Today we went for a long walk. We started off, heading across the river, from the traffic bridge from Victor Emmanuael Road, but we came upon a car accident. A car had run into several pedestrians on the bridge and the car had slammed into the concrete pillars. We saw two people on the ground, and a crowd around the injured. It must have just happened. We immediately turned around. All around us sirens were blaring as ambulances tried to get to the site. It looked as if the people on the ground were not moving and there were people around trying to help them. We figured it was best to not to try going through the crowd so we went the opposite direction and headed to Janiculum hill. (We checked later online and found this photo, 4 people were injured. They were still working on getting the car off the bridge when we returned 4 hours later - traffic was a mess. Travel Tip #1 - never drive in Rome).
It wasn't long before we came to the first part of the hill and began walking towards the top. The walking was easy with Gracie in the carrier on my back instead of her in the stroller. It didn't take long to begin climbing in altitude and you could turn around and see much of Rome. The day was cool also and perfect for walking. We came to a hill with a huge building and gate. On the building was the sign "North American College", we knew we were heading in the right direction because our friend said the college was near the Janiculum Hill. There was very little sidewalk and all I could think of was seeing the people on the ground at the accident and how fast people were driving up and down the hill.
We continued walking and came to a fantastic view of the city. I took a few photos and we took a chance for a short break. Gracie then saw a small beach ball with Bugs Bunny on it at a vendor's stand and had to have it. She asked nicely so we bought it for her. We forged on and had to climb a few steps before coming to another great view of Rome and an old lighthouse. A few photos and a sort rest and we were on our way again and after a few short minutes we reached the top. At the top was a huge statue of Garibaldi and there were several snack stands and it looked as if someone was filming a movie. We found out from an English family you can walk down the other side of Janiculum hill. I bought a couple of paninis and waters and we sat down for a picnic. A short time later we were heading down Janiculum Hill and came upon of all things, a comic book shop. I made a couple of purchases, Batman in Italian and off we went. About half an hour later we arrived at the souvenir shop near our apartment and purchased several items. Arriving back at the apartment around 5 pm, Gracie watched her cartoons, Marie relaxed and I had a couple of cigars.
At 6:30 pm we headed out to the Le MonteCarlo where we had delicious pizza and Gnocchi Pomodoro. Gracie fell asleep before the food arrived and slept in Marie's arms as we ate and drank Nastro Azzuro Birra, the national Beer of Italy. Gracie woke up as we were leaving in a pretty foul mood and didn't even want to go for gelato. So we headed back to the apartment where Marie made Gracie pasta. We are packing as I type, getting ready to head out early tomorrow morning. We won't arrive in Vegas until 8 pm., a very long day.
