Rome - Day 2 - June 9, 2010

Galleria Doria Pamphilj - We arrive in Rome Termini from Orte with no incident. Justin meets us and takes us first to Galleria Doria Pamphilj. Of all the museums we visited throughout this trip, this gallery is our favorite after the Borghese. Plus, it is nice and cool inside.

Doria Pamphilj is not covered by the Roma Pass. The $9E entry fee comes with an audio guide and is narrated by a contemporary member of the family - which makes the visit especially memorable. Like all churches and palaces, this one is filled with lots of trim work, gilded plaster curlicues, marble statues, and beautiful murals on the ceilings. Plus, the original artworks throughout are spectacular (Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Velazquez, Bruegel, Tintoretto, and even a Bernini - to name a few). This is where I make most of my poster purchases as there are likable images, they are smaller in size and reasonably priced. In the Gallery of Mirrors, I sneak in a few photos only to hear the guard intone, "No photo, Signora." Rats. Busted.

Encounter with Berlisconi - We stroll down the busy and upscale Via del Corso shopping street past Foot Locker, Timberland, Sephora and hundreds of recognizable chain stores. I'd love to see if the products and fashions resemble those in the U.S. All of a sudden a motorcade of motorcycles and about five black cars and vans zip toward us with sirens blaring. Justin says that it is likely that Prime Minister Berlisconi is in one of the cars as the government offices are down the street. As we walk toward a guard house, the street impediments (concrete posts) slowly rise to block any other vehicles from going into a restricted government area.

As we come upon a busy intersection, Justin exclaims that the traffic cop is up on his pedestal. Sure enough, there he is, standing on a small raised platform directing traffic through one of Rome's busiest intersections near the Piazza Venezia. Throughout Rome - as in this intersection - hundreds of mopeds zip around. No driver's license is required and thus, safety procedures are not widely practiced although most people wear helmets. The side streets are house zillions of the buzz bombs parked like sardines.

Lunch with Gusto - We finally reach our lunch stop at 'Gusto and, once again, opt for an indoor table in air conditioned comfort. Gusto is very trendy and the epitome of an Italian bistro. It is hard to describe the décor, especially the glazed white pottery skulls in combination with white vases and glass and worn dark wood cabinetry, but it works. I got busted (again) for taking some photos. The buffet of food was incredible. For $9E you got beer, wine, or soda all you could heap on one plate of hot entrees, shrimp, pasta, and dozens of salads. Those plates were far too small! In the airline magazine on the way home, the author of an article remarked that Gusto was his favorite unknown place to eat. Lucky us! Been there!

Almost Late for a Date - Justin is anxious to leave as we have a 2:30 reservation at the Galleria Borghese Museum. Reservations are mandatory and arrangements were made months in advance.  It is one of the places covered by the Roma Pass. But Justin has never been there and doesn't know the way. He asks the waiter and discovers there is no bus or transportation to get there from here. We definitely work off every bit of lunch as we fast walk and half run what seems like a good mile or so to get there. We arrive, wet with sweat, just in time to pick up our tickets and wait for our turn to enter.

'Mama Mia!' The Borghese is incredible, especially in the number of jaw-dropping Bernini statuary. Naturally, the wall and ceiling décor are equally incredible. There is no way to sneak any photo as the camera got checked with the backpacks - mandatory. The top floor is filled with spectacular paintings from all the usual famous artists. Sadly, we are only allowed two hours for the visit. We could have spent more. I wish we had rented the audio guide as those would have made the experience even better. But, we will return - as per the coin toss.

Piazza del Popolo - We wander through some of the beautiful park-like Borghese grounds and wish we had more time to explore. We stop to take in the vista of Rome from an overlook on Pincian Hill below which lies Piazza del Popolo - People's Square. An Egyptian obelisk stands in the center and is of 10 B.C. vintage. The twin churches of Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli (both built late 1600s) line the entrance to the Via del Corso shopping street.

Mission Gelato - We are on our evening mission for gelato at Old Bridge. Thankfully, we can hop on a metro and save our feet. This time, Kay branches out for melon (cantaloupe) and Inglese (rum) along with cassata while Bob goes for Bacio, fragola (strawberry), and black cherry. The three of us dodge traffic to head to our regular gelato eating spot - a 3-foot high wall bordering a small grassy area at a bus area. It's the best we can do.

Priestly Intervention - Justin points out a situation occurring between a parked car and the police. The luxury car - parked illegally practically in the middle of the road - and its trendy young couple owners are having a "conversation" as a priest comes running up. We suspect the couple called the priest. First, the priest has a long animated conversation with the ticket police. After awhile, another cop pulls up - this one in a short-sleeve white shirt.

Like a sports commentator, Justin narrates the scene. The white shirt cop is the only one who can do something about the ticket. The priest must be a master negotiator and likely promises a special place in heaven for the cop, his family, and all his relatives. The couple stands quietly out of the way, smirking. I take a picture and James quietly admonishes - "I wouldn't do that if I were you." I thought we were far enough away but I notice one of the ticket police eyeballing me. Justin also notes that the female police officer in the group carries no weight and would never be able to negotiate with any Roman male. The priest continues with grand gestures. After about 15 minutes, apparently the deal is done. The cop and priest shake hands, the couple and priest shake hands. No ticket is issued. The couple departs.

Along comes the street sweeper so we move out of the way. After going up one side, it makes a wide "U" turn in the middle of traffic and goes up the other side - at 6:30 p.m!

Heading Home - We are close to the Vatican, so Justin takes us through St. Peter's Square to get our bearings for our upcoming Vatican tour. We pass by passive deformed beggars and Justin explains that they are usually part of a mafia organization. Apparently, if you cross the mafia the wrong way, they might torture you, cut off limbs, burn your face, or do other horrific things so that - when they send you out to beg - you will attract more money because of your disabilities. Geeze.

We hop a bus to Roma Termini, say buona sera, and take our respective trains home. As I'm writing the trip journal, I observe two Italian women - looking very much like sisters - having what I would call a typical dramatic Italian conversation. It's full of raised voices, dramatic hand gestures, facial expressions, body language, and flipping-chin hand motions - and other gestures that my Italian teacher has demonstrated. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell that they are discussing some involvement with an absolute idiot - either their boss, a government official, or a son-in-law are my guesses. It is the best conversation I've seen to date.
Back at the Palazzo it's the usual: bath, laundry, bed.