The plan for Sunday morning was to meet at the train station for a trip to Pompeii. Alas, the train was sold out, and the back up plan, to get on a sight seeing bus was also starting to fizzle. Nothing a little espresso and chocolate couldn't help, and suddenly the day was shaping up. We had to break up our troop of 10 to get seats on top of the bus, but we all enjoyed the views of the sights, and wow was I glad to be viewing those crowds from the top seat on a bus, instead the back of the line.Around 2 we met in Bernini Piazza for pizza and beer, and then headed to St Peter in Chains to see Michelangelo's sculpture of Moses and the chains apparently bound St. Peter. That basilica had some really interesting work in it, including the chains, but the Moses sculpture was clearly the artistic work of magnificent proportions. I loved the funeral ornament with the grim reaper and the tiles on the floor were beautiful.
The other two families went to mass and Pat & I headed back out to do more exploring. I fell asleep on the tour bus, and Pat decided it was time for a coffee break. We went to Piazza Novana and found the Pantheon and St. Louis Church, where three Caravaggio's are hung depicting the calling of Matthew. The obviously French church was quite a contrast to the Italian churches we had seen all day, and the familiarity was kind of comforting.
Serendipitously, we met back up with Norm and Ann and the boys for dinner and spent a really pleasant evening at Piazza Novana. The night was clear and weather was great, and the entertainment was a fabulous electric guitar band and the piazza was buzzing with artists and tourists and maybe the occasional local. We headed back to our hotel via bus around 11:00. I slept like a rock, despite my earlier nap and late afternoon coffee.I forgot to tell you about being in Italy when the US team was playing Italy in the World Cup (day 2). There were several obviously American fans, draped in American flags, and when the game was being played it was on in every restaurant and bar in the area. But when the game ended in a tie, there was an eerie silence over what had been a very lively crowd, as people kind of tried to decide what to do with a tie. The party eventually started back up, but for about 5 minutes, there was just kind of silence.
In case you were keeping track, that was another 8 mile day.
