Some days things don’t go as planned

After the failure yesterday to see Ostia Antica with the Metro closed,  we headed off again this morning. We caught the Metro and got off two stops later to transfer to the train. Surprise! The train was not running today. Tomorrow we were told. So change in plans. We decided to just go walking and headed across the Tiber to Trastevere. 

This is the Pyramid of Gaius Cestius. Built in 30BC

This is Norm and the pyramid 

Next to this is Porta San Paolo, a gate of the wall that once encircled the city. 

So off we started walking. Seemed like a nice day with a few drops of rain. Walking past a variety of stores and this one selling fresh fish.

A walk along the Tiber and where we could see bouncing plastic, lots of balls at the weir.

It started to rain so we stopped for tea, coffee and treats.

The sun came out so we kept walking and surprise!!! Another church. 

This is one of the oldest churches in Rome and the first church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Amazing inside with so many paintings. 

One of the ceilings. 

Th altar and below a closer look.

The church was very peaceful and dimly lit which added to the quietness. 

The ceiling was unlike any other we’ve seen. 
Onwards we decided, why not walk to the Vatican. 

The rain had started falling a bit heavier and by the time we got to St. Peter’s square it was a downpour. Thunder, lightning and RAIN. Probably a bit like B.C. these days. 

No one was in the square! 
We kept dry amongst the columns with everyone else. 

We ate the ham and cheese sandwich I snuck out of the breakfast meal this morning and waited for the rain to stop. And it did …. For a bit. 

This is the classy garbage cans in Rome. Remember how people were taking photos using the puddles? Well…. why not! 

We were quite proud of the artistic effort. 

Quick stop for NYT paper.

One more photo—Castel Sant’Angelo. Emperor Hadrian designed it as his own tomb! It later became a fortress and prison and today it connects to the Vatican as a refuge for threatened popes. It looks like a pile of bricks. 

The thunder and lightning continued and now the rain came down so hard we were soaked even with an umbrella. We headed home. Like so many we had to take cover because the rain was so relentless. 

We are now drying out in our hotel room but we can still hear the thunder and see lightning. Maybe it will stop for us to have one more look at Rome before we leave tomorrow. Probably a good thing we didn’t go to tour the ruins in Ostia Antica. The weather was not favourable today. 

Last dinner tonight in Rome. Yummy pizza 

Norm had 4 cheese amd I had ham and mushrooms. Enough for breakfast tomorrow as we head back to Amsterdam.