Today is chill day, since I walked my butt off over the last few days, and the Vatican Museum + Sistince Chapel is closed today anyway, so I'm enjoying Rome how one probably should, in cafes and restaurants (and under the eyes of the Vatican!)
My apartment is very conveniently located down the street from St. Peter's Dome (see pictures), which however has the disadvantage that I wake up at 8am the latest because the churches in the vicinity toll their bells. Oh well. The apartments are quite nice otherwise, I have one German TV channel I can watch (ARD, ha) and the other people who are staying down the hallway are pretty cool too.
Thank you to Andrea for connecting with with Elena, my tour guide 2 days ago! I got to see some cool stuff I wouldn't have otherwise (for example that keyhole picture), and of course the pleasant company added to the enjoyment of the day.
So, as of this point, except the Vatican Museum + Sistine Chapel, I have seen most of "stuff one can't leave Rome without having seen". Colloseum, Foro Romano, Fontana di Trevi, Piazza Venezia, Circo Massimo + Bocca di Verita (thanks to Elena!), and yesterday evening St. Peter's Basilica.
Now for a Public Service Announcement: Folks, before you go on a vacation, turn off that TV one night, dig up that moldy manual of your camera and familiarize yourself with it. If a place (like St. Peter's Basilica) says "no flash", then you should really switch off that flash, especially when there's a mass going on in the back part. (aside from the fact that the Basilica is way too large to work with a flash anyway, so all you do is annoy people).
Speaking of the Vatican, or rather the Pope, Benedict really has to work on his public image. If you look at any religious paraphernalia store, you might think John Paul II is still the current pope. At this point I have only seen one small postcard with the current pope. Well, it probably doesn't help if you look like the Emperor from Star Wars.
Well, that's it for now, I might get me some gnocchi now which I haven't had yet.
Pictures:
EDIT: Oh, as a small follow-up to the bar fight in Nice: I arrive in Rome at Termini train station, and while waiting in line for the train reservation, a fight almost breaks out between a ticket customer and the guy serving him! (the ticket counter guy was poised to use the credit card machine as a weapon before somebody stepped in). And then 5 minutes later I'm witnessing this guy who banged at the window of a driving bus for a straight 20 seconds or so, while running along with it. Crazy. Must be the heat, that's my conclusion at this point.
Ralf
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