I thought it would be nice to start the day out visiting St. Peter's since it's fairly close to the hostel. I got there & there was a massive crowd, all waiting for the Pope, who was scheduled to arrive shortly. I must be following him, or he's following me. I went through security & figured i would wait for a little while, it might be cool to see the Pope! But after about half an hour I grew impatient and decided I should continue with my day, I only planned one full day in Rome after all (impossible, I know). So I asked the guard to let me out, he thought I was crazy, and I battled my way through the crowds. Sorry Papa Francesco, I hope you understand. So I crossed the bridge and found Piazza Navona, and visited the churches of Sant' Agostino & San Luigi dei Francesi so I could revisit the Carravaggio paintings in both. Then I wandered some more and found Chiesa del Gesu which has this amazing trompe l'oiel painting on the ceiling. Eventually I ended up in the chaotic center, where the monument to Vittorio Emmanuele & the Roman Forum & Campisoglio all collide. Busiest part of town and there are no crosswalks for pedestrians. I decided to visit the Capitoline museums. I had high hopes but was somewhat disappointed, perhaps because my passion is for painting and it was primarily sculpture and fragments of old ruins. There were some cool pieces; the original bronze she-wolf, equestrian statue, marble head of medusa. The painting collection was small and mostly unknown, lesser skilled artists. But Carravaggio made a couple appearances, as did Ruebens. The museum also has some nice views overlooking the Roman Forum. Afterwards I headed to Campo de' Fiori, which has a market that I missed yesterday but was able to enjoy today. I always think I'm not going to buy anything at these markets and then I get weighed down by this heavy bag of stuff! Nectarines, dried candied fruit, and 2 jars of honey (those are going to add weight to my allready heavy backpack, but I've been wanting to buy honey this whole trip & I couldn't resist). Then I found Open Baladin-an Italian craft beer bar/restaurant. I planned on just stopping for a drink, but I was intrigued by the menu, so I had a refreshingly light wheat beer and a veggie burger-yes, in Italy. I wanted to explore more, but my market goods were weighing me down, so I trekked back to the hostel, had gelato in Trastevere (I think I found 2 of the best gelato spots in Rome!) and walked all over Rome. Passed the ruins of an old bridge, walked along the Circo Massimo where I could view Palatine, made my way past the Coliseum, continued all the way past to the churches of San Clemente, San Prassede & Santa Maria Maggiore, all with amazing Byzantine style mosaics in the apse. San Prassede had the most, with a smaller chapel where you could see detail, Santa Maria Maggiore was the most impressive. I knew it would take a while to get back to the hostel, so I walked back past the forum and trajans market as the sun started to set, then finally crossed from traffic & people packed Rome into lively, hip & cozy Trastevere, where I wandered the streets back to the hostel.
