Italy recaps, Rome, Day 5
Jan. 21st, 2008 09:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ptpgradYou have all been good boys and girls waiting patiently. Today, our heroine leaves beloved Florence and heads for her passionate new friend, Rome.
SAY CHEESE
I got up early again and headed down stairs for my breakfast. Today, they had laughing cow cheeses as well as the sugar/carb fest. I also thought to ask for an espresso and got it, so I didn’t have to have a regular cup of coffee with excess in it. Just not for me. The protein made me feel better though, so I took the elevator up, grabbed my now 2 suitcases and one shoulder bag and headed to the lobby. I asked for a cab and one was there in 3 minutes. He loaded my bags and I told him I needed the train station. Instead of hitting the mini highway the other person took, this one drove me down to the Duomo before heading out of town. I think it was the long way again, but I didn’t say anything, since I really was happy to see that gorgeous building once more before I had to leave.
SCOLPO
The day before, when standing in line for the Academia, I am informed that there is going to be a strike of the railways tomorrow, the day I have to travel. I am a bit worried. When I get back to the hotel, I ask the concierge if he can tell me more about it. He looks it up online and says that it is for the north of Florence, not south where I am going. Whew…I got to the train station early and went in after figuring out which track would eventually take me to Rome. I was rather early as I realized my train leaves at 9:53, not 9:23. Ah well. I started writing a few more postcards for the trip and Pieter and Lu showed up. I left my bags with them for a moment and headed off with my postcards to the post office around the corner. On the way back, I saw a store of tchochkes and saw aprons with Italian desserts and one of the Vitruvian man. I pick them up for family. As I am heading back, I hear loud/angry chanting. It seems that the strikers are protesting in the railway station. Great…but, in about 2 minutes, they leave. Um, ok. Works for me. I meet back up with Lu and Pieter and remark on the ease of such things here and how well informed everyone who lives there seems to be about them.
ALL ABOARD
We look at our tickets and are on the same car, but very different seats again. As we are waiting, I meet up with a couple from CA who are on their honeymoon. They are people I met at the Murano Glass Factory tour. It’s just funny how you keep running into them. Now, it’s time to board the train. Lu and Pieter are in the area I had and I am in a 4-seat area with strangers. Ah well. We get to our car before we lug our suitcases in, store them at the end, where there is still lots of room and go to our seats. In my area are two pretty women, Italian, with little to no English. We figure out that one of they was in my seat by mistake, but we switch amicably. There is no one in the 3rd seat. They are talking a bit, I am looking at their subway map of Rome when they go to get something to eat. When they return, I am taking notes and reading up on Rome in the guide book. Through mostly simple language and a lot of gestures, I am able to determine they are from Milano and are visiting Rome for 4 days on a vacation. They look like they are from Milan as they are fashion forward and “well kept” in appearance. They recommend the Castle of St. Angelo (which I didn’t remember was a place I had to go anyway till I got there) and I show them info on the Borghese Gardens and give them the phone numbers from the books to order tickets to go. It’s really a good blend of info/needs.
TIME ON THE TRACKS
Wine Enthusiast magazine had an article in September about Rome as a wine capital and some of the best restaurants to go to when there. I pull out the article and pass it to Lu and Pieter to read. They find some restaurants we might want to try on our last night. We have already agreed we want to get dolled up and go out for one nice night on the town. So we figure we will find a place in there. I start catching up on notes for my recaps, since I am starting to get lax. I take some pics on the ride and see the terrain start to change. Since this time I am forced to ride backwards, I am starting to feel the motion and getting ill. I close my eyes and rest till we get closer to the city.
AS THE ROMANS DO
We arrive at the Termini Train Station, we roll our bags out in different exits. Traffic is heavy. I ask the first cab stand how much to my hotel, which isn’t far from the train station. They tell me 35 Euro. Excuse me? I check to make sure I am at a legit stand and not being duped. I say no thanks and walk on the way to my hotel. The weather is in the 70’s and I am breaking a sweat. I am rolling two suitcases over bumps, curbs and some down steps. Grand. I see more steps ahead of me and get worried. I finally see a spot where the direction of traffic switches to the direction of my hotel (one way) and realize I am STILL at the train station. I ask at the next cab stop. The price has dropped to 20 Euro. I don’t want to do the rest of the walk and the buses, hospitals and one other group are on strike here, so it’s this or walking. Ok, I am hot and sweaty, so I take it. I get in the cab 7 blocks and the traffic is mostly at a stand still. Yeesh. It takes almost 20 minutes to go less than a mile. It is starting to feel like NYC. FINALLY, we get near my hotel as the traffic lets up. The architecture is lovely, but there is graffiti all over it. It’s rather sad.
MY FINAL HOME
He drops me off at my hotel. It is by far the fanciest lobby and, the only place where my room isn’t ready. Ok. I register as I can. They well me what my room WILL be and tell me to come back later. Ha, I am on the 3rd floor again. Every hotel had me on the 3rd floor. They show me a room to store my bags, I resort a few things and leave some stuff there, then find the restroom, which I have to wait a moment for till a mom and her kids are done, then out to the streets. There are ruins across the street, literally 30 ft or less, arches connected like an aqueduct. Wow. I am in a land where history meets modern life, Ruins meet modern buildings, Christian history meets Pagan history. I start to head toward the Coloseum planning to find a place to stop for lunch on the way. I take a few turns to get on the right path, checking the map a lot more than is safe (can we scream TOURIST) in this residential area and finally get on the main street to the ruins. Across that street is a small trattoria on the corner. I stop in and am sat down by a window. I order non gassata water, a small pizza capricosa, and eventually espresso with a little canoli sicilana. The pizza is still frozen in the middle. After trying to eat two pieces, I ask them to heat it up. When it comes back (missing the piece I had started) it is much better. I borrow the bathroom, tip and leave.
HAVE I MENTIONED
That the bathrooms in all the cities are rather…limited. You don’t have to worry about someone lifting the seat…there are no seats. You sit directly on the cold thinner porcelain, and often they are lower to the ground. It takes getting used to, but a free bathroom is free, so you accept it. This one was just as…the same. I had to wait a bit to use it, as it was occupado as I went to use it. As I wait, I hear English and other Americans ordering, not trying to speak the language or doing it SO poorly. No wonder they hate the tourists. The waitress actually seemed pleasantly surprised by me. Her chef wasn’t nicer, but she seemed to be kinder to me in general. I guess because I tried.
