were both looking forward to this.
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I was shocked that there was no secundo. I wonder what the explanation for that was. The dessert was finally served on plates that did not match. It consisted of apricot and canteloupe, which was fine with me. During the meal the waiters kept the red and white wine flowing as well as both carbonated and natural water. At the end they served limoncello in different types of glasses. I was a little disappointed with the conversation, but I enjoyed the meal, meat or no meat.
We walked back to the hotel pretty well sated. Sue made some phone calls to relatives of the Corcorans. I checked the state of my clothes drying in the bathroom, took a shower, and went to sleep.
[1] From everything that I have learned about Italian usage, the name of the church should actually be “San Luigi degli Francesi,” but no one ever calls it that.
[2] At some point they all start to seem young.
[3] It was Italy, after all. I kind of expected someone a little less Nordic. Rainer reminded me of someone. Maybe I would eventually be able to figure out who it was.
[4] Va Bene Bunny made his appearance on the Village Italy Tour in 2005. Two years later he met Jana in Moravia. They were married at a chalet in France in 2009. For some reason he turned to drink and destroyed their relationship.
[5] He called it a “European carry-all” or something like that. It had a designer’s signature on it, for heaven’s sake! I say that if it looks like a duck, and it walks like a duck, and it smells like a duck, well, you know the rest.