Rome, Monday 26 May, Day 33

Another glorious blue sky Tuscan morning, as we set off back down the many escalators back to Siena train station, admiring the beautifully tended terraces of vegetable gardens as we descended.  We had to catch a regional train back up to Florence, connecting with a Frecciarossa down to Rome. For a while it looked like we might miss our connection, as acrid smoke started pouring from underneath one of the three carriages of the train a couple of minutes before departure. But we all got piled into one carriage and the train departed only a few minutes late. Made for a very squeezey trip as more and more people piled in, but we got to Florence in good time, then onto our connecting train which was much more comfortable.

The trip from Florence to Rome is mighty scenic, with lovely rolling hills and lots of little hill top villages.  We got a metropolitan bus to the Largo_di_Torre_Argentina, with its ruins of some impressive Roman temples and the site of Julius Caesar's assassination.  An easy walk to our hotel, which we found first go. Maybe we are improving at hotel finding. Hotel is nice, located in a lively area with some nice looking restaurants and a gelato shop nearby. It has a nice rooftop terrace with a great view of the dome of the nearby church, whose bells play different versions of "Ave Maria" every half hour. Hope they give it a rest at night though.

We are located around the corner from the Campo de Fiore, where the mathematician, astronomer and philosopher Giordano_Bruno was burned after being found guilty of heresy by the Roman Inquisition, for, amongst other things, suggesting that there might be life in other places in the universe other than earth.

Today the square hosts a busy market, but a statue of Bruno erected by the municipality of Rome in 1889, despite opposition from the clerical party, stands to mark the spot. I walked along lots of little streets - such wonderful names, Via Penetenzia, Via Consulate, Via Pellegrino - over to St Peter's Square, to marvel at both the building and the length of the queue waiting to get in. I think we will follow the advice of a priest on our bus coming in,  and try to get there very early one morning.

I expect Rome will be good entertainment.