DAY 13–
–6:00-8:00 am Keymaster tour of the Vatican (a once-in-a-lifetime-experience!)
–Basilica of Santa Pudenziana (beautiful mosaics)
–Basílica Santa Praxedes (more gorgeous mosaics)
–St. Maria Maggiore and loggia (massive church & special Mass for the celebration of the Armed Forces going on)
–lunch Giano (“Business lunch” 22 Euro--house made focaccia bread, wonderful salad with fresh Bluefin tuna, delectable tortellini filled with Nebrodi pork in a ricotta sauce, Pelligrini sparkling water and (drum roll…) my very first cappuccino coffee. Another OMG meal!
–Capuchin Crypts (eerily fascinating)
–Santa Maria della Vittoria church (St. Teresa in Ecstasy)
** WOW! What an amazing day. The Walks of Italy Keymaster tour was marvelous. Unlocking the doors and turning on the lights to various rooms was so cool. Seeing the Sistine Chapel with 19 other people (and the janitors sweeping the floor) left me speechless! After the tour I also saw the Transportation museum–so cool, the gardens and the Oceanic museum. I was going to go back after and look at some of the rooms I saw more in depth, but even at 8:30 am the incoming crowds were maddening! (There were general admittance people lining up outside the Vatican at 5:45 am for an 8 am entry!) I just didn’t want to ruin the euphoria of the last 2 hours by fighting to see the other museums. So, I ended on a high note and left.
I don’t drink coffee, ever. I’ve never had more than a taste and don’t like it. I told the server at Giano, he laughed and said just a moment, I think I can change that. He came back a few minutes later with a cup of cappuccino. I warily tasted it and proceeded to drink the whole cup. If coffee tasted like that here, I would drink it!
Tomorrow is the last full day of my Italy trip.
DAY 14–
–8:15 am Basilica Santi Quattro Coronati church & tour of the Gothic Hall
Plan B invoked. The bus was 50 minutes or so late. I didn’t arrive at the church until 9:30 am, & missed the Gothic Hall 9:00 am tour. So, I just visited the lovely church.
–San Clemente church and crypts (so interesting to see the different layers of the church)
–St. John Lateran church and cloister (massive church!)
–lunch Alice pizza (cacio e pepe pizza)
–Scala Santa ( I did not climb the stairs on my knees, but many did) (so spiritual)
–Museo Storico della Liberazione (Rome liberation museum)
-gelato Arena Del Gelato (my last of the trip, let’s call this an appetizer to dinner)
–dinner at the Domus (soup, salad, frittata, peas, fruit and wine)
** I learned that I loved all of the churches, but they were all almost visually overwhelming. The smaller less visited churches were very spiritual but, I found the huge really busy churches not as much so. They almost felt like an attraction to me.