FORWARD TO GO BACKWARD
I continue walking about. My feet still hurt, but not as badly as they had. I know that today I have to make it to the Colloseum, since the next day is pretty booked and the person I was originally going to meet here had had that on the top of his list of places to see. I figured a plethora of pics was in order. I see it in the distance as I continue down the road. It is getting huger and huger. Up the hill on the right seems to be a gated park or the like and on the left are ruins they are now starting to excavate. I cross the street, and there I am, at the Flavian Amphitheater (the Colosseum). I am arriving from the back, so I head to the right around to the front. I see lines of people, shoddy sales people with necklaces or watches trying to sell you all kinds of crap, up in your face. The phrase “non, Gratzie” comes out of my mouth quite a bit. I see men in gladiator and emperor costumes posing for pics with tourists. I have to laugh, and do, as it does seem rather cheesy, but these men can make up to 100 E for a pic, though normally, the books say it’s around 20. I take pics of them walking around, from a distance. More for the comedy of it.
THE EASY WAY IN
One of the things the guidebook tells me is that you can buy one ticket to both the flavian amphitheater AND the Palantine Museum across the street. The Amphitheater has HUGE lines, the Museum, does not. I wander across the street over deeply uneven stone roads, dodging the cheap salesmen, making sure my money is covered and protected. A rather good-looking gladiator asks if I want a picture. I am not paying 20E since I do that same stuff for free for a living, so “non gratzie” is again spake. He was cute, in a sundrenched mature male kinda way (think Sean Bean with lots of highlights). He could have been flirting with me, or he could have been doing what he does all day for money. I will think that he was flirting with me BY doing what he does all day. At least someone will have flirted with me in Italy. Everyone warned me about how much they flirt there, but I saw little to none of it directed at me. Mostly none. And I think it had something to do with the largish money belt at my waist and the longish overcoat that made me look pregnant at a distance. Ah well. Next time, a thinner fanny pack or a different way to carry money.
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED…
Ok, maybe not, but I was entering the famous Roman Forum. I see the arch of Titus and take lots of pics. I am amazed by the detail on the INSIDE of the arch. I never realized the ornate carvings that were on the underbelly of the arch, I always thought it was just the outsides. It was slightly revelatory. I head in and to the left. The perspective is not exactly what I expect. I see the hill to the museum to the left and go to take thestairs up. Turns out the place to get the biglietti (tickets) is past that and I have to go back and find it. There is a line to get tickets. I am worried about wasting time, but luckily there are only 4 people in front of me…who are asking TONS of questions. Finally, I try to get a Roma pass for a bunch of things in Rome, but they are out of them, so I have to get the museum tickets only. This kinda sucks actually, but I deal, since the buses may still be on strike and that is one of the benefits. It’s only 11 Euro. I am going to go to the amphitheater again and realize I won’t walk back this way once I go in there, so I stay and head up to the Palantine museum since I paid for it.
THE GARDEN WALK
The Palantine Museum was Caligula’s home and sits high atop the Roman Forum…HIGH atop. I start walking up stairs, and up and up. There are levels, but you still don’t get a good view, so I keep going till I reach the top…I get to the top of the steps and a faced with lots of trees. A wandering garden to stroll around, quiet and high above the city. I don’t have tons of time and can’t leave and come back, so I try to find the museum…um, somewhere. Really, I know it’s there. I continue to wind and turn along the paths for almost 10 minutes until I figure out where the museum actually is. If I was living back when this was in it’s prime, the gardens would have been amazing. There are ruins of columns from the original palace laying on the ground. The actual museum is a more modern building, probably less than 100 years old I am not quite sure where the entrance is, but I figure it out and head up the stairs to the main floor after watching a few tour groups being taken around.
THE DAMAGE OF RELIGION
The museum is a sculpture museum, a BROKEN sculpture museum. Every piece is broken, cracked, or missing parts. It’s really heartbreaking to see so much beautiful work damaged by “morality”, war, or religion. Private parts are broken off, statues of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses are broken into pieces, all in the name of Christianity. I even hear a story that one of the major buildings nearby was build over an old “pagan” building to prove that the Christians conquered the pagans and are “better”. I am a bit disgusted to say the least. This beautiful art is damaged beyond repair. Bodies without heads or arms stand elegantly. I can only imagine the true beauty the pieces had in their entirety. I want to cry. I see a sculpture of a female sitting on a throne entitled “the mother of us all”, headless, armless. Its sad. I sang quietly in this room alone knowing what the strength in this figure and others had been and being awed how, even damaged, they still hold power.
MORE RESTROOMS
I am in need of a bathroom and start to look for signs. I finally found one that is on the bottom level. On the way there, I see some daily excavate ruins of buildings and pots and pans. For some reason, these seem to disturb my energy. It feels wrong and my hackles are being set off. I don’t know why. I go to the bathroom and it’s cold, again. This one reminds me of a prison with a sliding door to go in and out. The walls are red and there is some kid sitting outside waiting for others to catch up with them. It takes a moment to figure out where place to flush this one is. It’s not easily recognizable. I wash up and head back out to the gardens outside. Again, time is at a premium, so I rush to find my way back out and down. It is almost as difficult to get out of the maze as it was to get in it. I find my way back to the steps and head down. Instead of heading toward the Amphitheater again, I head down toward the Forum itself.
WHAT IS LEFT OF HISTORY
After a few turns and twists looking for the right stairs down, I realize I have to return the way I came to the front to go back in to the center of the forum. I meander back and start to walk into the forum proper. I have a guidebook again letting me know what each building is and what its function was back then. I am looking at the random rocks and the crowds of people from all over the world wandering around me. There are tour guides EVERYWHERE, personal or group, so I try to listen in when I am near one. I am constantly seeing friends posing one at a time in pics. If I hear English, or sometimes when I don’t I offer to take the pic for all of them. Some of them accept, others don’t. Perhaps they are afraid someone will run off with their camera. Who knows.
UNTIL DEATH DO WE PART
I do offer to take a pic for a group of young college-age kids from New Zealand and the US. They accept and I take their pic for them. They offer to return the favor and ask me to pic the building I want to be pictured in front of. I decide on the temple of the Vestal Virgins…why you ask? Because the guardians of the eterrnal fire are chosen by the age of ten and are held for 30 years. If they stay virgins for that entire time and guard the flame, they are allowed to leave and are given a dowry to marry. If they don’t last, they are killed, buried alive after going through the equivalent of a funeral service. Since this was my 40th birthday present to myself, I figured that was the most appropriate, because I would just be getting free now and having sex for the first time, if I lived that long.
IMPORTANT ROCKS
I get tons of pics of the buildings, some I recognize, some in the distance that aren’t even part of the forum. I get pics of the arch of Severus Septimus…mostly because of the name. I start to head back on the opposite side from the Palantine Hill’s museum. I wander by as an older woman is chatting with her friend who approaches. She is sitting on some rocks from the ruins. She says to him to “come, sit on these important rocks. How often can you say you sat on famous rocks?” I was so amused, I asked her if I could take a pic of them, because it was such a wonderful turn of phrase and I wanted to remember it. She is amused and says yes. He’s a bit more confused by the weird lady. But he was a slightly more conservative looking gent. I head back toward the Amphitheater, leaving these famous rocks behind me.
