We couldn't cross the street -- no-one could. We found a sympathetic ristorante and just sat, eating grissini (kindly donated by the management as being the only supplies that had managed to get through !), waiting for the hordes to pass. "All things must", we unoriginally noted.
And when we eventually managed to reach our B&B, it was fairly chaotic in there, too; the next day being the Rome Marathon (!), the Tourist House had something like 6 of its 8 rooms changing occupants, and the padroni Marinelli had not been able to get into town, so the delightful young Violetta -- easily the most good-looking, conscientious and thorough cleaner ever met in any place we've stayed -- was trying to handle everything at once. Which she did without too much trouble ! Our friends eventually struggled back in, and we compared notes about the difficulties of getting around that day ... which didn't change a huge lot the next, owing to the vast numbers of runners who apparently gave up the ghost early, and were mooching along, to be run into, on Cavour throughout the day, wrapped in space blanket and looking desolate.
And when we eventually managed to reach our B&B, it was fairly chaotic in there, too; the next day being the Rome Marathon (!), the Tourist House had something like 6 of its 8 rooms changing occupants, and the padroni Marinelli had not been able to get into town, so the delightful young Violetta -- easily the most good-looking, conscientious and thorough cleaner ever met in any place we've stayed -- was trying to handle everything at once. Which she did without too much trouble ! Our friends eventually struggled back in, and we compared notes about the difficulties of getting around that day ... which didn't change a huge lot the next, owing to the vast numbers of runners who apparently gave up the ghost early, and were mooching along, to be run into, on Cavour throughout the day, wrapped in space blanket and looking desolate.
Roma now has little electric buses on certain routes, and they're GREAT. It was on one of these that we discovered San Giovanni in Laterano; Roma's cathedral, as it turns out, and notable for its *extraordinary* coffered ceiling -- worth a trip to see, as are the cloisters. And there was St Bartholomew again; this time, absolutely huge (like all the rest of the apostles, of each of whom was an enormous statue), carrying a flaying knife and Something over his arm. Guess what it was ...? Yeah, it was his skin, alright; but this one was like a ... a throw-rug, with with a dismal face pasted on one end. Ain't religion ... strange ?
The Tourist House has the firmest beds I've experienced; lying on ours was a bit like being some kind of offering on an altar ... But I did sleep, in spite of the lack of give, and CS had zero trouble. And the rooms are indeed light and bright, with double-glazed windows that shut out ALL the noise from Cavour (or the other side). However, the bathroom of our room was actually too small for this large person, so I can't say that I enjoyed my morning showers. We subsequently found that our friends' room had a bathroom that wasn't nearly as cramped; another thing learned,
The Tourist House has the firmest beds I've experienced; lying on ours was a bit like being some kind of offering on an altar ... But I did sleep, in spite of the lack of give, and CS had zero trouble. And the rooms are indeed light and bright, with double-glazed windows that shut out ALL the noise from Cavour (or the other side). However, the bathroom of our room was actually too small for this large person, so I can't say that I enjoyed my morning showers. We subsequently found that our friends' room had a bathroom that wasn't nearly as cramped; another thing learned,
