My last day in Rome! A chance to see the random quick stops (tourist traps) I haven't seen yet and buy gifts for friends.
I started the day with a bit of shopping, starting at the hostel's local grocery store. I love grocery stores in other countries - you never know what kind of crazy stuff, or crazily familiar stuff - you'll find. So after wandering the store for at least half an hour I came away with what I hope are some authentic staples: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, wine, pasta, pesto, etc. It's not homemade, but it was all made in Italy which makes it cool, right? ...right? no? ok then.
After wondering how everything would make it home in my luggage while lugging everything back to the hostel I made my way to the tomb of the unknown solider. I had walked by it a bunch of times in my lost wanderings, but this time I went in and took the elevator to the top. It is a HUGE building, close to the ruins, with thousands of intricate statues and carvings. It was really pretty and had a great view. It's interesting that Rome, like so many cities, doesn't have a skyline. The view is instead punctured by what must be hundreds of churches in every direction.
After leaving the temple I walked along the river to visit a few synagogs and have lunch in the Jewish ghetto. I knew, of course, about Italy's role in WWII, but to see damaged synagogs and hear about the ongoing hate crimes perpetrated against Jews and their buildings is raw and hard. One of the synagogues had a museum and at the other I took a tour. At that one I got yelled at for wearing a shirt with short sleeves (possibly a tank top, I forget, but it definitely was not revealing!) and had to wrap my scarf around my shoulders/arms for the tour. After the tours I ate a Nonna Betta, a highly reviewed Kosher restaurant in the ghetto. Delish.
After eating I strolled around the neighborhood. It looked like much of Rome, but everything was tight. There were allies instead of roads, and it made everything dark. The whole neighborhood was practically in a shadow of itself. I can't imagine how horrible it would have been to be overcrowded and confined there. Presently, though, it is charming with cute little businesses and families, and the tour guide said that the neighborhood is making a revival. Cool.
I then crossed the river to visit the Rome's oldest Catholic church. Just like every other church I saw in Rome it was old, intricate, ornate, and stunningly beautiful, decorated with tons of gold. It was very near to where I had gone for dinner with the other kids in the hostel, but never the less I got super lost trying to get back to the other side of the river. Apparently I wandered into a university area, because I found some American college kids who were pretty nice about sending me back on my way.
After making it back to the city proper I finally found the Baboon Statue, which I was pretty excited about. It's a fountain statue of a half man half goat, but I wanted to see it because it's one of Rome's "talking statues." Beginning in the 16th century some areas around statues were painted with political commentary in protest, and the tradition continues in some places. The graffiti is periodically painted over back to white, but the protests continue to be painted and, of course, change with the times. The Babuino statue is particularly known for Anti-American writings which I thought would be fun to see given our current military campaigns, but there was nothing there :(
Then I checked out the cats at Argentina (underwhelming) and squeezed in a quick tour of the Pantheon before they kicked everyone out for mass. Exhausted, I had my last Roman meal and packed for Brindisi. I'm excited to see another city, but kinda bummed that my first private international vacation is over.
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