THE LINE TO THE ROMAN THEATER
I head past all of the salesman and other kitchy crap abounding. The cute gladiator is gone, perhaps on a break. I head in with my ticket and see the never-ending line. I am a bit confused by the signs but realize that that was the line to buy tickets. I already have a ticket, so I can just walk by them all and go right in after having my bags scanned. I am starting to have achy feet again, so I head around and take the elevator up to the second level to see the main amphitheater. I wander into the open space and am awed by the size of what is at least a baseball field if not a football field (never having been to a football game, I don’t know dimensions, and no, I don’t WANT to go to one). I can’t get far from this end spot so I wander back to the main corridor. I see that there is some kind of display in the corridors and head back out to see what is there.
WHO HOO!!!! IT”S THEATER!
The museum display…is about the history of Roman theater…masks, sculpture, history, models, quotes…um, I am VERY happy right now. I wander taking pictures of the text, of the displays, and read. THIS is a good place. I am very much enjoying myself. I finally come to the end of the display. I realize it’s getting late and I still need to get presents for my nephews. I kinda thought a gladiator themed something might be fun. I go into the shop and find a cap for one and a tshirt for the other…nothing there is cheesily gladiator AND good for the boys. I walk out as they are closing the shop. Now, there is time, while there is daylight, to see the rest of the arena.
FAMILIAR FACES
I am taking my time to watch people, follow the tour groups to see if I can cheat and get more info from the guides, and offering to help groups take pics. It’s hard to get to the walls to see the actual sites with all the tour groups crowding around. A few accept picture taking offers, many, again, say they are fine. I ask others if they know where the emperor sits. A few don’t know, and finally, one says “oh, our guide just told us, right there, at the cross”. Ironic, hrm. There is a large cross on the main level. That was his seat. Prime I tell you. I continue to walk around and suddenly see…the girls from Milan. The two women I met on the train are wandering around in the Colloseum too! We ask a kind German lady to take a pic of us with both of our cameras. (Sadly, I didn’t check till later that night, but my head is cut off in mine. Dammit,) I have an almost conversation again, and we say our ciao’s.
THE PERFECT VIEW
I wander back to the other side and go to the outer edge where the forum is across the street. It is the perfect photo op place and many are taking advantage. I offer to take pics and do for some and one kind person offers to do the same for me. Sunny warm Roman picture later, I am wandering to see this upper side again. I know the place closes when the sun goes down, so I don’t have much more time here. I wander down to the bottom level to say my last goodbyes to the grand sculpture (of a building).
THE BEST COMPANY
I am back on the lower level again, looking over the actual arena that was either flooded or covered as the games required. I look down and an adorable cat wanders up behind the grating. It’s tiny, but the space around is smaller. I finaegle a way to wiggle my hand in below the fencing and try to scratch it. It starts crying. I can’t figure out how the hell to get it out and tell it so. After a minute or so of this, she weaves to the left and walks right through the fencing. My hand is still caught underneath. Um, ok. I work it out slowly without taking off skin or my watch, and begin to scritch her again. The sun is beginning to go down and it’s beginning to get a bit colder. I sit for a moment because my ankles are cramping a bit from squatting, and she immediately crawls up on my lap and sits down. This is fine by me.
STUPINA IN ROME
People are stopping on occasion and looking at me or asking about the cat. I am still scratching her and she is purring contentedly in my warm lap. I begin to call out, not in full volume, but in regular voice “Free cat pets. Pet a cat…it’s free. No charge to pet the cat.” I feel like Stupina. All I need is dirt and a mask. I am amusing myself far more than anyone else in this country (except for Sinnius Vice up in Vincenza) could understand…and he’s too far away to call. I try to offer her some water from my bottle cap, but she isn’t interested. Now the story is that the Forum used to be overrun with feral cats, but “they are taking care of it.” I am glad this one was smarter, or belongs to someone who lets it play with strangers, because I have been seriously missing my cat love. There were birds in Venice, dogs in Florence, but Rome has cats. Sigh. I sit with her for 20 minutes as the sun begins to go down.
THE OUTER WALLS
She finally decides she is done, after I tell her I am sorry I don’t have food or a place to take her. She seems contented and she did make me very happy for a spell. I head back to the outer level and go to find the bathroom…which they are closing since they are trying to empty the place out…grand. They tell me there are bathrooms on the outside. Um, ok. I head out and see a gladiator walking away up a hill to catch the bus home. I have to take a pic of it because it amuses me. I wander around and find the outer bathrooms. They are not gorgeous, but they are not the worst I have experienced. When I come out, I see a bunch of men of assorted racial backgrounds chatting. I hear English and rudely say hello (Stupina hadn’t shut off yet). Turns out they are musicians from Chicago getting ready for a show. One man is the agent here in Rome, the others are all part of the group. I get the impression that is is hard core hip hop or rap. After a few moments discussion about the city, I wish them well and head on my way.
FIND THE WAY HOME
I double check my map and begin to wander home. I walk past the restaurant I had lunch and take a pic, just to remember it. I pass the cars and vespas. I had read how dangerous the drivers were and how you have to be careful how you walk across the street. I used to live in NYC. THIS is the same. I just walk when I need to and look for the opening, they’ll stop. This is EASY and I am not phased a bit. Glad that “fear” is out of the way. I am now turning on slightly different roads to get home to the hotel, and now am in residential neighborhoods as the sun begins to set. I meet a neighborhood dog and get permission to pet him for a moment. I wander leisurely as it starts to get dark. Off I go till I am back on the circle of my hotel.
CHECKING IN AT GRAND CENTRAL STATION
This hotel is MUCH busier than the previous ones. I get in and they have a small crowd at the desk, but they help me with my key and I am, again, on the 3rd floor. 318 this time. I go to the room to gather my bags and wait for the tiny elevator. it takes two trips before it's ready for me. Up I do to my floor and I am the first room from the elevator on this particular hallway. I roll in my bags to my single room. This one has a single bed, small closet in the corner, window that opens out to a small courtyard view, tv/desk, and bathroom with bidet (again), toilet, sink, and shower stall that has a curtain (and is therefore wider than the last shower). I unpack the things I will be wearing tomorrow and to go home, sort, watch a little TV, and work on my feet with my foot lotion. I look at the time and take a nap before dinner.
