Roaming Rome on Sunday

By the time Sunday rolled around, I was finally able to slow down and enjoy being in Rome the way I had intended. My plans for the day included a trip to the flea market at Porta Portese in the Trastevere area and then a stop at a couple churches in the area that I had identified in my travel guide. Another beautiful morning. This was my view as I climbed the hill to the metro stop near my hotel...

It took me much longer to get to the flea market than expected because there were just so many distractions. Every time I turned the corner, I saw something that took me off my intended path.

I had two choices of metro stops that were close to where I was headed. I chose the 'Circus Maximus' stop for the obvious reasons. Here's what I found when I ascended into the street:

This former site of the famous chariot races is now little more than a dirt track; a large open field in the midst of an otherwise very crowded city. Some folks were out for an early morning jog here. Amazing!

From the hill I could see back toward the capitol where I'd been the day before.

Just past the Circus Maximus I turned into a residential area and found this arch just kind of sitting there behind a small parking area:

At the main street, I could see a bank where the old pillars had been revealed in the side of the building. I headed off in that direction and found this, the Theatre of Marcellus:

Attached to the building you see on the right hand side of this picture was a small church where there was a service in progress; a choir singing and several men waiting on the steps smoking. Down the street a way was a nice park just above the river.

To appreciate these scenes, think of the town where you live and then picture these things across the street from the Walgreens. Everything was so 'right there'!

I really liked this section of the city because it was less cramped and there were a lot more trees and grass. I headed across the bridge to Porta Portese. I knew I was headed in the right direction because everyone coming the opposite way was carrying at least one bag. The flea market was HUGE. I don't have a lot of photos from there, because I was too busy shopping. Most of the stalls sold either clothing, shoes or bags/luggage, but there were also plenty that had other things like this one with african masks.

I bought a bag, a pair of pants, a CD of 'authentic' Italian music (for Kyle who collects all sorts of music) and a Jack Nicholson DVD (that I had never heard of) in Italian with English subtitles (also for Kyle). The flea market closed at 2:00 which was probably a good thing for my budget. As I was leaving I bought an absolutely wonderful roast pork sandwich from a street vendor. It had just started to rain a little, so I sat on a bench by the river, under my umbrella, and ate the best sandwich ever.

I took the metro back to the hotel and dropped off my 'treasures' then headed back out toward to look at the churches. Here are photos from two of these. The first is Sant' Ignazio and the second I believe is Sant' Andrea Della Valle (I should have kept better notes).

Not only are the churches decorated with these beautiful frescoes and sculptures, but they also contain the most gorgeous columns and balustrades in various colored marbles. They are just incredible.

I wandered around through some of the shops and side streets to see what I could discover. Here's a small scene I stopped to photograph...

Then headed back toward St Peter's. Here's a picture of Ponte Sant' Angelo.

And another of Piazza Sant' Pietro as the sun is setting.

This night I had dinner at a 'pizzeria' on one of the streets near the hotel. I had the Spaghetti Carbonara which is spaghetti with eggs and bacon (and a Heineken). I was great!!