Saturday took an unexpected turn.
At 4:00am, we were woken up by Greta, who'd fallen out of her tiny twin bed and gashed her eyebrow on the corner of her bedside table. Andrew gave her some ice; the bleeding stopped; we decided it was a surface wound and would be fine. In the morning, however, it was very clearly not fine--in the light of day it showed itself to be a deep, terrible gash. I began Googling around for doctors. We decided to go to a pharmacy near our apartment as a first step, to get a pharmacist's opinion (pharmacists in Europe are more doctor-like than they are here). Greta and I were taken into a little room behind the counter, where a lovely pharmacist disinfected the gash, confirmed that it needed professional attention, and directed us to go to a pediatric hospital. The hospital was within walking distance, so we all made the trek--climbing about a thousand steps to reach the hospital. Greta and I went into the ER, presented our passports, and were seen within half an hour by a surgeon. The surgeon "stitched" the gash with surgical glue and a dramatic bandage. She gave us instructions for next steps, then said, "You are free to go." When I brandished my credit card, asking where to take care of the fees, she said, "You don't have to pay anything. It's Italy." FREE HEALTHCARE. No paperwork, no insurance cards, no co-pays, no piles of mailings to anticipate back home. Just free, excellent care for anyone who walks through the door. So humane, so civil, so logical. But I digress!
Greta handled this entire morning with startling grace--nary a tear or complaint--and so we took Greta and her dramatic bandage and continued on with our day.
We didn't have anything official planned for Saturday and took the day to explore. First we went back to the Campo de' Fiori for some final souvenir shopping. Lucia finally got a fruit cup--she'd been dramatically craving fruit since we saw a fruit stand in Sienna. We had pizza from Corner Pizza for lunch, standing up to eat outside the restaurant. The girls attempted to buy more bunny keychains, but we had--as I called it--a "nonstandard encounter" in a shop and had to leave them behind (quoted one price, charged another). We then walked all around Trastevere, stopping for delicious gelato at a place lining the Piazza di Santa Maria then wandering all around. We had a coffee break at Peri Cafe.
We'd walked miles--and Greta had been through a LOT that day--so we went back home to pack up all our stuff for tomorrow and to take a rest. But Andrew and I went out ourselves for a couple of Aperol spritzes and little bar snacks, having a drink at little outside tables at two different places. It was delightful. I love Rome. I can see that Rome is not for everyone--there is a wildness to this city that it unlike anywhere else--but I adore it. I know we'll be back.
On our way back to the apartment, I finally went in to look at a bunny ring I'd been eyeing in a shop window since we'd arrived. Expecting it to be pricey, it was not, and it is a perfect souvenir. I'm wearing it on my left ring finger. Even though my left ring finger is now pain-free thanks to the orthopedic surgeon's prowess with a steroid injection--I still cannot get my wedding rings on.
Dinner on Saturday was high stakes after the debacle of Friday, and Andrew and I spent a long time finding just the right spot. Andrew found a promising restaurant--Antica Trattoria Polese--and got us a reservation. Fortunately, it was an excellent choice, with some of the best food we had. We ate:
Starter: fried artichokes
Drink: bottle of prosecco
Me: rigatoni with ricotta, truffles
Andrew: octopus with potatoes and pesto
Lucia: pizza
Greta: four-cheese pizza
Mom: pasta arrabiata
Dad: pizza with zucchini flowers
After dinner, we strolled to the Ponte Sant'Angelo bridge for a nighttime view of Castel Sant Angelo. With a 6:00am ride scheduled to the airport, we had to call it a day.
Sunday, 3/24
Travel day. We forced our van driver to take our picture outside the apartment even though he was illegally parked; our last picture in Italy. The trip went smoothly--no delays or hiccups, which is pretty remarkable. Rome to Chicago to Pittsburgh. We were so happy to see the pets.
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