PREPARATIONS FOR NIGHT WHERE
I am woken to the call from Lu and Pieter. I mention there is a night walk mapped out that we can take ourselves on tonight, if they are interested and we can pick a restaurant as we go on our way. Then, my phone runs out of minutes. I use my credit card to make a call to them (BAD IDEA, 2 minute call, $41). They call back. They agree this is a good idea and we plan to meet back at the train station in about 20 minutes. I get my things and head downstairs and ask about getting a bus or the like to the station. The concierge tells me that the busses are about to go on strike again in about 10 minutes, so I need to go now if I am going, but it is only across the street and I can get tickets to it at the store two doors down. I rush out and head to the store to purchase my bigletti and hopefully a sim card for the phone. It’s a bit confusing in the store, but I figure out there is no sim card but there are tickets and grab my ticket to the bus. I cross the street and there is one waiting. I get on and about a minute later, it takes off. It is now 8 and the strike should have started, so I am wondering if he will stop in mid transport, but he doesn’t and we make it to Termini. I get out and head inside the main open terminal, or should I say, chilly wind tunnel.
COMEDY OF WAITING
I head inside since they are at a hotel on the other side of the station I stand at a visible spot, which means a more windy location than most, and have to put on my gloves and hat and scarf and still feel a bit chilly. I am getting concerned and getting looked at strangely by the police officer. Finally, I see them, outside waiting for me on MY side of the terminal…the best laid plans. We head out and into a cab. We ask them to take us to the first stop of the walking tour. He speeds across town and for only 7E gets us to the other side and lets us out. He tells us our starting location is “over there” pointing across the street. It seems the cars are not allowed on a number of streets and that is one of them. We pay him and jump out. We cross the street and I with book in hand and in nose, try to figure out where we are to go. The statue we see is kinda cool, but it’s not the starting point. We get a few other people to direct us “over there” and finally find the square they are speaking of, about 3 short blocks in.
THE NIGHT WALK BEGINS
We start in the Piazza Colonna. It’s a charming square is with a few restaurants and the like. It’s eerily quiet but it’s beautiful at night. The whole city is gorgeous at night.
WALKING TO THE PIAZZA
We head in what we think is the right direction and again, are told things are “that way” when we can’t find them. We do find some more neat sculpture in and on buildings. This amuses me as we find a St George and the Dragon…I have now found them in each city. Lelio would be pleased. My camera isn’t getting the pic right, but Pieter gets a good one. We figure out our direction and finally walk into an open HUGE square. There are sales people who are now selling glowing flying toys and the like. Nothing I want, but they keep trying to talk to you. “No, gratzie” with the right accent seems to work. We see the first fountain and begin to take pics. This is he Piazza Navona and there are 3 fountains…one, much larger and more ornate in the center. Once we take enough pics of the first, we walk toward the second.
FEET, IT’S AN ADDICTION
This fountain of the 4 rivers is being repaired, so it is behind plexiglass and wood. It is well lit, so even with much of it held in scaffolding, you can see some of the detail. I am fascinated by the clear details, like the one river’s foot (the rivers are represented by 4 men). I realize I have taken more feet pictures on this trip than any other body part, well, maybe not, but it feels like it. I really like sculptured feet. The next day, on another tour, Lu and Pieter learned that the architect of the building and the sculptor of the fountain didn’t like each other, so the figures on the fountain are turned away from the building so they don’t have to look at it. Ahh, tempermental artists. The descriptions from the guide books are helpful and we are enjoying the peace and the ability to get close to these works of art that would other wise be insanely crowded.
TO THE PLACE OF ALL RELIGIONS
Our next stop on the tour is the Pantheon. I really want to go inside of this building, but I know it’s closed. I am just going to try to get back tomorrow when it’s daylight. We enter another piazza which has 3 restaurants open. One is asking if we want to sit and eat there, but the listing we have notes another trattoria on the other side of the piazza. We walk up to the obelisk in the center then head over to the Pantheon itself. This building was designed to be a place for every religion to be able to pray, because it was dedicated to all of the gods. We see the tiniest crack open on the door and I sneak my camera lens up. I get an eerie look into the space. Outside is still fascinating and I am even more excited about going. This is also the only original dome from way back when in existence, or so I remember, but its perfection was the guide for the Duomo’s design back in Florence. I promise myself I will be back.
TIME FOR VICTUALS
It’s 9:15 and time to eat before things start to close. We go to Al Pantheon, the trattoria mentioned earlier and get a table. It’s a bit chilly, but ok. We get a House red wine, still water, the anitpasto Pantheon for 2 (which could have fed 4), Penne arrabita, Penne salmone e crema, Veal in white wine and a final entrée I can’t remember. (SAD NOTE: while my mother encouraged me to take notes every day to remember things, which has made the previous recaps so detailed, my notes were being written later and later and only go to sunset on the last day…so if something gets vague here or I forget each meal in exact detail, I am sorry). The rest of the meal consisted of Chocolate mousse (only ok), Pistachio cake and berry torte/pie with cappuccinos for them and the moscato for me. We close the place down at 11:30 pm. We still have walking to do.
THINGS ALONG THE WAY
We see a theater letting out for the night. I can’t tell what they performed, but it was around a little corner off the main road. I see a sign for a new opera, the Divine Comedy. I think of KitteBlue and RedSteve and take a pic of the sign. I thought it would please them to see Dante’s work being done. We take a turn to find the next location, again, getting slightly lost. There are fewer people here now too to ask when we are off. Ah well.
MAKE A WISH
Our next stop is the Trevi Fountain. Superstition says that if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain, you can make a wish and you will come back to Rome again. Lu adamantly demands we do this and get pics to commemorate it. Upon arrival, there are only around 30 or so people there. One of which is a gypsy man with roses. He forces red roses into my and Lu’s hands. I tell him I can’t pay for it and try to give it back. He won’t take it back. He offers to take our pic, but Pieter takes pics of us and I do of the two of them (lu fakes the second throw). The gypsy asks Pieter to pay for the roses. I really didn’t want him to and would have given it back, but he is kind and does. The rose is weird. It’s tiny, waxy feeling, and stiff. Not what I am used to at all. But it appears to be normal there. I take a bunch of pics of the fountain but the light is low, so we can’t get great shots.
NO MORE STEPS
Our next stop is the Spanish Steps. It is now after midnight and after getting lost again and not being able to figure out how to get there (they had been there earlier in the day), we decide to bag it, go back the way we came to the main road, and try to catch a cab back cross town. One shows up in a few minutes and we climb in. I give the cab driver the two stops and they have me dropped off first. I ask if they need money for the cab and they tell me no. It was very sweet of them and I appreciated it. I am dropped off at my door, say goodbye with hugs and head upstairs. Since tomorrow is my last day, I pack, take a shower, which doesn’t flood the floor, but I don’t leave the water running, watch some more news, set my alarm to allow me time for breakfast and to walk to my tour, and eventually I drift off to sleep.
There is only one day left. Thanks to you all for your patience as I try to capture as much detail as I can. The last day is one of the most exciting too!
