To celebrate my health, I took myself for an afternoon walk in Trastevere yesterday. Trastevere is an area of Rome not to be missed and worth spending more than a single afternoon ambling through the corkscrew alleys. Fifty-odd years ago it was kind of the Roman ghetto where no-one went or wanted to live. Today, it's considered a hip bohemian neighborhood with lots of pizzerias and restaurants, cafés, one-of-a-kind boutiques and bars... kind-of like Abbot Kinney in Venice, CA, but more awesome and less expensive, and just slightly older and totally different, so I guess it's not the same at all. So much for comparisons.
It was sunny and warm and seemed like everyone had the same idea as me. Here are some pictures from my walk-about. The first few pics are in Piazza Santa Maria di Trastevere where the oldest church in all of Rome still stands, dating back to 3rd century AD and houses these amazing Bysantine mosaics of the same era. If you are ever in Rome, you have to check out this church! It's a fun little piazza with kids running around, couples holding hands, friends and family catching up with one another, and me, eating gelato of course.
Apparently the ingredient of the day was artichoke. I love how they make little flower arrangements with them. Below is simply fantastic: Here's the website for "Women against Discrimination."
Sometimes, I don't know why I take certain pictures. Those of you who are actual photographers or amateurs or have any taste at all, would probably agree. When I took the picture below I thought it would be cool. But I had to stand in the street to take it, truely risking my life when a little old Italian man sideswiped my backside as he drove by. I have officially been hit by a car. The picture is clearly not worth it, but now at least it tells a story.
Fortunately, I am alive today to blog about it. Shortly afterward, I walked on to catch the Tram #8 to Largo Argentina and shop for boots, a far less dangerous sport than photography.
