roman holiday, part iii

Dancing at Sant'Angelo - Campo di Fiori, Ponte Sant'Angelo, The Vatican

After spending a day touring Rome, Princess Anne, Joe, and Irving, Joe's photographer friend, head for the barges under the bridge at Sant'Angelo, on the Tiber River, to go dancing. Anne had been invited there by her hairdresser from that morning. Everyone is having a great time until trouble erupts. Princess Anne is spotted by agents from her country's secret police, and she and Joe have a narrow escape. After swimming to safety under a neighboring bridge, they share their first kiss.

Favorite things: Rose gelato from the crotchety old man at Alberto Pica; fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice and wild strawberries at the Campo di Fiori market; turning around in the courtyard of the Vatican to find Violet posing for photos with members of an Asian tour group, each taking a turn; Bernini's angels on the Ponte Sant'Angelo; having fabulous gelato twice in one day with no guilt whatsoever.

When to go: Late morning is best for the Campo di Fiori, where you can snack on farm-fresh goods, then get lunch at one of the excellent restaurants in the neighborhood. From there it is about a twenty minute walk to the Vatican, across the Ponte Sant'Angelo. Aim to be at St. Peter's and the Vatican Museums (including the Sistine Chapel) around 2 pm.

What to know: Here's the thing...tourists are up and in line for the big stuff nice and early. They would rather wait in line for hours than risk missing something. That means if you can stand to wait until afternoon for the Grand Tour kind of things, you will have a much more relaxing time of it and spend virtually no time in lines whatsoever. This is especially true for the Vatican. We sauntered over to St. Peter's Basilica one Sunday around 4 pm and walked right in. We were shocked a week later when we decided to do the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel early in the day. At 10 am the lines were several hours long for both the museums and the basilica. We came back later that afternoon for the museum, and again walked right in. Our little secret.

Where we ate: Great salads, meat, and mozzarella at Obiko, next to the Campo di Fiori, with gelato at Alberto Pico, right around the corner. After the Vatican, it is a short walk to Mondo Arancini and Gelarmony, where we had, hands down, the best gelato of our entire visit. There is also good gelato at Old Mill, right outside the Vatican walls.

Parking: We found street parking right next to the river near Sant'Angelo, on the opposite side of the river from the Vatican.