Italy Trip 2004
(Sept 21st - Oct 3rd)
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2004
Today we chose to have a quiet day, walking around Rome.
We decided to check out the Capuchin Crypt. The area we walked through to get there was much quieter than the rest of Rome. There was a small restaurant on one of the streets where we stopped to have some pizza. It was a nice place where everyone seemed to know one another.
Here's the road where the Crypt is located.
We got to the crypt around 1:30PM and found the door to be locked. It was only then we noticed our guide book listed it as being closed between 1PM - 3PM.
We decided to head over to the local AMEX office to cash our travelers checks. To get there, we returned to the Spanish Steps.
It was even busier than the last time we were there. We started at the top and walked down. While walking down, we saw the Jamaican guys how scammed us with the bracelets earlier in the week. They were pulling the same routine on other tourists. I have to give them credit as they have their act down.
When we got to the AMEX office, we found they close at 12:30PM on Saturdays.
Since we still had time to kill before the crypt opened, we walked back up the steps and headed north to a large park area. It was quite a change from the rest of the city.
At one point, we stopped to watch these kids rollerblade. We had never seen people with such dexterity before.
We came to a hybrid car exhibition in the park. All the cars we prototypes. Adam was quite impressed with a new Toyota they were showing. It's a sports car with cameras on the side instead of mirrors.
We headed back to the crypt and ran in to a protest against the war in Iraq. We didn't know it at the time, but it was prompted by two Italian girls who were being held hostage in Iraq.
Got to the crypt, only to find it still locked. There was a couple from Canada at the gates, also trying to get in. It turned out there was a sign right in front of us the whole time (in English) which said the crypt would be closed for repairs as of December 2003. We spoke to the couple for a while. They recommended a restaurant called Capitello which happens to be two blocks from our hotel.
We stopped at a clothing store on the way back to the hotel. I picked up a nice sweater/jacket.
On the way back, we passed a few new areas.
Via Delle Quattro Fontane
Piazza Del Quirinaile
We stopped at a local supermarket and bought some salami, procuitto, crackers and water for the train ride tomorrow. Unlike the UK, we can get a lot of the same products in Canada.
After returning to the hotel, we went to do laundry. At the laundromat, we met four backpackers from Alberta. Luckily, they didn't stick around for very long. They weren't the type of people I enjoy being around.
The laundry place was quite strange. It was run by two Indian men, one of whom was named the 'laundry nazi' from other travelers They also offered internet access and ran an Indian restaurant down the street.
After being there for an hour or so, a couple from San Francisco came in. We began talking and got along quite well. Rebecca and Sheldon quit their jobs, chose to travel a bit and are moving to Perth, Australia. Rebecca is originally from Perth, while Sheldon's from Trinidad. Once our laundry was done, we made plans to meet up with them for dinner when they were finished.
We quickly dropped off our clothes at the hotel and went to an internet cafe to check e-mail. I used a service they provide to burn a CD from my digital camera's memory card. Unfortunately, none of the systems had a CD-ROM, so I couldn't verify the disk. I decided not to erase my card yet. I'm already on my second memory card. Hopefully I'll have enough space left for the rest of the trip. If not, I'll need to validate the CD somewhere.
At 10PM we met with Rebecca and Sheldon for dinner. We decided to try Capitello. They had a fixed price menu for people staying in hostels. While Rebecca and Sheldon were staying in a hostel, we weren't. The restaurant staff didn't care. The special menu offered water, bread, a choice of multiple pasta dishes, a choice of multiple meat dishes and a choice of salad or potatoes. I started with Spaghetti a la Carbonara. It's spaghetti with egg, cheese and bacon. After the pasta course, we were all getting quite full, but there was more to come. My next course was grilled pork and roasted potatoes.
Throughout the meal, the owner continued to come out and joke around with was. It was a really great atmosphere. At the end of the meal, he came to see if we wanted any drinks. We were all stuffed and decided not to order anything. He insisted and brought us complementary glasses of an Italian lemon liquor called Limoncello. It was good, but kind of reminded me of lemon Halls cough drops.
Before we left, we asked the owner to take our picture.
On the way back to the hotel, we found a pair of underwear, a small piece of toilet paper, a pile of shit and a shit stained car. Not sure what to make of that.
Overall, it was a great evening to end our stay in Rome.
--> SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 26
