Arrivederci, Roma!
We had a grand send off from St. Onofrio church from our generous host Jim Puglisi and dear Westtown friends Deanna and Eric Mayer who motorcycled over at 7 a.m to see us off. The cool morning air was a welcome change from the past three days of heat and humidity–perfect for the first leg along the Tiber River. Lots of Italians out jogging or biking on the path we followed northward out of the city. Views of the Basilica quickly gave way to scraggly outskirts where weeds are winning in the extensive public parks we passed.
We were a bit chagrined to see so many cafes closed on Sunday and wondered where we would find our first breakfast stop, but two hours into the walk, we found a perfect corner cafe where two elderly Italian women were enjoying a coffee with a backdrop of classic Italian accordion music. They were intrigued about our walk, even though they had no English and we had no Italian, but they just chatted away to us anyway. We got the positive message! After our cafe lattes and cornetti, we were in high spirits.
When we discovered tiles inscribed with famous quotations (including “Carpe Diem”) in the bathroom, we knew we had landed in the right place. We marveled at how quickly Italians ordered and kicked back their expressos, then left the cafe, while we lingered, resting.
Once we arrived in Monte Sacro at 11 a.m., we discovered our B&B reservation somehow hadn’t survived, but the charming owner, Stefano, had another spot for us elsewhere and drove us to the door — a first class upgrade if there ever was one!
Day one behind us, 13 more ahead. 09/20/15
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