Now all we need is a ladder

After our visit to San Clemente, we wound our way through a public garden, back toward the Colosseo and the Arch of Constantine, then to the Circus Massimus, where the festival Cibo d'Italia featured wines, cheese, meats, etc., from all the regions of Italy. Wild to be in a great public space, full of Italians, two centuries after all those chariot races.

We sampled some oils and bought some Calabrese olives--vacuum packed for travel convenience, but I wouldn't count on them making it home :-) We tried some Pratorosso--an Italian microbrew. It was delicious and packed an 8.2% alcohol content. Don't let anyone tell you they don't make great beer in Italy. The Rossa (Red) was terrific.

We crossed the Fiume Tevere at the Ponte Palatino, enjoying the views of the great Tiber river below the ancient walls. On the other side the Trastevere was calling our name for a bit of a walk about and some dinner. Known as Rome's version of the Left Bank, the area was full of ristoranti and shops fronting narrow streets and colorful alleys, all open late.

We had a tasty meal at a sidewalk cafe, leaving with plenty of time to catch our hotel shuttle, or so we thought. But the perils of google maps in old European cities became clear when the app delivered us to a dead end alley roughly 30 ft below our shuttle bus stop (no elevation markers)! Thankfully a nice young man at a small negozio redirected our path--it felt completely wrong but we had to go with it, and sure enough, his directions were spot on, and we arrived in time to chat with a lovely couple (he was Lebanese, she Brazilian, but they live in Tampa) on the bus on the way back to the hotel.