Today was a relatively quiet day, by our previous days standards. Usual early morning (but what do you expect, we were asleep by 9pm). Today we caught the 'hop on hop off' bus. When we got on at 9:10am we had pole position up the top at the front! Sensational views. We had a lovely tour around all the major tourists spots, most of which we had already visited but it was nice not to be walking everywhere! We got off the bus at the Circus Maximus as this was the nearest stop to the Trastevere district where my conference was. However, the bus took longer than anticipated and I was stressing that I wouldn't make it to the university in time so we flagged down a taxi rather than taking the 2km walk. We arrived in plenty of time for me to check in and for both of us to have a coffee in the court yard. Gaz took a couple of photos of me in the courtyard against the American University of Rome sign, this university teaches all it's course in English. I wish they taught nursing because I would definitely apply for a 12 month secondment here! It really is spectacular. The university itself is nothing amazing, it has the usual classroom, auditorium etc but the location is just beautiful and it has the most gorgeous views over Rome.
Anyway, my presentation was at 1pm and it went well. No problems. We stayed for the following presentation than made a quiet exit. We wandered down the hill past a beautiful botanical garden but I was not confident that if we entered we would be able to find our way out as it wasn't on our map! So we stuck to the road. When we got to the Tevere or Tiber River, we crossed over onto the Tiber Island which is one of the two islands in the Tiber River and is believed to have been used as a hospital in 293 BC when there was a great plague in Rome.
Once we crossed the river we headed back towards the bus stop, but first went and had a look at the Teatro di Marcello which is an ancient open-air theatre in Rome believed to be started by Julius Caesar in 17BC and finished after his death by Augustus in 12 BC. At the theatre, locals and visitors alike were able to watch performances of drama and song. Today its has apartments above it and is one of the city's many popular spectacles or tourist sites.
From the Teatro we walked to the back of the Capitol to the Piazza d'Aracoeli where we had a nice lunch and a celebratory wine/beer. The fountain in the Piazza d'Aracoeli is located at the base of the Capitoline Hill and is a major bus terminal. This is where we got back onto the bus. I wanted to go to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore which is the largest Catholic church in Rome dedicated to Mary. But unfortunately it was now peak hour traffic and it was close to 30 degrees so we were both exhausted. So we got off at the stop nearest our Hotel and headed back for a quick siesta.
After about an hours rest we headed out once again. It was now 6:30pm and we are both so tired we can't decided what we want to eat. So instead we find the nearest supermarket where we buy a ready made salad, bread roll, some cheese and a bottle of bubbles and head back to The hotel. Now Gaz is doing sudoku and I am writing my blog! Such an exciting end to the day :) Ciao until tomorrow - Pisa!
