Isola Tiberina

The last post, "The Missing Day" was meant to go up yesterday morning, but I lost my internet connection and thus could only just post it now. Ok, so yesterday, on my "day off," I tried once more to take the boat tour of the Tiber, and managed to succeed. The tour was somewhat sub-par, but it was a ton of fun to be floating along the Tiber. It was an audio tour, so I had to plug my headphones into the side of the boat, and listen to a woman with a strong Italian accent tell me about the bridges, over a soundtrack of Spanish music, with an interlude of "Stairway to Heaven." When that song came on, I hoped it would at least have something to do with part of the tour, but it didn't. I learned a bit about the bridges, but learned more from the boat attendant, who was very chatty and eager to tell me about the things we saw. The tour began at the Castel Sant'Angelo, and ended at Tiber Island (Isola Tiberina), one of the more beautiful parts of Rome. I hadn't been back to the Isola since the last time I was in Rome, but in the summertime, it is set up with a restaurant, overlooking the ancient part of the bridge, and the banks of the Tiber are lined with stalls that sell everything from candy to antiques to Balinese clothing. There are a number of bars and clubs, as well.

Having seen this setup, I decided to return there for dinner and to check out the area. The pasta at the restaurant was surprisingly both delicious and inexpensive, and sitting there looking at the lit bridge was one of the coolest things I have done in Rome. Exploring the stalls on the banks of the Tiber was similarly cool (because there is no better adjective to describe it). It was mainly full of Italians, and had the atmosphere of a carnival or a state fair, but with a distinctly Italian flavor. At one end of Isola Tiberina, one bar had set up a bunch of blankets, and people were lying on them, drinking bottles of wine and looking at the stars. Not that the stars are all that easy to see, even in Rome... but that is not the point. It was a perfect night, warm and slightly breezy, and walking along the river seemed almost too perfect. I laughed as I walked by the dance clubs, because they made me think of the movie Roman Holiday. Audrey Hepburn is invited to a dance on a boat on the Tiber, which I had always regarded as a figment of cinematic whimsy. Apparently, however, it was as true then as it is now, and as I was leaving the area, I could hear the strains of dance music pounding out from some of the docked boats.