It’s enough to make a vicar thirsty! Today the sun is back out and so my hat is on. After church I have wandered back to the Piazza Barberini (above), calling in at the palazzo for today’s art fix. I think the palazzo has quite a grand fence (below) – Churchwardens please note.
I felt it was appropriate to contribute something to the barber’s coffers (coiffures?) so in my wanderings I came across a barber in the Largo del Nazarino (no relation to the via Crucis, I presume).
The price was a total rip-off but it was a pleasant experience. And hopefully this will make a good impression on the delegates to the conference tomorrow and will put paid to those unkind looks at passport control, if only I can remember to keep my pajamas in the suitcase from now on.
Despite the papal admonition above, no trip to Rome would be complete without some purchase.
I had been on the lookout for some red papal shoes for Pentecost Sunday 2013, but Il Papa is going to give me the number of a cobbler in Sydney Road Brunswick who can run me up a pair. Failing that, I wondered what my congregants would make of this hat (below) or perhaps just a black biretta with a red pom-pom.
Decisions, decisions.
As the day progressed, the number of tour groups exploded to the point where mobility at street corners and traffic lights became unpleasant. Groups followed their leader who held up a sign (below).
Of course they had to be careful to be close enough to read the sign or end up following the wrong leader.
Some held sticks with a bit of material on them or vibrantly coloured umbrellas to attract their flock. And I thought these techniques only worked with Japanese tourists.
Tour leaders spoke into a microphone and each tourist had a headset to pick up their leader’s story so that the guides didn’t have to shout, particularly as the group spread out at each stop. Some members of the groups didn’t appear to have any headphone. Perhaps they had just come out for the exercise.
Once you start taking photos of other tourists, it must be time to move on.
Father M 