Chain Reactions

 May 9

We got a late start on Thursday. Our internal clocks are way off, so it was about noon when we set off to the Apple store.

I always forget something, and this time it was the adaptor plug for Euro sockets. I had the damned thing in my hand, and have no idea where I put it. It’s probably lying on the bed, right next to where the suitcase was. That is, if the cat hasn’t run off with it by now.

Anyway, we passed Sta. Maria Maggiore and proceeded down Via Merulana, a name that sounds very close to one of my favorite substances, to the Apple store. We walk through the open double door and they tell us the store is closed. They will reopen at 3:30. They close a store for a full three hours in the middle of the day for lunch. 

It’s not a problem, of course, because there’s plenty to see everywhere.

 High on our wanna-see list is the church of St. Peter in Chains. The central relics are chains said to be those that held Peter when he was arrested in Rome. Later, the chains mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, when the angel came and sprung Peter from jail in Jerusalem, were brought to Rome and united with the Roman chains. According to my guide book, Rick Steeves’s Rome 2014, when the chain lengths were brought together, they miraculously linked.

After a long hot walk down Via della Sette Sale, a walled lane with no sidewalks,   you come to the Piazza San Pietro in Vincolo.

 If you arrive around two, the church is also closed for lunch. 

So we take the hint. It’s time to eat. We walk to a small street where there’s a sign pointing the way to somebody’s bar, but we didn’t to go there. Right at the corner is the Caffe San Pietro in Vincolo. They were out of the squid salad, so we settled on the caprese—tomato, mozzarella, and basil. Also pizza Margherita. I had a glass of the local red, acidy but not too harsh, and it got better when the food came. 

This all was pretty good, just like being in New Jersey.

We were sitting at a table outside. Across the street there was a palm tree looming over a stuccoed apartment house. Just confirming—Yes, I’m somewhere else. Cactus also grows outside here. It’s almost a full degree of latitude north of New York City.

There were three bikes lined up, and I often take notice of information of this level of importance. The large letters on each of the plates were the same as the postal abbreviation for places in North America: from left, ON, AK, DE. Wow, Ontario, Arkansas? No, Alaska. And Delaware. While we were eating, a fourth bike joined the line. The letters on the plate were BC, so now we had two Canadian provinces and two states.

The site of St. Peter in Chains, if not the current church building, dates back to the 440s.

 Besides the chains of St. Peter, the church has another distinction. One wall, to the right as you face the altar, has statuary created by Michelangelo for the tomb of Pope Julius II. He never finished the tomb, and Julius is somewhere else. Maybe somewhere near a palm tree.

The monumental Moses with horns is the focal point of this group. He looks kind of pissed, as if he sees people cavorting around a golden calf. The group also includes a reclining pope, who may represent Julius.

We found the Apple store open. I bought the world travel adaptor kit (I now own two of them) and we went back to the Contilia for a rest.

We decided to take up Rick Steeves’s Heart of Rome walk, which he says is particularly charming at night. It was. We started at a city square called Campo de’ Fiori. It is ringed with restaurants. 

But the first thing we saw when we got out of the cab was a fakir levitating next to a short pole. I don’t know how he did it, but the illusion was wonderful.

Behind him was the statue of Giordano Bruno, a heretic who was burned on this spot. 

We decided to try a restaurant called Baccanale, because it served tripe. 

Tripe was recommended (by Larry of course) as a must-try in Rome. This was trippa alla Romana, made with tomato and doused with pecorino. We also had buccatini with mussels and pecorino. Gotta love that pecorino.

They had Barolo by the glass, and that was sharp but good, especially with the food, and we followed that with a Brunello, which was milder. Joanna had Nero d’Avola, a smooth Sicilian wine.

The clown showed up during dinner. He had a Harpo Marx Klaxon to make his way through the crowd. I was sitting with my back to the square so I didn’t see everything. He chased a few girls. Later he came to our table and dusted me with a feather duster. 

From Campo de’ Fiori, the next stop on the walk is Piazza Navona, about half a kilometer away.

This is an even bigger square. It has two fountains. One represents the principal rivers of the four continents known in the 17th century. The Nile represents Africa; the Rio la Plata, represents the Americas; the Ganges stands for Asia, and the Danube for Europe. The Nile has his head covered because the source of the river was unknown at the time.

The clown had moved to Piazza Navona. In a suit and leaning on a cane, I must have looked pretty stuffy, because he came up next to Joanna and marched very ceremoniously with us.

It was getting late. Time for another drink. We stopped at one of the cafes for some chocolate mousse, a glass of local wine, plus some espresso with Sambuca.

The walk continues to the Trevi Fountain, but we had been there the day before, and we were starting to wear out. Well, at least, I was starting to wear out.

There is a cab stand right outside the plaza. When we got back to the hotel, I wasn’t quite ready to call it quits, but everybody else was. Everything in sight was shutting down. And it wasn’t even midnight yet. 

All the bars were closed. Harry too.

Good night.