Thursday 18-MAR-04 wasn't quite as nice; it was a bit overcast for part of the day. We headed out to Piazza Barberini to find the Crypts of the Capuchin Monks at S. Maria della Concezione, but it was closed for repairs. Quick thinking on our part put us on the tiny 116 bus that toodles all over town. That's a good way to see different parts of the city without having to walk! You do enough walking as it is, and the cobblestones are rough on the dogs.
We started another of the self guided walking tours, this time down to the Piazza Navona to see "La Fontana dei Fiumi" by Bernini. They just didn't do things in a small way, whether it's a church, a stadium, a fountain, a statue, or a villa.
<click on any picture to enlarge>
We couldn't get in to St Agnes of the Agony to see her skull or St. Thomas' finger so we pressed on to the Pantheon, which again impressed us by its sheer size and the fact that it was the biggest dome in the world until a mere 45 years ago.
Break time!
John headed out to the Etruscan museum, Athena stayed behind, feeling the effects of a few days of intense touring! Time to put the tired dogs up and read a book or write some postcards.
The museum is in the Villa Guilia, the home of one of the
early Popes. They had so much stuff they didn't know what to do with it all. The
pictures are the ones I took before being told not to.
That night the two of us got all dressed up to have dinner at
Camponeschi, compliments of Joe and Carolyn Sargent. John ate a lot of seafood,
including a red mullet mille feuille appetizer, an asparagus and sea bass primi
then the sea bream baked in thyme with a clay crust entree, which the two of us
shared. Athena had a polenta and sauteed mushroom appetizer. The dessert was
pretty fantastic: a vanilla souffle with a crusty top, cut in half and artfully
plopped onto a plate with chocolate sauce spread on it. Thank you very much! We
are now on half rations.