Trastevere, Rome, Italy--A Walking Tour

Today we followed Rick Steves audio tour, via his mobile app, of the delightful neighborhood across the Tiber River called Trastevere.

First, we purchased our 72 hour metro/bus/tram pass for €18. Only took us 3 machines, 2 helpers and a wad of bills (unbent) to do the transaction. Our credit card wouldn't work, not sure why. Once armed with our tickets we zipped down the Line B towards Laurenti from Termini to Circo Massimo. Avoiding the guys with the big guns (security is very evident everywhere) we strolled back along the Via Del Circo Massimo imagining the chariots thundering around the circle below us.

Crossing over the Ponte Palatino we walked along the Tiber River to the Ponte Cestio where the audio tour begins. There is a stone insert on the bridge which dates from 370 and mentions Caesar.

Entering the Piazza Piscinula, dodging trucks squeezing through impossibly small spaces we see one of the oldest towers in Rome. Winding our way up the little lanes we pass under old towers that have been incorporated into new buildings.

On the via Salumi we are caught up in the mid-day exodus of kids from the school built in the Mussolini era.

Following the tiny alley of the athletes and winding around a couple of corners we find ourselves in front of the Church of St. Cecilia. She was the early Christian who told her husband on their wedding night that she intended to be chaste! It took angels intervening to convert her husband too and eventually they were both martyred.

In St. Cecilias we were treated to the organ practice session of one of the resident nuns.

On our way to the next stop on the tour we waylaid to use the cash machine. Luckily it was more straightforward than the ticket machine at the station. Can't say the same would be true if you actually wanted to enter the bank. To do that you have to open a door into a circular contraption like the TSA scanner at the airport. Once you enter you are stuck in a glass tube for a few seconds before the interior door opens. It only fits one person at a time and you have to reverse the process on the way out.

After crossing the main road of Vale Di Trastevere we decided it was time for a four course meal. Actually, we were just looking for a quick bite, but ended up with the €10 full lunch at a delightful spot in  a small piazza.

Bruschetta followed by a large plate of spaghetti alla carbonara, followed by salad with chicken (a few small sprigs of lettuce and half a chicken) followed by creme caramel. That was mine, Fritz had lasagne and cake as 2 of his courses.

After lunch we finished up our walking tour at the Church of Saint Maria in Trastevere which has some amazing mosaics and ceiling tiles.

With renewed energy from lunch we continued our walking tour by winding down the little lanes back down to the river. There we strolled along until we became even with the Vatican complex, so we popped up for a quick photo (we have been a number of times before).

From there we hiked back to the metro and did our sardine impression along with millions of others. My iPhone said that we did almost 14,000 steps for 6 miles of walking. Instead of dinner we are taking ourselves out for Gelati!