How does one even begin to contemplate the grandeur, passion and joy de vivre that is Roma? People come from all over the world to experience this place and have done so for thousands of years; we are simply the latest to be drawn here by the ancient, the beautiful, the timeless- the irresistible pulse that is The Eternal City.
The metro ride in was convenient and modern, but stepping out of the station at Piazzo San Pietro drew us back to Constantine’s time in the late days of Empire when Christianity as a social and spiritual force had proved its staying power and the Emperor made it the state religion of the vast Roman world. The Vatican is testament to the rich inheritance of wealth, prestige, civilization, artistry and humanistic achievement that carries on to this day. St. Peter’s Basilica simply must be experienced first-hand, same for the Vatican Museums, and the Sistine Chapel. I haven’t the verbal horsepower to translate these experiences- no one does- some things you simply must do or see for yourself. Period.
Rushing through the winding streets and crossing the Tiber in a taxi, we came to the Pantheon, and ancient building which once housed multiple Roman Gods for one-stop-shopping pagan worship. Now is considered a Basilica dedicated to the Christian martyrs over the centuries.
Just a bit further across town is the ruin of the Flavian Amphitheater often referred to as The Colosseum. This is marvel of engineering and a witness to the deep desire of the Roman people to be entertained. I can’t help thinking of our massive American Football stadiums, Basketball arenas, multiplex cinemas and massive entertainment expenses and infrastructure as we tour this fascinating place.
Nearby, The Palatine Hill and Forums are part of the ancient bones of the city. Built layer upon layer; you can hardly help but be in an historical site no matter where you stand in this town. These locations have been excavated and well preserved due the central nature of the ancient Forums and Imperial Palace area. We spend the afternoon wandering and marveling through this now garden-like ruin.
The late afternoon and evening are spent strolling through the Tarpean neighborhood, modern government buildings to the Piazzo de Venezia and the massive brilliant white marble palace dedicated to Victor Emmanuelle; stunning. We make our way to a sidewalk Internet cafe and were able to post pictures and blog stuff from the day before. Internet access is a bit tricky here in Italy... not universally available, not always functioning in areas where its purported to be. No matter, the cafe was interesting, delightful and relaxing. We spent several hours here eating drinking, talking, chatting with our excellent waiter and watching the Roman evening roll by. We stayed so late that part of the Metro had closed and we were compelled to take a taxi back to the hotel part of the way. Oh well, when in Rome... ~S
PS from S. I just re-read my blog post and I must say, a few paragraphs, the day after is still too soon to write about the impact our visit to this place has had on me. Rome and its history have shaped my thinking and imagination since I was just a kid getting interested in history for the first time. As long as I can remember, Rome has occupied significant territory in my intellectual landscape; I have read so much of its history (ancient and modern), taught so many classes on it... it is indeed, very special to meet an old friend for the first time :)
~S
Hi Everyone,
Today was huge and amazing and completely unforgettable. There is so much to tell you all about, so this post may be long. I will do my best to be descriptive but brief. The day was so much better than we hoped for and we’re swimming with love of the city of Rome and it’s stunning beauty, breathtaking ancient ruins, amazing architecture and magic of the Vatican City.
The day started with a delightful breakfast on the rooftop dining area of our hotel. The management gave us excellent directions for bus and metro into the city center and so we embarked out our adventure for the day, well fed and ready to experience the Eternal City. The bus was a breeze and the metro was crowded but simple. First stop, St Peters Basilica.
We exited the metro and walked several blocks to the basilica. This place is amazing and even more stunning in person from what you see on TV. There was a large crowd gathering in the forum, so we asked a guard where we could access the basilica and he informed us it was closed until the afternoon because the Pope would be making an appearance. How cool!!! So, we decided to change our plan and make our way to the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel our first adventure for the day. We walked several more blocks to the entrance, and the line was long, but moved quickly. After going through security and standing in line with the zillions of Asian tour groups (we call them the “bumpers” because they stand so close to you in line that they’re constantly bumping into the back or side of you!), we made our way into the museum. We were expecting to see only the Sistine Chapel (the only part we were really interested in exploring), but the Vatican cleverly maneuvers you through many mazes of hallways of other very beautiful and old art/paintings before you get there. What a treat... one we weren’t expecting. Many pictures of statues and painted ceilings/walls were taken, but of course (and this didn’t surprise us), no photos were allowed in the Sistine Chapel. I have seen dozens of pictures of this chapel. I have watched Discovery shows on the chapel and it’s paintings by Michaelangello. I knew what to expect walking in, except for maybe the true and breathtaking beauty of the actual thing, in real life. This room was simply amazing and we stood there, taking in the ceiling, walls and essence of this room for a very long time. If the rest of the day had gone poorly, we would have been happy as clams for having experienced this amazing and beautiful phenomenon.
Upon exiting the museum, we made our way back to the basilica. The timing was PERFECT. Pope Benedict XVI was at the altar, speaking to the crowd. We stood on the outside and took some photos. Huge TV screens on either side of the forum show him up close while he’s speaking to the thousands of people standing out in the crowd. The most special part of seeing the Pope was something neither of us expected... the Pope sang a beautiful choral song and it echoed through the plaza from the microphones and speakers. I had a smile on my face the entire time. It was beautiful.
