Never A Dull Moment December 2, 2006

Hurray, the buses were running this morning! We caught the #64 and rode it to within a few blocks of the Campo del Fiori. Every morning there is an open air market here where the locals buy produce, meat, fish and household items while us touristas buy t-shirts or a few other souvenirs that are offered on the fringes of the market. The fruits and vegetables were fresh as were the meat and fish. The market was doing a good business although we suspect that at other times it is probably packed. Holly found a few things to buy, we took a few pictures and then moved on to the next stop.

The Crypta Balbi has been under excavation and restoration for over twenty years and is a fascinating although a little off beat place to go in Rome. The original structure appears to have been a courtyard and theater built in 13 BC but this exhibit shows in detail the evolution of the sight from that time until the late 20th century. The museum at ground level gives good background information and the technical detail of the structure, but to get to the root of the information you have to go below ground. In the cellar you wind your way through two thousand years of living as the foundation of the building was used over and over for different purposes through the centuries.

After the Crypta we decided we go back to the hotel area and find some lunch. There was a bus stop just down the street and as we approached a bus was pulling away. Twenty minutes later Holly, me and thirty or so other people were still standing at the bus stop. This stop services 8-10 different bus routes but not one bus had come the whole time we had been standing there. At the end of the street we could see trams pass every once in a while so we decided to try to find one which would take us at least closer to the hotel. When we reached the tram stop a tram sat there closed and dark. This didn’t look good. We still hadn’t seen a bus, going on thirty minutes now, and the tram wasn’t running. We walk again.

Starting in Campus Martius where in ancient Rome soldiers trained and citizens voted, we started our long march back to the hotel. If they would have let me vote, I would have voted for someone new to run the transportation services. A day older and wiser we were determined to keep track of our course and not wear out our shoe soles anymore than needed. We were diverted at one point by a Chinese restaurant but after replenishing our supplies we were again on our way.

As we moved along the way we noticed quite a few more poliza and caribiners than we have been seeing. The closer we got to the Piazza Della Republica the more we saw. We finally reached the Piazza where we plan to stop at a cinema to see what was playing. The Piazza was filled with thousands of people that seemed to be in a high state of agitation, carrying flags, shouting, singing and generally having what seemed to be a good ole time. As we were watching a lady spoke to Holly in Italian. “English Only” the phrase that lets them know you are probably American is what Holly replied. The lady then proceeded to tell her the rally was about women in government and ask us if we wanted to join. We declined politely and she moved on to tend to her banner and other potential allies.

We walked on to the hotel. At the desk we asked for our key and what was going on. The clerk handed us the key and said it was a group protesting the government. Holly told him the lady asked us to join. He shook his head gravely and said “you should not do that senora. You should go to your room and stay until this is over”. He also told us that it was scheduled to end at 6 PM. So here we sit listening to the rally grow louder and helicopters hover overhead. Well we were just staring to get bored with all this ancient history so it’s exciting to see some actually being made.