Today, Tuesday, I finally convinced Brad to do the Hop-on, Hop-off Bus with me. We had read terrible reviews (due to restrictions by the city, for example, the buses can’t go very near the major sites). We bargained with the guy selling tickets but had to wait until 3 pm for the lower-prices. We camped out by the river for a while, again near Castel Sant’Angelo. For lunch, I ate a boiled egg, cheese, and an apple we brought from home, which made me inexplicably happy.
We watched a couple of rowers on the Tiber, turning around to head back north, presumably away from the currents and small falls that are a little further south. This made me both happy (would love to do that myself) and sad (not sure if I’ll be fit enough any time soon).
After we got on the bus at the nearby stop (up a challenging, narrow staircase), there was clearly no hopping on or off for me. But we actually ended up liking it, just sitting there on the open-air upper deck. I took way too many photos of Roman buildings one story up (see the following slideshow: the last shot is Mussolini's balcony!), and we got a good re-introduction to the city's layout and a few new pieces of information.
That evening, we went for dinner again to another local favorite Trattoria Sor'Era just a few meters down from the corner of the street. They do vegetables really well there (here, carciofo romano) ... and I've never had better lemon sorbet.
Videos and slide shows with music . . . What's next, pray tell? (Hey, have Brad make a video of you describing something, and speak in Italian. We want to hear you, you Roman local, you!) And you have to admit, that even with just one hop on and one hop off, that was still one hell of a lovely bus adventure.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying at least. It takes such a long time though, it is always a balancing act between posting what I want and just posting. What's that aphorism: Don't let the best be the enemy of the good. I'm working on the Italian--that is a good idea!
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