Last night after blogging I went out for a couple of drinks locally with Gianni, who lives in the apartment while he's studying for his masters nearby. He's a family friend of Marco who owns the apartment, and he studied at Bucks University in High Wycombe so his English is excellent. We had a good old chinwag - he's a bit of an Anglophile and may well return to UK at some point. The night before I went for a drink with Annar, a young Polish woman I met on my second walking tour who was also by herself. Again, she's lived and worked in UK and is well-travelled in Europe with several languages under her belt.
So I've not been entirely short of company and I don't think that's the cause of feeling a bit down - I think I'm just knackered. After the pleasant stroll I had through Villa Borghese today, I finally got to see a couple of Caravaggios in the Santa Maria del Popolo church. It's certainly piqued my interest - his work seems to be about humanity rather than deity.
I found my way by nearby tram to MAXXI, the modern art gallery not a couple of kilometres north of Piazza Polpolo. The gallery is interesting and a fantastic design
and a massive (as usual) piece by Anish Kapoor (probably about 20 feet long).
I'd then intended to do some more wandering and take up some more as yet unseen sights - it was about 3pm - but my legs were really protesting and it was as though they'd made a unilateral declaration of independence from my brain. I managed a bit of light shopping and a gelato, but I had to admit that my legs won the battle so I hauled myself back to the apartment. I've been averaging at least 10 miles give or take most days (according to my phone app) so I guess it's no surprise that they were going to give up on me sometime.
I did find this on the way back though, at Palazzo Barberini (one of the popes who pretty much bankrupted Rome) - just as Neil said, a wow on every corner. Btw, it's no wonder the Italians tend to dress well - they have plenty of great shops to choose from and mannequins are dressed to draw you in. I've yet to see a man in an ill-fitting suit
My travel pass had expired, but to be honest with such a limited metro and tram system unless you really know your buses, it's sometimes as quick to walk as use public transport. I came back, lay down on the bed a while and listened to the radio (thank you, wifi) and I'm now catching up with the blog but feeling quite down.
I'm not good at whiling away time and being busy doing nothing. I was determined to make the most of every minute of this trip, and not to have a particularly productive afternoon when I'm in one of the world's great cities has made me cross with myself. I have to keep remembering Neil's good advice from last week. He told me that it's ok to be tired sometimes or to "just be" in a place rather than dashing about trying to do everything. And I know he's absolutely right - I think I am sculpture and art and ancient-historied out and if I'm to make the most of Milan I probably did need to just stop a while. All the things that I've missed in Rome this time will still be there - I just have to come back with a new plan (though sadly I don't think I'll ever be bothered to join the shuffling hordes in the Sistine chapel again).
So in a minute I'm going to head out and get dinner and a large glass of wine, and then pack up Nellie and have an early night as the train to Milan is at 9am tomorrow. And tomorrow is always another day. (I really must watch Gone with the Wind in full at some point during my long leave as I seem to remember it's about 3 hours long.....)
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