on to rome

we left bologna on a friday...the start of the weekend...and the train was crowded...no seats, standing room only...and in the entry area...

met a gal heading for forli where she is working for a master's in diplomatic sciences...she sees a future with the european community...wished her luck as she got off in forli...

reached rimini and walked over to hotel napoleon...welcomed by jo-jo, the resident greeter...she was most photographic...and she loved to pose, knowing cameras were clicking all around her...

after depositing our luggage, we headed for the san marino bus stop and purchased tickets from the "agent"...we had a 45 minute wait and then rushed the bus as there seemed to be less seats than passengers, not realizing another bus was behind us...

it was a nice ride along the countryside even though we passed a few outlet stores...upon reaching san marino, we looked for photo ops...the landscape of rolling hills was spectacular, on a nice sunny day with a bit of cloudiness...we walked up to the church but it was closed so we went in search of lunch...we ate at smaller...i had a tortellini ragu washed down with menabrea, a beer...after lunch we returned to the main road, in search of the town center...we found one area of souvenirs identified by the horse roundabout...we turned around and found the entry to the main part of san marino with a very formal crossing guard...

we entered the walled city and headed for the visa office...on the way i passed a store selling creches...i bought a creche made out of a bullet shell...one of the cottage industries of san marino is selling weapons of all kinds...guns, bows and arrows, spears, swords...so why not a creche out of a bullet...

we found the visa office and for a small fee we got the clerk to apply the visa stamp...we returned to the bus stop and returned to rimini, all the time being entertained by a russian on holiday...he was a student majoring in economics...he kept talking about going to new york or tokyo...both are his idea of cosmopolitan cities...he was already a bit drunk...and he popped open a heineken...well, it is europe after all...

we rested back at the hotel before exploring rimini..we found tempio malatestiano and entered the church, named after the house of malatesta, an italian family that ruled over rimini from 1295 until 1500...the church was impressive...i got a nice shot of the altar area...

we stopped to have an apperitivo of wine and sandwiches...we then continued on to the central piazza, formerly piazza giulio cesare where the roman general/emperor made his famous speech crossing the rubicon, now the piazza tres matiri, commemorating the martyrdom of three partisans, luigi nicolò, adelio pagliarani, mario capelli...they sabotaged a threshing machine which the nazis had deemed essential for the war effort...the three were tortured and hanged in piazza giulio cesare....

we returned to the hotel and prepared for our trip to roma through anacona...we checked out with eddie, an ex-pat from massachusetts who came to italy to play pro ball just like gresham's playing for pizza...after breakfast in the hotel, sharing the space with some cross-country bicyclists, the area looked hilly enough to provide challenges to this hardy band, we headed to the termini and the train to anacona...unlike the friday crowd, the termini was fairly empty...after the transfer at anacona where we helped a cretan with his transfer, we arrived at roma termini for our two nights in the eternal city...

we walked over to hotel dina and checked in, dropped our luggage, and headed back to the termini to catch the subway to the spanish steps...once into the subway station, we walked forever to get to the train stop...for a two line system, the walk seemed interminable...i can understand walking tower hill or chatelet in london and paris...but this is a two-line system...anyhow...we got to spanish steps and the throng walking around the area...we walked down via condotti in search of the sovereign military order of malta...it is recognized by many countries as a sovereign entity aka country...i wanted to add this "country" to my list of countries visited, having just added san marino...

of course, via condotti is the high end street of italian shopping...like rodeo drive...like the miracle mile...we left via condotti and headed down via corso in search of the pantheon...having found the pantheon with its circus-like atmosphere with horse-drawn carriages and posing roman centurions, we found out that the pantheon was closed for vigil mass...we walked over to a trattoria for a drink and some snacks...

trying to find a taxi back to the hotel, we passed a "wedding," judging from the services in a chapel and a reception being prepared across the way...the chapel was built in the 10th century, fell into disrepair, and then was given in 1577 by gregory xiii to the "company of piety towards prisoners" who had it rebuilt and reconsecrated in 1624...it was refurbished recently in 2007...

we caught a taxi back to the hotel, exhausted from the train ride and the heat of rushing around rome...i wanted to have dinner but no one else seemed so inclined...my traveling buddy decided he'd keep me company so we walked around the termini to build up his appetite...we passed a modern statue and walked over to find, conversazioni by oliviero rliviero rliviero rainadi...this statue is a 5.5 meter tall bronze statue of the late pope john paul ii seen in front of rome's termini and dedicated on may 19, 2011...the enormous statue, unveiled just weeks after the ex-pontiff was put on the path to sainthood, has sparked controversy -- with locals calling for it to go...the statue, which depicts john paul ii with his arms outstretched, has been called an eyesore by critics who claim it does nothing to capture john paul's spirit...we ended up at regina giovanna where i had pasta pomodoro e basilico and scallopine al funghi porcini washed down with house red...next door to arirang, a korean restaurant in roma...

tomorrow...the borghese galleria and the vatican and lunch in the jewish quarters...