We are tourist superstars

Steve and I ran the marathon today. Well, not really, but right now it feels like it.

We started off at noon in the Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere. The piazza was full of families strolling in the bright sun and moving in and out of the church. A crowd was standing around a young woman playing the cello to recorded piano accompaniment. Lovely. Everyone seemed very relaxed.

We left the square, crossed the river and walked to the Aventine past the Circus Maximus, site of ancient chariot races and now a favorite spot for joggers, to Terme di Caracalla, an amazing 25 acre complex of buildings that served as a sporting club and spa of sorts for Romans in ancient times. The scale of the buildings is awesome and once again we were lucky not to have deal with crowds of tourists but could stroll through the ruins at our own pace.

After wandering through the palaestrum (“Aha,” said Steve. “That’s where the Palestra got its name.”) the frigidarium, the tepidarium and the calidarium—soaring vaulted spaces now open to the sky but where one can occasionally see remnants of mosaic flooring and fragments of wall decorations—we headed up one big hill and then down another to Testaccio, a working class neighborhood we hadn’t been to yet.

By now it was past 3 and we were both getting more than a little hungry but unfortunately it seemed like every restaurant or food store was shuttered for the long Easter holiday. Finally, we dashed down a side street and found a small trattoria bustling with business. Thank god! Even better, the food was fabulous, definitely fatto a casa especially the tiramasu, the best we’ve had in Rome so far.

Fueled by a bottle of the house red, I decide we can’t leave Testaccio until we see more despite the fact that the weather has turned cloudy and cold. Steve follows me obediently as we drudge through the deserted streets to my goal—an old power plant now restored as a contemporary art center. Purtroppo e chiuso oggi. So we head across the river and begin the long, long, long walk back to Trastevere.

Six o’clock we are back at Vicolo del Cedro 12 just in time to escape a downpour. Perfect timing.