faciamo come i turisti!

After my usual morning shopping excursion, which this time required a bus trip, Chris and I did a few touristy things. We made a short pilgrimage via the parking garage to San Pietro. We visited Pope Pius X and Gregory the Great, from whom Gregorian Chant takes its name and said a little prayer of thanks for being in Rome.



Having conquered the bus system in my earlier shopping trip, we decided to take the bus to the Aventine, my favorite hill in Rome. We scaled the hill via the Clivio di Rocca Savella and reached the Parco Savello which offers a beautiful view over the city below. I remembered from my trip to Rome a few years ago that there was an old man selling olives at the entrance. The charming man with his bowl of olives has since expanded his offerings to include beer, a range of soft drinks and potato chips. We stuck with the olives.

Further down the road is the keyhole of the Cavalieri di Malta. Through the hole in the door you see a garden which perfectly frames the distant dome of St. Peter's Basilica. (This is Chris taking a look before being pushed aside by some tourists who wanted to videotape the view.) Directly across the little piazza is the Monestary of Sant Anselmo. A shop attached to the church sells products produced by Monks from all over Europe. Last time I was in Rome I bought Casamari Sambuca and some pure licorice candy there and have been dying to buy more ever since. Lest you think we made the trip solely for the Sambuca, we attempted to enter the chapel but there was a wedding taking place.


After our shopping and resting in the park, we headed down the hill and across the Tiber via the Isola Tiberina, home of a hospital and the Chiesa di San Bartolomeo. In Trastevere we stopped for a pizza at Dar Poeta, the cheap--but some say best--pizzeria in Rome to enjoy our first meal out in the eternal city.