After the Pope left, we made our way down a main street and ate lunch at an overpriced tourist cafe because we were starving and didn’t have the desire to wander the back streets for something reasonable. You can always tell a crappy tourist cafe from the authentic ones because the menus are in 7 different languages instead of just Italian and English :) The food was good, just too much for the quality. We then made our way back to the basilica to see if we could get inside yet. Just our luck, it was open and the line to get in was a breeze. Now, being that this is the Vatican City, and this is the catholic church’s most important basilica, one would expect it to be nothing less than amazing. This would be an understatement and I can assure you that having been in many a cathedral, duomo, basilica and church, this one was by far the biggest, most beautiful, most decorative, most elaborate, most impressive one I have ever seen. The pictures we’ve taken do not even do it justice and in no way reflect how massive, how beautiful and how amazing this place truly was. You do not have to be a religious person to truly appreciate this place. It just grabs you and takes you in. I personally will never forget it and fear that future visits to other basilicas will be disappointing after having seen this masterpiece.
Leaving the basilica, we catch a taxi over to the Pantheon. The Pantheon is the oldest completely intact temple in the world. The only source of light in this temple is a giant open hole in the ceiling. When it rains, the water just comes right into the temple and drains through holes in the floor. From the outside it looks old and you can tell it is ancient just by looking at it. On the inside it is beautiful, with detailed columns that are set evenly around the perimeter where the Gods used to sit. Now, it is a temple to the Martyrs, but the history remains, intact, and ever so impressive.
Again we catch a taxi and make our way to the Colosseum and ancient ruins of the Forum and Palatine Hill. Wow - words do not describe this place and its magic. Looking at the Colosseum, one has to be amazed at the marvel of engineering for the time period it was built. It is massive and enormous and is still impressively intact for its age. On the inside are corridors and remnants of where the stands used to be. Looking at the main floor shows a maze of rooms and corridors below where the ancient wooden floor used to be. Views of the Palatine from the windows were amazing and you can almost close your eyes and be there, in ancient times, watching a gladiator fight with the Romans as they used to do. Very cool, very magical, very amazing.
After exploring the Colosseum, we make our way across the street to the entrance for the Palatine hill. This was, in my opinion, one of the coolest things we’ve seen in Italy. Ancient ruins of homes, markets, streets, and buildings in what was once the most important part of the city. It is massive in it’s layout, and the ruins are still very much intact. It was like exploring an old ancient castle and village, only much older, much wiser, and much more alive. I hope you can see what I mean from the pictures...
We leave the Palatine and make our way toward the Capitol district of Rome where we see a very cool political building, the Palazzo de Victor Emanuel which is also stunning in it’s huge and massive architecture. Walking along we find an internet cafe and park our tired feet for a few hours while we enjoy a delightful meal at this kind and friendly cafe.
Our internet did not work in our Rome hotel, so we used this internet cafe to post the latest blog (our Florence to Rome) and enjoy the evening in Rome. We finally make our way back to the Metro, say one last goodbye to Rome and its beauty, and head down into the tunnels for our ride back to the hotel. Line B, the Metro from the Colosseum to the interchange for Line A was open and running just fine. No problems for us until we try to go to Line A and oops - it closed an hour or so before we got there. Damn! Upstairs is the main terminal, a change between the Railway station, two crossing metro lines, and many bus routes throughout the area. Our problem... we have no idea what train goes where, or even worse, what busses to take and change to, or even what neighborhood our hotel is in. How do we get back? Well, we opt for a taxi. In Rome the taxi stands are lines of taxis and you must take the first one in line to be fair to all the taxi drivers. I personally don’t like this policy because some taxi drivers look scarier than others. As we’re walking to the front of the line, we’re approached by shady barterers who are trying to scam us of our money. “Where are you going?” he asks us. We tell him, he shakes his head “Oh - that is a long way... $70 Euros.”. Um no - thanks though. He haggles down to $50 Euros and we tell him $20, he balks and agrees to $40. We think this may be ok, not realizing that the “real” taxi drivers do not haggle as the fares are set. We start walking with him to the taxi, but notice that his “taxi” is not in the line... it is up around the corner. Creepy and shady and both of us say NO WAY as we turn around and walk away. Situation unpleasant, and me being a nervous nelly, I am now on full guard with my suspicion antennas way WAY out. Perhaps I have seen or heard about too many horror stories of people getting kidnapped in taxis or whatnot, but it’s better to be on guard instead of not worrying, at least that’s my policy. Being with Stanley though was reassuring and I couldn’t help but feel safe with him regardless of what was happening around us. Walking back into the terminal we’re approached by another dorky looking man who looks like a super nerdy, super gay Antonio Banderas in bad costume He tells us he has a “private car service” and would be happy to take us to our hotel for $25 Euro. My immediate instinct and response is No and Stanley concurs, so we escape from this heister as well. Back out onto the street, Stanley bravely maneuvers his way through the bombardment of fake taxi drivers to the ones that are actually sitting in their cabs, in line, official and safe. They tell us it will be $20 or so Euros to get back to the hotel and we jump in, happy but still on guard. Home at last... and aside from this small and relatively insignificant issue of transportation, the day was marvelous, grand, wonderful and spectacular. I will sleep well tonight and I will miss Rome as we move on our way to Naples and Positano. ~M
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