Our 3rd Day in Rome!

By our third day our feet where really putting up a protest to all that walking so we decided to take advantage of one of those hop on/hop off bus tour things. The ticket was good for 24 hours so we rode the bus the entire circuit first and saw all the sights and listened to the commentary, then we used it as transportation to get us close to the places we wanted to go inside. It was fun people watching from the top of the doubledecker bus. And it was VERY nice being a passenger and not having to deal with driving in that traffic. I think it is the worst place for driving I have ever seen.





















The first place we headed off to see was the Basilica of St. John Lateran. We were surprised that many people don't know of this place...it is the Cathedral of Rome! I guess so many people think of St. Peter's and the Vatican that they don't realize that Rome has its own cathedral. The scale of this place is amazing...the columns that hold up the ceiling just go up and up and up. There are wonderful frescos on many of the walls, and immense sculptures of the 12 apostles in between the pillars. Off to one side is the door leading to a peaceful cloister that dates from the 13C. I was fascinated by the unique columns and how many are decorated with fragments of antique marble.










Across the street from the cathedral was another church that we saw a lot of people going into. It was starting to rain a bit so we decided to step inside and let that one grey cloud blow over and see what we could see. Turns out it was the Chapel of the Sancta Sanctorum and was built to house the Scala Santa or Holy Steps. It is a staircase that supposedly came from Pilate's house and that Jesus went down after his condemnation. Pilgrims and other worshippers come to ascend the steps...and this is done only on their knees.


The next place we made sure not to miss was the famed "Mouth of Truth". It is a tradition to put your hand into the mouth of the huge marble face and anyone with a guilty conscience will have the mouth snap shut on them. There was a line of people waiting for their turn but we didn't mind. In front of us was a delightful family from Scotland. Apparently the younger son (around 3?) really really wanted to see this most of all. The older son told us "my brother says he never lied!" We asked him if he ever did and he paused and then said "well...I have but I always told the truth later!" As the line moved closer and closer the little guy watched everyone very carefully and serously. Of course there were a few who pretended to be caught in the mouth as a joke. When it was the little boy's turn I guess he had second thoughts because NO WAY was he going to let his father take him up there! He pulled back and tried to get away...he almost fell on the ground and even started to kick at his dad. Poor little fellow...he was so scared! I wish I had my camera ready...it would have been a very funny picture.


















The next place we wanted to see was a neighborhood located on the other side of the river called Trastevere. Since the middle ages this was the 'popular' district of Rome and is full of artisans houses, shops and restaurants. Today it is still 'the' place to be in the evening hours and is also a quaint place to walk and take photos. I had been taking pictures of windows all day long and added quite a few to my collection there. We could have spent a long time exploring for sure!