Nuns, electric buses and other miscellany

I had always imagined that Rome would be full of whatever-the-collective-noun-is for nuns.  I have thus far been sadly disappointed.   There has been the odd single nun here and there, but even at the Vatican, where I was sure there’d be many of them, not a sign.  The only time there was a sighting was when I was standing at a bus stop in a thunderstorm, holding an umbrella, and unable to get out my camera in time to provide photographic evidence of them crossing the road en masse and going into the subway at the Colosseum.

Update: according to http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/collnoun.htm#People it’s a superfluity of nuns.  A little cruel, don’t you think?

BTW there are many Segway tours in Rome.  I have decided that the collective noun for this phenomenon should be a nerd of Segway riders!

Today we attempted to cover the few must-sees left.  This involved another use of the three-day pass; this time on the underground. What a godsend it was, because a disabled elevator at the Spanish Steps station allowed g’pa to be at the top of Spanish Steps for a while, then at the bottom, without having to navigate a single Spanish Step! Incidentally on the bus that took us to the subway station, an elderly nun gave up her seat to allow G’pa to sit down!

Next was the Trevi fountain. The bus ride there can best be described as crowded.  Regular buses in Rome can carry either 95 or 114 passengers, depending on their size – and let me assure you I’ve been in both sizes with at least the maximum amount of people! This bus was of the midget, electronic variety.  I never did see the notice stating how many people can be on this type of bus, but I swear there were about 50 in a space equivalent to a small ½ bathroom!

This experience was quickly followed by a Bataan death march through cobbled streets to reach the renowned Trevi fountain.  I truly thought G’pa was going to expire, but a pint and a panini at a little café on the way made all the diference.  The other thing that really lifted his flagging spirits was that, in the café, we met a man from NY who had been born in Motherwell!  He was an elderly man who was in Rome on a day trip from a cruise ship.  He was with relatives from Wishaw, which is very close to Motherwell.

I must confess that I was seriously underwhelmed by the Trevi fountain experience.  Don’t get me wrong – it’s beautiful, but it was a lot like being in a Disney theme park, as the photo might suggest!!

It was then back to apartment, since g’pa needed a nap.  Jim and I hit the road again, spending a good bit of time in the Hebraica museum in the Jewish Ghetto, because our intended visit to one of the huge Jesuit churches that was built as part of the counter-Reformation was closed for an extended (3 hour) lunch break. The synagogue and museum were not only fascinating, but one of the best little museums I’ve been in in a while.

To end my miscellany for today, I need to report that on the walk back to the apartment, we happened upon some sort of movie set in a square close to where we’ve been living these past few days.

I’m not quite sure when I’ll next be able to post, because I will NOT be purchasing internet time on the cruise ship, but I’ll get back to y’all as soon as I’m able.