I arrived at the destination train station together with many others who I thought knew the way to Vatican Museums. While I had my GPS that was showing me to go to a slightly different direction, I stupidly followed the crowd and ended up at the metal detector to see St. Peter's Basilica. It took about 20-30 minutes to get through security and until I realized I was at the wrong place. While I wanted to see St. Peter's Basilica, it was usually recommended to be the last stop after Vatican Museums. Disappointed by my "going with the crowd" mentality, I decided to continue with visiting the basilica. It was everything it was described to be - grand and majestically beautiful.
After the visit, I walked outside the gate past security and went towards where the REAL Vatican Museums were. The line was already very long. So long that it wrapped around so far, I could not see the end.
I made an executive decision not to wait, not to visit Vatican this time. Why? I guess I wanted to enjoy Rome away from the crowds today. Initially a bit frustrated, I ended up really enjoying the day as I walked along the quiet streets of Rome on an early Sunday morning. Everything was still closed, and people were sleeping. Is this what Rome like on a usual day away from touristic areas?
The bridge above interested me, so I went towards it. Right next to the bridge there was this huge castle. I had no idea what it was and looked at the sign. Castel Sant'Angelo... Sounded interesting. A few people gathered up by the entrance. The castle was to open in just a few minutes. I did not have a ticket, but I could buy one inside. A group of tourists with a guide came by. The guide was offering to sell tickets since some of her tourists did not come. I decided to just buy one at the ticket office. Finally, the door opened, and I headed to the ticket office. The guide and her group went to the other line since they already had tickets, and all of a sudden she approached me and two other people standing behind me in the other line and offered the tickets for free. She asked that we prayed for her group. Strange request, but a free ticket did not only save me 15 Euro, it also gave me hope that things happen at the right place and in time, if you just wait. I felt really good about what happened, and the castle itself turned out to be pretty amazing.
I didn't only like the castle because of it's history. The views from it were fantastic!
After the visit to Sant'Angelo Castle, I wanted to check on a couple of other, not as famous sites of attraction.
Largo Argentina was one of them. It is the remaining structure of Pompey's Theater. What was more interesting to me (I only found out about it after the trip) was that this is also a site for Torre Argentina no-kill cat shelter. Apparently, cats just roam around there, and given Italy's stray cat no-kill law, they can legally be there! Unfortunately, since I did not do enough research about this site beforehand, I did not know that there is a separate entry to the shelter. I don't remember seeing any cats, but in the hindsight, it was hot, so cats were probably hiding under ruins somewhere. Here is a video that one of the Italian TV channels made about this shelter (it's in Italian).
Can you see any cats on these pictures?
My next stop was Piazza Venezia. While it was really beautiful, it was filled with people. So so so many people. I left there very quickly.
It was getting time for lunch, so I went to Trasvestere, one of the trendiest areas in Rome where food is the center of attention. On the way there, I wanted to visit Jewish Ghetto, but for some reason I could not find where it is. What I found was a whole district of jewish restaurants, and as it turned out Jewish Ghetto was just another neighborhood!
To get to Trasvestere, I needed to cross the river. I decided to incorporate Tiber Island into my schedule since I was going to pass through it anyway. I expected a bit more of it. Yes, there are old bridges. Yes, there is a nice river. But besides that there was not much to see.
In Trasvestere I wanted to visit a certain restaurant for appertivi (as you might remember from my earlier post, appertivi are happy hour drinks that come with food), but there was such a long line to get in, I really didn't feel like waiting, so I continued walking. I found another restaurant that seemed to NOT cater to tourists, and walked in. I ordered some cold cuts with cheese, what turned out to be my last meal in Italy. It was really good, but not worth the price I paid.
It was 1.30pm and I was really getting tired. I decided to slowly head to the rental. I enjoyed walking along the river. It did not seem to be too crowded and was well-shaded by trees.
Before leaving Trasvestere, I stopped at another church, Basilica di Santa Maria. I sat there to rest for a while enjoying the last bits of my appreciation for art.
I was then on my way back to the room. I got back around 3 PM and went to take a nap. I was originally planned to take a final look at Roman streets after the nap, but decided to just stay in for the night. My trip was over, as far as I was concerned!
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