SAY CHEESE
I got up early again and headed down stairs for my breakfast. Today, they had laughing cow cheeses as well as the sugar/carb fest. I also thought to ask for an espresso and got it, so I didn’t have to have a regular cup of coffee with excess in it. Just not for me. The protein made me feel better though, so I took the elevator up, grabbed my now 2 suitcases and one shoulder bag and headed to the lobby. I asked for a cab and one was there in 3 minutes. He loaded my bags and I told him I needed the train station. Instead of hitting the mini highway the other person took, this one drove me down to the Duomo before heading out of town. I think it was the long way again, but I didn’t say anything, since I really was happy to see that gorgeous building once more before I had to leave.
SCOLPO
The day before, when standing in line for the Academia, I am informed that there is going to be a strike of the railways tomorrow, the day I have to travel. I am a bit worried. When I get back to the hotel, I ask the concierge if he can tell me more about it. He looks it up online and says that it is for the north of Florence, not south where I am going. Whew…I got to the train station early and went in after figuring out which track would eventually take me to Rome. I was rather early as I realized my train leaves at 9:53, not 9:23. Ah well. I started writing a few more postcards for the trip and Pieter and Lu showed up. I left my bags with them for a moment and headed off with my postcards to the post office around the corner. On the way back, I saw a store of tchochkes and saw aprons with Italian desserts and one of the Vitruvian man. I pick them up for family. As I am heading back, I hear loud/angry chanting. It seems that the strikers are protesting in the railway station. Great…but, in about 2 minutes, they leave. Um, ok. Works for me. I meet back up with Lu and Pieter and remark on the ease of such things here and how well informed everyone who lives there seems to be about them.
ALL ABOARD
We look at our tickets and are on the same car, but very different seats again. As we are waiting, I meet up with a couple from CA who are on their honeymoon. They are people I met at the Murano Glass Factory tour. It’s just funny how you keep running into them. Now, it’s time to board the train. Lu and Pieter are in the area I had and I am in a 4-seat area with strangers. Ah well. We get to our car before we lug our suitcases in, store them at the end, where there is still lots of room and go to our seats. In my area are two pretty women, Italian, with little to no English. We figure out that one of they was in my seat by mistake, but we switch amicably. There is no one in the 3rd seat. They are talking a bit, I am looking at their subway map of Rome when they go to get something to eat. When they return, I am taking notes and reading up on Rome in the guide book. Through mostly simple language and a lot of gestures, I am able to determine they are from Milano and are visiting Rome for 4 days on a vacation. They look like they are from Milan as they are fashion forward and “well kept” in appearance. They recommend the Castle of St. Angelo (which I didn’t remember was a place I had to go anyway till I got there) and I show them info on the Borghese Gardens and give them the phone numbers from the books to order tickets to go. It’s really a good blend of info/needs.
TIME ON THE TRACKS
Wine Enthusiast magazine had an article in September about Rome as a wine capital and some of the best restaurants to go to when there. I pull out the article and pass it to Lu and Pieter to read. They find some restaurants we might want to try on our last night. We have already agreed we want to get dolled up and go out for one nice night on the town. So we figure we will find a place in there. I start catching up on notes for my recaps, since I am starting to get lax. I take some pics on the ride and see the terrain start to change. Since this time I am forced to ride backwards, I am starting to feel the motion and getting ill. I close my eyes and rest till we get closer to the city.
AS THE ROMANS DO
We arrive at the Termini Train Station, we roll our bags out in different exits. Traffic is heavy. I ask the first cab stand how much to my hotel, which isn’t far from the train station. They tell me 35 Euro. Excuse me? I check to make sure I am at a legit stand and not being duped. I say no thanks and walk on the way to my hotel. The weather is in the 70’s and I am breaking a sweat. I am rolling two suitcases over bumps, curbs and some down steps. Grand. I see more steps ahead of me and get worried. I finally see a spot where the direction of traffic switches to the direction of my hotel (one way) and realize I am STILL at the train station. I ask at the next cab stop. The price has dropped to 20 Euro. I don’t want to do the rest of the walk and the buses, hospitals and one other group are on strike here, so it’s this or walking. Ok, I am hot and sweaty, so I take it. I get in the cab 7 blocks and the traffic is mostly at a stand still. Yeesh. It takes almost 20 minutes to go less than a mile. It is starting to feel like NYC. FINALLY, we get near my hotel as the traffic lets up. The architecture is lovely, but there is graffiti all over it. It’s rather sad.
MY FINAL HOME
He drops me off at my hotel. It is by far the fanciest lobby and, the only place where my room isn’t ready. Ok. I register as I can. They well me what my room WILL be and tell me to come back later. Ha, I am on the 3rd floor again. Every hotel had me on the 3rd floor. They show me a room to store my bags, I resort a few things and leave some stuff there, then find the restroom, which I have to wait a moment for till a mom and her kids are done, then out to the streets. There are ruins across the street, literally 30 ft or less, arches connected like an aqueduct. Wow. I am in a land where history meets modern life, Ruins meet modern buildings, Christian history meets Pagan history. I start to head toward the Coloseum planning to find a place to stop for lunch on the way. I take a few turns to get on the right path, checking the map a lot more than is safe (can we scream TOURIST) in this residential area and finally get on the main street to the ruins. Across that street is a small trattoria on the corner. I stop in and am sat down by a window. I order non gassata water, a small pizza capricosa, and eventually espresso with a little canoli sicilana. The pizza is still frozen in the middle. After trying to eat two pieces, I ask them to heat it up. When it comes back (missing the piece I had started) it is much better. I borrow the bathroom, tip and leave.
HAVE I MENTIONED
That the bathrooms in all the cities are rather…limited. You don’t have to worry about someone lifting the seat…there are no seats. You sit directly on the cold thinner porcelain, and often they are lower to the ground. It takes getting used to, but a free bathroom is free, so you accept it. This one was just as…the same. I had to wait a bit to use it, as it was occupado as I went to use it. As I wait, I hear English and other Americans ordering, not trying to speak the language or doing it SO poorly. No wonder they hate the tourists. The waitress actually seemed pleasantly surprised by me. Her chef wasn’t nicer, but she seemed to be kinder to me in general. I guess because I tried.
FORWARD TO GO BACKWARD
I continue walking about. My feet still hurt, but not as badly as they had. I know that today I have to make it to the Colloseum, since the next day is pretty booked and the person I was originally going to meet here had had that on the top of his list of places to see. I figured a plethora of pics was in order. I see it in the distance as I continue down the road. It is getting huger and huger. Up the hill on the right seems to be a gated park or the like and on the left are ruins they are now starting to excavate. I cross the street, and there I am, at the Flavian Amphitheater (the Colosseum). I am arriving from the back, so I head to the right around to the front. I see lines of people, shoddy sales people with necklaces or watches trying to sell you all kinds of crap, up in your face. The phrase “non, Gratzie” comes out of my mouth quite a bit. I see men in gladiator and emperor costumes posing for pics with tourists. I have to laugh, and do, as it does seem rather cheesy, but these men can make up to 100 E for a pic, though normally, the books say it’s around 20. I take pics of them walking around, from a distance. More for the comedy of it.
