Day 4 - Stone and Kittys

We started the day with a trip to our favorite general upper store, Panaorama. This time, we took a chance to wander around the first floor where the food was. It is about the size of a Safeway in Santa Rosa, Ca. A big difference is the amount of wine they kept. There was a display of wine at the front of the store the same size as in a Safeway or Cost Plus. Then there was another section of wine just as big in an aisle. And finally, in the back, there was a third wine display easily two times as big as the others. It seemed that a conservative guess would put about 15% of the store as nothing but wine. This included bottles, boxes and even little 8oz size boxes of wine. I'm assuming the small personal size boxes are meant for little brown bag lunches, but who knows. Before we left we grabbed some crackers and a couple cans of cat food [wouldn't you like to know what I had planed for them].

Next stop was the Terne di Diocleziano ["The Baths"]. This is actually another part of the National Roman Museum, with four parts in all [one of which we saw yesterday]. This museum housed some of the oldest things in Rome. There were busts and statues depicting all of Rome's rulers as far back as is possible to see. This place also specialized in sarcophagi that the upper class would had made for their recently dead. Also, it displayed the things that were generally buried along with them, including hair pins, jewelry, food and even their dogs and cats.

From Italy Honeymoon

On our way to the next place, we collided with a huge rally that was being held in the Plazza di Rupublica. There were what seemed 500 people or so protesting what seemed to be rights of public education. It was loud and impassioned, making me smile at the anger and hope that was in the air.

We got on the Metro and headed for the Spanish Steps. From there we walked to the Pantheon. We'd seen it several times at night, so a day trip seemed appropriate. As we entered, the doors were congested with an incredible number of people. The inside no longer resembled a place where people would come to pray to the ancient Roman Gods. It had been changed [a very long time ago, of course] to a fully adorned and functioning Catholic church. Even today, services are held regularly. Each direction of the compass seemed to tell another story or honor another Roman figure. For instance, entombed here are the remains of the Renaissance painter Rafael and the King Vittorio Emmanuele II. Sarina and I moved through the ebbing sea of spectators, with cameras held above their heads like buoys on the water. Having both seen all the walls and angles within the Pantheon, as well as feeling a bit claustrophobic with all the people there, we moved on to our next stop.

From Italy Honeymoon

We made our way towards Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary. Positioned in an underground space, the cat sanctuary was pretty much a volunteer run and donation funded cat shelter that cared for over 250 stray and abandoned cats. They make it their responsibility to feed, vaccinate and 'fix' all the homeless kitties in Rome. How you may ask does such a small place afford space for so many felines? The shelter shares an iron fence with a large ruins of what used to be four Roman temples, dating back to around 200BC.

From Italy Honeymoon

Here the cats have all the room the could want, protected from the fast paced Italian traffic that swarms just 20 or 30 feet above them. Before leaving, Sarina and I took the cat food we'd bought earlier and dumped it over the railings into a swarm of fast awakened cats. After a few pictures we headed to our last stop.

On our way to Altemps, we bypassed through Plaza Navona. The area was gearing up for a full night of festivities. There were merchants, street performers, artists and musicians. Near the center, a group of men were setting up a large stage with speakers and lights. It appeared to be some kind of musical performance. Just as Sarina and I exited the plaza, we could hear them starting their first song.

Just outside of the plaza, we saw the entrance to Altemps. This place was full of large scale statues and sculptures. Sarina was glad. She had been looking forward to this museum for a while. We bounced around in there for a bit, absorbing all that Altemps had to offer. By the end, we were both ready to call it a day.

We headed back to the hotel for a brief rest. Shortly there after, we took a Metro out to the Colosseum. We found a cafe, had some dinner, and made our way out to take a couple night time photos. We've started to develop a trend where we decide where to have dinner based on what night time shots we want to try. After photographing the Colosseum, we took a quick metro ride to Massimo for one last photo opp. before heading home for a good hard sleep.

From Italy Honeymoon

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That's all for today. Tomorrow we'll hopefully get to see the wine festival in Marino. Ciao till then.

Also, the hotel internet is continuing to aggravate me. The video clips will be added in time, tho not necessarily in time with the daily posting. I'll be sure to mention on Facebook when new videos are added.