Arrivederci Roma!

The days have been so full of walking and exploring and getting lost and miraculously getting found again... Of crowds and humidity and buses and tours... that I've been too tired at the end of the day to blog. Also, I'm not impressed with one or two fingered typing on this iPad, though I am getting faster.
Tomorrow we go to Florence, so I must remember Rome before we leave.
Day one: MACRO. I think that stands for Museo Arte Contemporary Roma Something... giggle... Anyway, Serena really wanted to see this museum of modern art. I'm not a fan, but I went along and it was quite wonderful. Not to mention a superb first lunch in the gallery cafeteria.
Day 2: We took the subway to the Vatican... Transit is always SO confusing when you don't have a clue in a strange city... But we were there in time, mostly because I sacrificed having that delicious mornimg cappuccino... The tour itself included the Raphael tapestries, some art in the private collection (the cheapest work in the private collection of modern art is...ahem...$40,000,000. What's that about???) St. Peter's dome, and the Pieta. What I remember is masses of people and humidity, though the tour guide, Alessandra, was lovely and bright (how does she stay that pleasant doing 2 or 3 tours a day in those conditions?) and gave us a lot of good information.
After the Vatican tour, we thought we'd go to the Pantheon. It looked so close on the map. And would have been if we hadn't taken so many unintentional detours through the ancient, narrow, cobblestone streets. We eventually found it, and it was worth the effort. Then we searched for the Trevi Fountain with an equal number of detours. When we found it, We threw in our coins, over the wrong shoulder as we found out later (that was disappointing) and then, totally spent, found a cab to take us home. Ahhhh
Day 3: I slept 12 hours and we got a late start. We walked to the Borghese Gallery, had lunch along the way... Did the audio tour and saw lots of Greek and Roman statues, Caravaggio paintings, and learned about Bernini, who was evidently a child prodigy in the world of marble sculpture. Then we walked more, rested in a lovely, shady children's playground, then rode the city bus for an hour.
Home again with the odious task of finishing the bottles of wine before we leave...
The detours, getting lost, are just part of the adventure. It's all wonderful.
And tomorrow, Firenze!