THE EASY WAY IN
One of the things the guidebook tells me is that you can buy one ticket to both the flavian amphitheater AND the Palantine Museum across the street. The Amphitheater has HUGE lines, the Museum, does not. I wander across the street over deeply uneven stone roads, dodging the cheap salesmen, making sure my money is covered and protected. A rather good-looking gladiator asks if I want a picture. I am not paying 20E since I do that same stuff for free for a living, so “non gratzie” is again spake. He was cute, in a sundrenched mature male kinda way (think Sean Bean with lots of highlights). He could have been flirting with me, or he could have been doing what he does all day for money. I will think that he was flirting with me BY doing what he does all day. At least someone will have flirted with me in Italy. Everyone warned me about how much they flirt there, but I saw little to none of it directed at me. Mostly none. And I think it had something to do with the largish money belt at my waist and the longish overcoat that made me look pregnant at a distance. Ah well. Next time, a thinner fanny pack or a different way to carry money.
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED…
Ok, maybe not, but I was entering the famous Roman Forum. I see the arch of Titus and take lots of pics. I am amazed by the detail on the INSIDE of the arch. I never realized the ornate carvings that were on the underbelly of the arch, I always thought it was just the outsides. It was slightly revelatory. I head in and to the left. The perspective is not exactly what I expect. I see the hill to the museum to the left and go to take thestairs up. Turns out the place to get the biglietti (tickets) is past that and I have to go back and find it. There is a line to get tickets. I am worried about wasting time, but luckily there are only 4 people in front of me…who are asking TONS of questions. Finally, I try to get a Roma pass for a bunch of things in Rome, but they are out of them, so I have to get the museum tickets only. This kinda sucks actually, but I deal, since the buses may still be on strike and that is one of the benefits. It’s only 11 Euro. I am going to go to the amphitheater again and realize I won’t walk back this way once I go in there, so I stay and head up to the Palantine museum since I paid for it.
THE GARDEN WALK
The Palantine Museum was Caligula’s home and sits high atop the Roman Forum…HIGH atop. I start walking up stairs, and up and up. There are levels, but you still don’t get a good view, so I keep going till I reach the top…I get to the top of the steps and a faced with lots of trees. A wandering garden to stroll around, quiet and high above the city. I don’t have tons of time and can’t leave and come back, so I try to find the museum…um, somewhere. Really, I know it’s there. I continue to wind and turn along the paths for almost 10 minutes until I figure out where the museum actually is. If I was living back when this was in it’s prime, the gardens would have been amazing. There are ruins of columns from the original palace laying on the ground. The actual museum is a more modern building, probably less than 100 years old I am not quite sure where the entrance is, but I figure it out and head up the stairs to the main floor after watching a few tour groups being taken around.
THE DAMAGE OF RELIGION
The museum is a sculpture museum, a BROKEN sculpture museum. Every piece is broken, cracked, or missing parts. It’s really heartbreaking to see so much beautiful work damaged by “morality”, war, or religion. Private parts are broken off, statues of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses are broken into pieces, all in the name of Christianity. I even hear a story that one of the major buildings nearby was build over an old “pagan” building to prove that the Christians conquered the pagans and are “better”. I am a bit disgusted to say the least. This beautiful art is damaged beyond repair. Bodies without heads or arms stand elegantly. I can only imagine the true beauty the pieces had in their entirety. I want to cry. I see a sculpture of a female sitting on a throne entitled “the mother of us all”, headless, armless. Its sad. I sang quietly in this room alone knowing what the strength in this figure and others had been and being awed how, even damaged, they still hold power.
MORE RESTROOMS
I am in need of a bathroom and start to look for signs. I finally found one that is on the bottom level. On the way there, I see some daily excavate ruins of buildings and pots and pans. For some reason, these seem to disturb my energy. It feels wrong and my hackles are being set off. I don’t know why. I go to the bathroom and it’s cold, again. This one reminds me of a prison with a sliding door to go in and out. The walls are red and there is some kid sitting outside waiting for others to catch up with them. It takes a moment to figure out where place to flush this one is. It’s not easily recognizable. I wash up and head back out to the gardens outside. Again, time is at a premium, so I rush to find my way back out and down. It is almost as difficult to get out of the maze as it was to get in it. I find my way back to the steps and head down. Instead of heading toward the Amphitheater again, I head down toward the Forum itself.
WHAT IS LEFT OF HISTORY
After a few turns and twists looking for the right stairs down, I realize I have to return the way I came to the front to go back in to the center of the forum. I meander back and start to walk into the forum proper. I have a guidebook again letting me know what each building is and what its function was back then. I am looking at the random rocks and the crowds of people from all over the world wandering around me. There are tour guides EVERYWHERE, personal or group, so I try to listen in when I am near one. I am constantly seeing friends posing one at a time in pics. If I hear English, or sometimes when I don’t I offer to take the pic for all of them. Some of them accept, others don’t. Perhaps they are afraid someone will run off with their camera. Who knows.
UNTIL DEATH DO WE PART
I do offer to take a pic for a group of young college-age kids from New Zealand and the US. They accept and I take their pic for them. They offer to return the favor and ask me to pic the building I want to be pictured in front of. I decide on the temple of the Vestal Virgins…why you ask? Because the guardians of the eterrnal fire are chosen by the age of ten and are held for 30 years. If they stay virgins for that entire time and guard the flame, they are allowed to leave and are given a dowry to marry. If they don’t last, they are killed, buried alive after going through the equivalent of a funeral service. Since this was my 40th birthday present to myself, I figured that was the most appropriate, because I would just be getting free now and having sex for the first time, if I lived that long.
IMPORTANT ROCKS
I get tons of pics of the buildings, some I recognize, some in the distance that aren’t even part of the forum. I get pics of the arch of Severus Septimus…mostly because of the name. I start to head back on the opposite side from the Palantine Hill’s museum. I wander by as an older woman is chatting with her friend who approaches. She is sitting on some rocks from the ruins. She says to him to “come, sit on these important rocks. How often can you say you sat on famous rocks?” I was so amused, I asked her if I could take a pic of them, because it was such a wonderful turn of phrase and I wanted to remember it. She is amused and says yes. He’s a bit more confused by the weird lady. But he was a slightly more conservative looking gent. I head back toward the Amphitheater, leaving these famous rocks behind me.
