Roman holiday

When we arrived in Rome, I planned on doing something close to daily updates - then I got absorbed in the experience. Its now Wednesday and we've been home since Sunday. I'm going to expand on the bones of the one draft I pieced together after dinner on the second night and fill in the details from there.

Its almost 11 p.m. on Friday night and we are in Rome - watching a Discovery doc on the topic of Rome. We've been here 2.5 days and scrapped our plans to check out the local bar and opted to stay in and rest up.

Walking around Rome is the only way to go - but its also exhausting.

We arrived via a very bumpy flight on Wednesday afternoon. We had plenty of time to recover from our out-of-the-ordinary flight sickness thanks to the long wait for the bus. It was pretty competitive to get a seat on the $4 bus to the city and we had to push our way on. Just as we reached Termini station in the city center the bright blue sky darkened a wild hail storm hit.

Samesies back in Amsterdam. We arrived home on Sunday evening and just as I hopped off the bus to hit up Albert Heijn for some much needed veggies hail started whacking me on the head. Hello, Winter! 

Thursday was our first big day of adventuring. This led us to the nearby Colosseum. We sprung for the guided tour and this was an excellent investment. Our guides dissected the details of this historically rich and brutal place. Thanks to our first guide I learned that the Gregory responsible for the Gregorian calendar was a pope - just a bit of trivia I wasn't up to speed on.

Speaking of trivia - do you know the origin of the word TRIVIA? We can thank Rome for that.  In ancient times news was shared with travelers, merchants and others by posting announcements at the the meeting point of three roads: tri via - three roads - trivia. Apparently, becoming a certified tour guide in Rome is a big deal so the guides are uber-informed and excited to share the intricacies of the histories they hold.

Back to the Colosseum.

after plundering the buildings the popes started rebuilding it in the name of the church, hence the religious embellishments. nothing was godly about its use in Roman times.

After the Colosseum we moved next "door" to Palatine Hill and the Roman forum. Its staggering to imagine the history we encountered. The Palatine Hill area includes the birthplace of the city itself as well as the Roman ruins. After the fall of empire the Tiber river flooded much of this area which preserved whole buildings giving us a rich and beautiful picture of the old city. The Via Sacre still runs through the area - the same paving stones making up the ancient road.

Via Sacre - 2,000 years old

Then it was onto the bus, over the river and on to Travestere. It should be noted that this was the only time we took an inter-city bus. (We had contemplated buying the Roma pass which would have given us access to transit for 3 days for 30 Euro + entrance to two museums, but this wouldn't have been a great investment b/c we didn't end up using transit and opted for the queue-jumping private tour of the Colosseum). Here we were wooed into restaurant by and old Roman man who, among other things, claimed a familial tie to one Al Capone. While I can't trust his story - he had serious charm and sold some incredible bread.

Travestere side street.

yum.

Today (Friday) we set out again to explore more ancient treasures. On the itinerary was the Capitoline museums, the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, and the Spanish Steps.

Capitoline Museum steps

Pantheon exterior, also plundered

this hole is way bigger than it looks and the drainage system for the rain that pours in still works 2,000 years in

Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain is a MASTERPIECE - its so crazy, beautiful

Trevi fountain was staggeringly beautiful. And deservedly crowded. I had no idea what to expect, just that it was "not to be missed" and I'm so glad we didn't.

The Spanish Steps were less impressive, but the walk was worth it, as you run into small frescoes and quintessential Italian scenes all over the city.

Its now Wednesday and I'll recount our final day.

Saturday was Vatican City Day. You might recall that I was hesitant about Rome because of the church's recent statements against gays and Roman Catholic social policy, generally. But everyone said it was worth seeing and reminded me that spending $ in Rome is not the same as supporting the church - which is its own micro-state. We were going to spend a little $ on the church in order to see some of the masterpieces they hold. But....turned out Saturday was a holiday in Italy. We're not sure which holiday, but the basilica was open and the museums were closed. Admittedly we were bummed to miss the Sistine Chapel, but the basilica was enough to take in.

Catholic history. Scary

Religious art + architecture. Amazing.

is anyone else curious about the dragon?

so much marble. and why is there a creepy skeleton under there?

skeletons and naked baby boy cherubs are all over the place. hmmmm.

I would have expected better infrastructure for the post office....

After we left Vatican City we walked to a bakery selling "the best Cannoli" in Rome. The day before we'd stopped by the "oldest Gelateria" for a couple of scoops.

Then we set out for home and the wildest thing happened. We saw the pope. No, really. THE pope.

We were walking along a main street when the beginnings of a motorcade started down the road. I just had a hunch that it would be the pope and sure enough - it was. He was preceded by motorbikes and security cars while he, himself was perched and lit up in the popemobile.

It was dusk so we could see him very clearly - the lights of his cabin contrasting against the evening sky. And the strangest thing happened. I felt totally and completely sick. I expected that lift of a celebrity spotting - I mean I get giddy around city council members, so the pope should have been a big deal - but I just wanted to puke.

I've always had an eery feeling about this particular pope. John Paul I seemed well-meaning and kind, but this guy...notsomuch. And I'm not trying to suggest Pope John Paul was all good either, he did oversee the church's wild abuses of power vis a vis the abuse of children + never flinched on the church's policy towards birth control - so maybe thats why I felt sick. Here's this guy riding around - lit up like a god - perpetuating policies that harm so many people.

After I composed myself and marveled at my reaction (feeling proud of my body's insights) we set out for our final and best meal in Rome. I had pasta with sheep's cheese and Dre had spaghetti and meatballs. And we were both so completely happy with the meal we stayed for hours, eating, taking candid shots of the old woman owner who totally talked to herself and drinking plenty of wine.

We snuck back into our apartment with one last bottle of Chianti and a whole bag of baked goodies for a final party for two - eating Italian desserts, drinking Italian wine and a screening of Gladiator.

check the tiny door cut out from the ginormous door.

view from our window. I wish you could see the little yellow flowers blooming in the cracks.

not the Chianti, but another celebratory bottle. ;)