First thing this morning I checked my weather app, but I didn’t believe that little icon that shows a lightning bolt. It turned out that the thunder storms this afternoon had an effect on our plans for the day.

After breakfast we decided to take the Rick Steves book and do our own walking tour of the Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain. We managed to find the right bus and get off at close to the right stop. The Piazza Navona has lovely (Bernini again) sculpture and fountains. We wandered into the Church of St. Agnes where an organ was playing (Bach) so we sat for a few minutes to listen and admire the artwork all around us. We then went to the Pantheon. It was crowded and a little dark because the only light source is the oculus in the dome and it was cloudy. It must be spectacular on a sunny day when the light streams through the oculus forming (as our intrepid guide Rick Steves says) the greatest column in Rome.

The rain began as we headed to the Trevi Fountain but at this point it was just drizzle. There were huge crowds at the fountain, so getting close enough to toss in a coin was impossible, but it was still worth the trek. I’ve read about and seen pictures of this fountain and I’ve seen it in the movies, but I never understood how it just suddenly appears as you’re strolling along and you hear it before you see it.

We strolled on to the Spanish Steps to get on the Metro back to Termini. We heard some thunder in the distance but didn’t think much of it. By the time we left the Termini station the drizzle had become a downpour and we had to walk a few blocks to our hotel. We were wearing raincoats and had umbrellas but it didn’t matter. We were soaked by the time we arrived at the hotel. The streets had filled with water so there was no way to cross without fording a stream, so our shoes were very wet.

Our plan for the evening was to go to the Auditorium Parco Del Musica to see if we could get tickets to see Chick Corea. I know that it seems odd to see an American jazz artist in Rome, but it would have been fun. Unfortunately, our shoes were wet and we didn’t want to get our backup shoes wet too, so we decided to stay in the hotel, take a nap, and then go to dinner.

We missed Chick Corea, but here’s a little clip of a street band we heard in Piazza Novona, playing American standards with some Italian flavor.