THE LINE TO THE ROMAN THEATER
I head past all of the salesman and other kitchy crap abounding. The cute gladiator is gone, perhaps on a break. I head in with my ticket and see the never-ending line. I am a bit confused by the signs but realize that that was the line to buy tickets. I already have a ticket, so I can just walk by them all and go right in after having my bags scanned. I am starting to have achy feet again, so I head around and take the elevator up to the second level to see the main amphitheater. I wander into the open space and am awed by the size of what is at least a baseball field if not a football field (never having been to a football game, I don’t know dimensions, and no, I don’t WANT to go to one). I can’t get far from this end spot so I wander back to the main corridor. I see that there is some kind of display in the corridors and head back out to see what is there.
WHO HOO!!!! IT”S THEATER!
The museum display…is about the history of Roman theater…masks, sculpture, history, models, quotes…um, I am VERY happy right now. I wander taking pictures of the text, of the displays, and read. THIS is a good place. I am very much enjoying myself. I finally come to the end of the display. I realize it’s getting late and I still need to get presents for my nephews. I kinda thought a gladiator themed something might be fun. I go into the shop and find a cap for one and a tshirt for the other…nothing there is cheesily gladiator AND good for the boys. I walk out as they are closing the shop. Now, there is time, while there is daylight, to see the rest of the arena.
FAMILIAR FACES
I am taking my time to watch people, follow the tour groups to see if I can cheat and get more info from the guides, and offering to help groups take pics. It’s hard to get to the walls to see the actual sites with all the tour groups crowding around. A few accept picture taking offers, many, again, say they are fine. I ask others if they know where the emperor sits. A few don’t know, and finally, one says “oh, our guide just told us, right there, at the cross”. Ironic, hrm. There is a large cross on the main level. That was his seat. Prime I tell you. I continue to walk around and suddenly see…the girls from Milan. The two women I met on the train are wandering around in the Colloseum too! We ask a kind German lady to take a pic of us with both of our cameras. (Sadly, I didn’t check till later that night, but my head is cut off in mine. Dammit,) I have an almost conversation again, and we say our ciao’s.
THE PERFECT VIEW
I wander back to the other side and go to the outer edge where the forum is across the street. It is the perfect photo op place and many are taking advantage. I offer to take pics and do for some and one kind person offers to do the same for me. Sunny warm Roman picture later, I am wandering to see this upper side again. I know the place closes when the sun goes down, so I don’t have much more time here. I wander down to the bottom level to say my last goodbyes to the grand sculpture (of a building).
THE BEST COMPANY
I am back on the lower level again, looking over the actual arena that was either flooded or covered as the games required. I look down and an adorable cat wanders up behind the grating. It’s tiny, but the space around is smaller. I finaegle a way to wiggle my hand in below the fencing and try to scratch it. It starts crying. I can’t figure out how the hell to get it out and tell it so. After a minute or so of this, she weaves to the left and walks right through the fencing. My hand is still caught underneath. Um, ok. I work it out slowly without taking off skin or my watch, and begin to scritch her again. The sun is beginning to go down and it’s beginning to get a bit colder. I sit for a moment because my ankles are cramping a bit from squatting, and she immediately crawls up on my lap and sits down. This is fine by me.
STUPINA IN ROME
People are stopping on occasion and looking at me or asking about the cat. I am still scratching her and she is purring contentedly in my warm lap. I begin to call out, not in full volume, but in regular voice “Free cat pets. Pet a cat…it’s free. No charge to pet the cat.” I feel like Stupina. All I need is dirt and a mask. I am amusing myself far more than anyone else in this country (except for Sinnius Vice up in Vincenza) could understand…and he’s too far away to call. I try to offer her some water from my bottle cap, but she isn’t interested. Now the story is that the Forum used to be overrun with feral cats, but “they are taking care of it.” I am glad this one was smarter, or belongs to someone who lets it play with strangers, because I have been seriously missing my cat love. There were birds in Venice, dogs in Florence, but Rome has cats. Sigh. I sit with her for 20 minutes as the sun begins to go down.
THE OUTER WALLS
She finally decides she is done, after I tell her I am sorry I don’t have food or a place to take her. She seems contented and she did make me very happy for a spell. I head back to the outer level and go to find the bathroom…which they are closing since they are trying to empty the place out…grand. They tell me there are bathrooms on the outside. Um, ok. I head out and see a gladiator walking away up a hill to catch the bus home. I have to take a pic of it because it amuses me. I wander around and find the outer bathrooms. They are not gorgeous, but they are not the worst I have experienced. When I come out, I see a bunch of men of assorted racial backgrounds chatting. I hear English and rudely say hello (Stupina hadn’t shut off yet). Turns out they are musicians from Chicago getting ready for a show. One man is the agent here in Rome, the others are all part of the group. I get the impression that is is hard core hip hop or rap. After a few moments discussion about the city, I wish them well and head on my way.
FIND THE WAY HOME
I double check my map and begin to wander home. I walk past the restaurant I had lunch and take a pic, just to remember it. I pass the cars and vespas. I had read how dangerous the drivers were and how you have to be careful how you walk across the street. I used to live in NYC. THIS is the same. I just walk when I need to and look for the opening, they’ll stop. This is EASY and I am not phased a bit. Glad that “fear” is out of the way. I am now turning on slightly different roads to get home to the hotel, and now am in residential neighborhoods as the sun begins to set. I meet a neighborhood dog and get permission to pet him for a moment. I wander leisurely as it starts to get dark. Off I go till I am back on the circle of my hotel.
CHECKING IN AT GRAND CENTRAL STATION
This hotel is MUCH busier than the previous ones. I get in and they have a small crowd at the desk, but they help me with my key and I am, again, on the 3rd floor. 318 this time. I go to the room to gather my bags and wait for the tiny elevator. it takes two trips before it's ready for me. Up I do to my floor and I am the first room from the elevator on this particular hallway. I roll in my bags to my single room. This one has a single bed, small closet in the corner, window that opens out to a small courtyard view, tv/desk, and bathroom with bidet (again), toilet, sink, and shower stall that has a curtain (and is therefore wider than the last shower). I unpack the things I will be wearing tomorrow and to go home, sort, watch a little TV, and work on my feet with my foot lotion. I look at the time and take a nap before dinner.
PREPARATIONS FOR NIGHT WHERE
I am woken to the call from Lu and Pieter. I mention there is a night walk mapped out that we can take ourselves on tonight, if they are interested and we can pick a restaurant as we go on our way. Then, my phone runs out of minutes. I use my credit card to make a call to them (BAD IDEA, 2 minute call, $41). They call back. They agree this is a good idea and we plan to meet back at the train station in about 20 minutes. I get my things and head downstairs and ask about getting a bus or the like to the station. The concierge tells me that the busses are about to go on strike again in about 10 minutes, so I need to go now if I am going, but it is only across the street and I can get tickets to it at the store two doors down. I rush out and head to the store to purchase my bigletti and hopefully a sim card for the phone. It’s a bit confusing in the store, but I figure out there is no sim card but there are tickets and grab my ticket to the bus. I cross the street and there is one waiting. I get on and about a minute later, it takes off. It is now 8 and the strike should have started, so I am wondering if he will stop in mid transport, but he doesn’t and we make it to Termini. I get out and head inside the main open terminal, or should I say, chilly wind tunnel.
