Last day! In the morning, Bill, Scott, and i returned the bikes and caught a cab to the train station. On our train, we met BDan, who had taken the early train back to Bevagna to retrieve his hat. After spending most of our vacation in the middle of nowhere, Rome made us decidedly nervous. It was probably an excess of paranoia, since we had no actual trouble with pickpockets in the event, but we were definitely less relaxed.
our bikes ready for collection at the end of the trip |
parking in Spoleto |
real estate listings in Spoleto |
a street in Spoleto |
Spoleto in the morning, from hotel window |
blurry countryside, from the train |
not the best picture of us, reflected in the train window as we went through a tunnel |
After dropping stuff off in our hotel, Bill, Scott, and i set out to see the Pantheon, which we did, grabbing some panini along the way. Bill went off to the Vatican, and Scott and i walked back to the hotel along the Tiber. We spent awhile watching a very impressive soap bubble artist (i thought i got some pictures, but seem not to have). We happened across a Jewish museum, which i decided to tour, then headed back to the hotel for a brief nap and some reading. For dinner, we wound up at Ba' Ghetto, a Kosher milk restaurant with typical Italian fare. To my dismay, they were out of cabbage rolls with truffle, a food i may never get another chance to try, but we had rolled eggplants, avocado and egg, spaghetti carbonara (with salmon), salmon/pesto gnocchi, two types of baklava, pistachio mousse, and arak. Then back to the hotel to get up before dawn and head home.
an archaeological dig we walked past in Rome |
some of the cats you're not supposed to feed, in the dig site |
these columns at the dig site confused me — i guess people must have always known they were there, and just not known what was underneath them? or was the whole operation inside another building before they excavated? |
exterior of the Pantheon |
column of the Pantheon |
the Pantheon, the world's first multi-purpose domed stadium, was nicknamed 'The Eighth Wonder of the World' |
a new type of artificial grass, which became known as AgrippaTurf, was developed for use inside the stadium |
okay, i'm done now |
columns inside the Pantheon |
statue inside the Pantheon |
underside of the facade roof of the Pantheon |
holy hand grenade, formerly of Antioch |
surprising no one, this photo of an SPQR manhole cover |
the Tiber |
Castel Sant'Angelo, along the Tiber |
street in Rome |
statue in Rome |
statue in Rome |
bridge on the Tiber |
a building with some heads |
streetpost with ships and a ram |
the Tiber |
old bridge support |
a skate park on Tiber Island |
Scott on Tiber Island |
outside the Jewish museum in Rome; the inside had a bunch of fascinating artifacts, and history about the Jewish ghetto on/near Tiber Island from 1550-1870 |
street sign in Rome |
kosher wine at dinner |
i forget what was in these rolled eggplants, but they were tasty |
Kosher (milchig) restaurant where we had dinner |