Day 4 in Rome

Today was our last full day in Rome. We went back to St. Peter’s Square to mail some postcards for the Vatican City postmark. The morning was bright, but some clouds were coming in. We had gotten this far in the trip without a drop of rain, so weren’t worried if it did. We walked along the Tiber River again and crossed it at Pont Sant’Angelo (Bridge of Angels); we wanted to see Bernini’s angels once more before we left.

The day started taking on a little different character. It was Sunday. Clergy were walking about in their finest attire. As we got closer to Vatican City there were more and more people. We arrived in the square, crowded with pilgrims, tourists and locals. As it got closer to noon the square got thick with people; something was afoot.

Throngs were facing the direction of the Pope’s apartment overlooking the square. Priests, nuns and religious orders – identified with flags and banners – stood out from the crowd. And then it happened: a banner was laid out a window from the Pope’s quarters. He was going to address the crowd.

Suddenly the crowd surged. We were within minutes of Pope O’Clock. Dong! He then appeared – a tiny figure in the distance – and spoke. It sounded like he was speaking in Latin. The crowd was rapt in attention; it was quiet with no roars of approval. Soon the Pope seemed to switch to Italian and then he blessed the crowd.

When it was over we made a quick exit to get ahead of the crowd. As we left Vatican City we saw people running towards it, some with looks of desperation. They wanted the blessing. Too late; next Sunday would have to do, if they were here at all.

Our next stop was that icon of Rome, Trevi Fountain. It was clouding up, but the sun was still breaking loose from the clouds occasionally. We rounded a corner and there it was: Trevi Fountain, grand and super-sized in its splendor! It was simply remarkable. We had to throw coins in the fountain, and luckily Terry had three 20-cent Euro coins (who wants to throw three Euro dollars away?). Terry dispensed two of them to Carol and Julie, and we all threw them at the same. Three coins in a fountain.

We found a nearby café in this charming area and sat outside, and then it started sprinkling. We moved inside and the sprinkling turned to rain. We failed to bring umbrellas or the ponchos Carol brought on the trip for just this occasion, so we headed back to the hotel before it got much worse.

It rained heavier as we walked, so we ducked into the Pantheon. The dome of the building has an Oculus, or circular window in the top, which is open, so it was raining inside, but just in the center of the building. The rainwater is carried away through drains. We were rained on in the Pantheon. It was fascinating to watch.

We moved on and Terry offered to buy umbrellas for the ladies, but they declined. He thought we were still some distance from the hotel, but we were actually quite close. We arrived at Piazza Novana, but Terry was really confused and thought we were back at Trevi Fountain! He now insisted on umbrellas Julie and Carol, for we were going in circles.

Yet we were a mere block from our hotel. Carol and Julie helped properly orient Terry in his thinking. It was still raining steadily, so we stopped at a sidewalk café with an awning to enjoy some warm cappuccinos. And then it really rained.

The heavens opened and the water came down, loud and hard, as if pent up for days. The piazza emptied. The temperature dropped and it got a little chilly. We remarked how lucky we had been with the weather.

Back at the hotel, we enjoyed hot showers and some relaxation. Well, Carol enjoyed a hot bath. She was switched to a different room her last day, which had a large soaking tub. Lucky Carol.

After a couple of hours, we regrouped on Julie and Terry’s balcony for one last time. The rain had passed and the sun broke through the clouds. It turned out to be a very nice evening. We walked to the ristorante, which was just around the corner. We sat outside in a lovely setting. It was twilight.

For the first time, we all chose the same dish: linguini with black truffle. When our linguini arrived, our waitress brought out a piece of truffle. She started grating it over Carol’s plate. We expected her to stop after a few slivers, which is our experience back home. But she kept grating it. Carol was puzzled and wondered if she was supposed to say “that’s fine.” The whole truffle was used, and then the waitress broke out two more pieces and repeated the process for Julie and Terry.

Here, we thought, would be the one exception to the subtlety of flavors we had experienced in Rome. At home, our experience with truffle is that the few slivers you get create a strong aroma and pungent taste. But this was different, with the taste more delicate. We concluded that restaurants back home must also use truffle oil as a less expensive enhancement to the dish (but they charge four times the price we paid).

After our wonderful dinner we walked back to our hotel feeling a little melancholy. Rome had really grown on us. We had fallen in love with it.

Our memories of Rome would be the smells, wafting with sweetness, coffee, espresso and ovens. It would be of cobblestone streets as narrow as alleys, and of dodging small cars and motorcycles racing down them. Of the sidewalk cafes, trattorias, osterias and ristorantes; churches, fountains, bridges and the winding Tiber. Romans, Caesars and popes, history and culture, the old and the new. And of the Italians, who speak with their hands, expressions and earnest voices – animation, never indifferent, full of ardor, passion and life.

This was Rome, glorious and beautiful Rome. We were leaving a part of us here, as do all who come.