COMEDY OF WAITING
I head inside since they are at a hotel on the other side of the station I stand at a visible spot, which means a more windy location than most, and have to put on my gloves and hat and scarf and still feel a bit chilly. I am getting concerned and getting looked at strangely by the police officer. Finally, I see them, outside waiting for me on MY side of the terminal…the best laid plans. We head out and into a cab. We ask them to take us to the first stop of the walking tour. He speeds across town and for only 7E gets us to the other side and lets us out. He tells us our starting location is “over there” pointing across the street. It seems the cars are not allowed on a number of streets and that is one of them. We pay him and jump out. We cross the street and I with book in hand and in nose, try to figure out where we are to go. The statue we see is kinda cool, but it’s not the starting point. We get a few other people to direct us “over there” and finally find the square they are speaking of, about 3 short blocks in.
THE NIGHT WALK BEGINS
We start in the Piazza Colonna. It’s a charming square is with a few restaurants and the like. It’s eerily quiet but it’s beautiful at night. The whole city is gorgeous at night.
WALKING TO THE PIAZZA
We head in what we think is the right direction and again, are told things are “that way” when we can’t find them. We do find some more neat sculpture in and on buildings. This amuses me as we find a St George and the Dragon…I have now found them in each city. Lelio would be pleased. My camera isn’t getting the pic right, but Pieter gets a good one. We figure out our direction and finally walk into an open HUGE square. There are sales people who are now selling glowing flying toys and the like. Nothing I want, but they keep trying to talk to you. “No, gratzie” with the right accent seems to work. We see the first fountain and begin to take pics. This is he Piazza Navona and there are 3 fountains…one, much larger and more ornate in the center. Once we take enough pics of the first, we walk toward the second.
FEET, IT’S AN ADDICTION
This fountain of the 4 rivers is being repaired, so it is behind plexiglass and wood. It is well lit, so even with much of it held in scaffolding, you can see some of the detail. I am fascinated by the clear details, like the one river’s foot (the rivers are represented by 4 men). I realize I have taken more feet pictures on this trip than any other body part, well, maybe not, but it feels like it. I really like sculptured feet. The next day, on another tour, Lu and Pieter learned that the architect of the building and the sculptor of the fountain didn’t like each other, so the figures on the fountain are turned away from the building so they don’t have to look at it. Ahh, tempermental artists. The descriptions from the guide books are helpful and we are enjoying the peace and the ability to get close to these works of art that would other wise be insanely crowded.
TO THE PLACE OF ALL RELIGIONS
Our next stop on the tour is the Pantheon. I really want to go inside of this building, but I know it’s closed. I am just going to try to get back tomorrow when it’s daylight. We enter another piazza which has 3 restaurants open. One is asking if we want to sit and eat there, but the listing we have notes another trattoria on the other side of the piazza. We walk up to the obelisk in the center then head over to the Pantheon itself. This building was designed to be a place for every religion to be able to pray, because it was dedicated to all of the gods. We see the tiniest crack open on the door and I sneak my camera lens up. I get an eerie look into the space. Outside is still fascinating and I am even more excited about going. This is also the only original dome from way back when in existence, or so I remember, but its perfection was the guide for the Duomo’s design back in Florence. I promise myself I will be back.
TIME FOR VICTUALS
It’s 9:15 and time to eat before things start to close. We go to Al Pantheon, the trattoria mentioned earlier and get a table. It’s a bit chilly, but ok. We get a House red wine, still water, the anitpasto Pantheon for 2 (which could have fed 4), Penne arrabita, Penne salmone e crema, Veal in white wine and a final entrée I can’t remember. (SAD NOTE: while my mother encouraged me to take notes every day to remember things, which has made the previous recaps so detailed, my notes were being written later and later and only go to sunset on the last day…so if something gets vague here or I forget each meal in exact detail, I am sorry). The rest of the meal consisted of Chocolate mousse (only ok), Pistachio cake and berry torte/pie with cappuccinos for them and the moscato for me. We close the place down at 11:30 pm. We still have walking to do.
THINGS ALONG THE WAY
We see a theater letting out for the night. I can’t tell what they performed, but it was around a little corner off the main road. I see a sign for a new opera, the Divine Comedy. I think of KitteBlue and RedSteve and take a pic of the sign. I thought it would please them to see Dante’s work being done. We take a turn to find the next location, again, getting slightly lost. There are fewer people here now too to ask when we are off. Ah well.
MAKE A WISH
Our next stop is the Trevi Fountain. Superstition says that if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain, you can make a wish and you will come back to Rome again. Lu adamantly demands we do this and get pics to commemorate it. Upon arrival, there are only around 30 or so people there. One of which is a gypsy man with roses. He forces red roses into my and Lu’s hands. I tell him I can’t pay for it and try to give it back. He won’t take it back. He offers to take our pic, but Pieter takes pics of us and I do of the two of them (lu fakes the second throw). The gypsy asks Pieter to pay for the roses. I really didn’t want him to and would have given it back, but he is kind and does. The rose is weird. It’s tiny, waxy feeling, and stiff. Not what I am used to at all. But it appears to be normal there. I take a bunch of pics of the fountain but the light is low, so we can’t get great shots.
NO MORE STEPS
Our next stop is the Spanish Steps. It is now after midnight and after getting lost again and not being able to figure out how to get there (they had been there earlier in the day), we decide to bag it, go back the way we came to the main road, and try to catch a cab back cross town. One shows up in a few minutes and we climb in. I give the cab driver the two stops and they have me dropped off first. I ask if they need money for the cab and they tell me no. It was very sweet of them and I appreciated it. I am dropped off at my door, say goodbye with hugs and head upstairs. Since tomorrow is my last day, I pack, take a shower, which doesn’t flood the floor, but I don’t leave the water running, watch some more news, set my alarm to allow me time for breakfast and to walk to my tour, and eventually I drift off to sleep.
There is only one day left. Thanks to you all for your patience as I try to capture as much detail as I can. The last day is one of the most exciting too!
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no subject
Date: 2008-01-22 06:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-23 04:17 am (UTC)You captured more detail than I could ever dream of. I am envisioning you walking around with a sectional accordion-style file folder, stopping in assorted areas to drop in and organize receipts, maps, hand-scrawled memos and the like (in date order, of course) to be able to capture as much as you have.
One more day coming? I am eagerly waiting.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-23 04:28 am (UTC)Glad to know you are enjoying them.