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Big plans for today: Vatican area (not inside), Trastevere and the Jewish Ghetto.

But first we needed to stock up on bread, fresh vegies and fruit from the market. Mmmmm. Not sure whether it is going to be better to go there hungry and then eat the produce on return, or have breakfast first (on the assumption that you won't be tempted to eat on return) then eat anyway. Today we opted for the latter.

Armed with maps and accompanied by Rick we set off for the Vatican. We knew it was a day when the Pope held an outdoor audience, but really just wanted to get oriented. We'll need to visit the Basilica and museums another day (or 2).

The first glimpse of the square and the church itself is always powerful. The last time I was here I managed to both visit one of the Roman congregations (like a ministry - but harder to find!) and attend a canonisation (Champagnat). This time will be much lower key.

By 0930 crowds were already building in the square for the 1030 kick off. I still find the personality cult for popes hard to understand, particularly in the somewhat forbidding case of the present incumbent. The second puzzle is the number of religious and clergy walking around the streets in habits that have not changed since the middle ages. I'm all for tradition, but given the age of some of the wearers (young) I worry about pining for good old days that were not always necessarily good, and may better have been consigned to being old.

Next stop the downloaded audio tour of the Trastevere. About 20 minutes walk along the Tiber to the starting point on the Isola Tiberina, a small island in mid-Tiber. This walk took us about an hour, drawing attention to various sites and buildings including two wonderful churches - Santa Cecilia (built on the site of her home) and Santa Maria in Trastevere, understood to be one of the first churches devoted to Mary, giving her a status not before acknowledged. Both have lovely interiors, each delightful in its own way. In Santa Cecilia, two (Vietnamese?) nuns were practising on the organ.

Outside the church of Santa Maria we stopped to hear a trio calling itself Zingari Felici - the Happy Gypsies. They had a double bass, accordion and cimbalo ( a kind of hand struck precursor to a piano). And boy, could they play! Bought a CD.

The next purchase was more significant. La Repubblica informed us that Berlusconi had undertaken to resign. I think that alongside the Trinity, and where all the change goes in Italy, how they could have tolerated this power mad crook for so long will be added to my book of the world's unexplained mysteries.

Staggered back to the flat to make good use of some of the morning's shopping, had a rest for an hour or so, then sallied forth again with a view to an iPod guided tour of the Ghetto. What a sad, triumphant, tragic, wonderful place.

When the first Jews came to Rome they were welcomed as prestigious envoys from the Holy Land. Pope Paul IV put an end to all that in 1555 as part of the Catholic counter reformation in which all non-Catholics became suspect. 4,000 Jews were confined to 7 acres of soggy, flood prone land and subject to restrictions on how they could earn a living - and even a curfew. To get a good overview of all of this go to Rick Steves' site and follow this history link. Suffice it to say that, as is often the case with the Jews, the trouble didn't end there - with tragedies extending up to the 16th of October 1943 as part of the Nazi occupation of Rome. (A: A large percentage of the population of Rome got behind them in the rebuilding of their synagogue which they chose to build in the same area although they were offered a better site.)

By a bit after 4 we had completed our walk and this brought us close to both "home" and our appointed destination for a meeting with Nives Valli, my ex Italian conversation partner from Sydney, who, having returned home to Rome after many years away in Japan and Australia has established her own language school, at which we will be studying from next week. We met in Feltrinelli - an Italian equivalent of Borders (of fond memory!).

Our conversation began in Italian, and I have to say that Anne did fabulously well, making a few words go a long way. After about 20 minutes I asked if we could switch to English, and we continued a pleasant chat, organised for starting school, and got an invite to a party for Nives' housewarming on the 19th!

Home for dinner, blog, etc.