Around the Esquiline Neighborhood

I was amazed at the size of the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, just north of the train station, next to the Baths of Diocletian. It was designed by Michaelangelo to fit into the "tepidarium" of an ancient Roman bath.

It is immense, and represents one of the few places where you can really get a sense of how opulent and impressive the old Roman baths must have been.

Across the street, in front of the train station, was a small park (really, a bus and taxi stand) that had the scariest flights of birds (starlings, I believe) that I have ever seen. Every evening around twilight, giant masses of these birds would form tornadic vortexes around the trees, before settling in. Their raucous noise kept everyone in the area watching their flight.

Esquiline, Continued
I was amazed at the size of the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, just north of the train station, next to the Baths of Diocletian. It was designed by Michaelangelo to fit into the "tepidarium" of an ancient Roman bath. It is immense, and represents one of the few places where you can really get a sense of how opulent and impressive the old Roman baths must have been. Across the street, in front of the train station, was a small park (really, a bus and taxi stand) that had the scariest flights of birds (starlings, I believe) that I have ever seen. Every evening around twilight, giant masses of these birds would form tornadic vortexes around the trees, before settling in. Their raucous noise kept everyone in the area watching their flight.
	The street bisecting Giovanni Lanza was Via Merulana. This pleasant, wide thoroughfare had lots of little bars and trattorias, but the best place on the street was a store called Panella Bread. This elegant shop baked dozens of kinds of bread, many by centuries-old recipes. Their windows were full of gingerbread houses and other Christmas charms (and yes, I had some of their chocolate crackers). Tom was especially fond of their cornbread—perfect for breakfast with some fruit and coffee.
	We had several good meals in the area, including so many kinds of pasta I can't keep track of them all: canneloni, lasagna, gnocchi, papperdelle, tagliaterre, rigatoni, and more. One restaurant we both liked was the Birreria Marconi, just around the corner from our apartment, run by the same folks who run the Fiddler's Elbow and the Druid's Den Irish Pubs (where we stopped regularly for a pint of Guinness or Harp). We also really enjoyed the Nag's Head Scottish Pub, with free pistacchios, pizza, and breads at happy hour. Another good restaurant was Manini's, a little trattoria between the Maggiore church and the train station. The giant bowls of mussels for an appetizer were unbelievably tasty, and the Bandera wine quite good (two bottles' worth). Our first restaurant adventure was at "Wanted," on Via Cavour. It had good reviews in the Rough Guide travel book, and my involtini a la Roma (veal, rolled into a log, with a spicy tomato sauce) was quite tasty. I don't think we had a bad meal. Rome may not be noted for its restaurants, but you can walk into just about any neighborhood joint and come away satisfied.
However, I can't fail to mention the food we ate more than any other: Shawarma Station. Serving Middle Eastern Halal food, we never went past the place when it wasn't busy. Delicious Shawarma (think beef gyros), great stews and soups, dolmades and sausages...and they knew the phrase "take-away." Cheap, quick, good take-away, appealing to a wide variety of customers—the Valois of Rome (that's a reference to Hyde Park's iconic diner).