Piazza Cavour - in front of the Palace of Justice
Today we decide to go to the Vatican to see the church of St. Peter. We decide to walk as the weather is still nice and we want to enjoy the last bit of sunshine. It is supposed to change. Passing by the mausoleum of Augusto we cruise along streets with oozing traffic. Weather is getting a bit more cloudy and a there is a brisk wind. We pass over the river Tibern and cross the big square of Piazza Cavour, lined by the imposing facade of the Justice Palace. We walk around the big star shaped area enclosing the Castel de St. Angelo, a previous mausoleum of Hadrian. Finally approaching the Vatican and the church of St. Peter, we see an unbelievably big crowd on St. Peter's square. This can't be. Mass tourism these days... When I was young you just walked straight into the church of St. Peter. No big queues. Then somebody shouts to us that there has just been a mass by the Pope and the church opens again after two. Oh, so that's why there are so many people.
Approaching St. Peter's Church
We decide to find a place for a coffee. On the side of the vatican where we are there are not so many cafes. We find a cozy wine bar. It is hopelessly crowded with people who have been to the mass, presumably. But we find a table and get some good coffee and a delicious piece of cake, something like a gateau basque.
In the wine bar. You can pick the bottles you'd like to dring from the shelves.
From the Vatican we take a cab to Piazza Navona. There is a lot of life on the square with street artists and vendors of all sorts. We take a look at Bernini's famous statue of the four rivers symbolized by gigantic muscular men interlocked. We have a late lunch at one of the nearby restaurants. Somewhere we have sensed the smell of fried calamares, squid, and that is what we want. We get a nice plate of shrimps and fried calamares.
Walking back through the picturesque streets of historical Rome, we stop at the big GAP store on the Corso. Against the will of Michael we buy him some smart clothes. Then we make it back to the apartment and have some tea and relax.
In the evening Hiroko and I go out shopping. It is raining a bit so we get to use our umbrellas for the first time on this trip. Hiroko finds a bag in a nearby shop and I actually find a very nice Italian suit which I decide to buy. There are so many small men's clothes shops and the service is very nice. I am amazed that clothes are still manufactured in Italy. Nice to get something which is not made in sweat shops in the Far East. I have been very happy with my other Italian suit that I bought in Sweden about ten years ago.
We then spend a fair amount of time looking for new boots for Hiroko. There are some very nice high-heel boots, little pieces of art. But they are probably not very practical for everyday use and Hiroko decides against buying them. Maybe we'll find some boots tomorrow on our last day.
We walk back through rain-wet streets and pass by the bakery, which we like, to get some bread. There is a Japanese lady who works there and Hirko chats a bit with her. We return with Pizza Bianca and other yummy varieties of Pizza and have dinner.
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