The Roman saga

Tuesday afternoon was largely spent on a train headed towards Rome (Roma in Italian). We had some minor difficulties getting to our hostel because the streets in Rome are either horribly labeled or not labeled at all. After buying a map and using what was basically a process of elimination, we found the road that our guest house was one and then set off to it.

As for the guest house it was on the 7th floor of a building that was at the time (and probably still is) constructing an elevator. We were supposed to have three rooms but for some reason only got two, though for some reason there was no difference in price. One room was a double with a cot and the other was simply a double. It was nice not to be in bunks but our bathroom shower was very small and flooded often.

A small section of the Colosseum at night.

After settling in our rooms we set off in search of food and didn't have to go very far to find a nice place to eat. I had pesto linguine and shrimp which was amazing, although pesto is one of my favorite additions to food of all time and I didn't expect to be disappointed by it in Italy. The pesto itself was actually rather light and didn't particularly taste like pesto I've had before. It was delicious but the basil and garlic wasn't as strong. As usual we split a bottle of red wine and enjoyed the fact that we were in Rome.

A glance into the Colosseum at night.

I continued my role as map keeper and so when I saw how close we were to the Colosseum I suggested that we go to see it after dinner. Sure enough only a few streets down from our restaurant, I looked to the left and saw a section of the huge amphitheater looming in the distance. The canals and David certainly drove home that we were in Italy but I think seeing something as massive, ancient and iconic drove home the fact that not only were we in Italy but also in the city where one of the most powerful and influential civilizations began (and died).

When we got close to the Colosseum many pictures were taken (as is obligatory) and when we finally got down to street level I tip-toed unnecessarily up to one of the huge columns, touched it and then hugged another. I expected the Colosseum, originally called the Flavian Amphitheater, to be massive but by seeing it in person I was struck by how old and impressive Rome was (and is). Granted, many of the places that I personally found most impressive were also the oldest, but in combination with the Foro Romana which sits right next to the Colosseum, I was very much in a state of awe.

Kendra also jokingly said that I was a terrible history major for not being able to site the age of the Colosseum or other bits of historical information related to ancient Rome and I feigned hurt as Ancient History is quite a ways away from my focus. We didn't quite get our fill of the Colosseum but because night tours don't exist (they should!) and because some of us had to use the facilities, we left and on the way back to our hostel got gelatto.

One of the many waterfalls/fountains at Villa d'Este.

The next morning we had breakfast at a cafe right down the street from our "guest house" which was free with our rooms - well a pastry and a hot drink was - and then began our first full day in Rome by leaving it. Our destination was Tivoli which is about an hour outside of Rome by bus and the town where Michelle's family from. We were headed in particular to Villa d'Este which was the home of some of her ancestors. Villa d'Este has expansive gardens with some truly incredible fountains and waterfalls. As far as an ancestral home goes it was top notch and we couldn't turn down a path without seeing something gorgeous or intricate.

After visiting the Villa we bought cheap sandwiches from a woman who couldn't speak any English that were OK but did the job of satisfying our hunger. We attempted to go for gelatto afterwards but found that everything was closed and subsequently headed back to Rome. In all the metro and bus to Tivoli cost 6 euros round-trip and was without a doubt worth it.

An arched open-air passageway with wisteria in Villa d'Este.

Upon arriving back in Rome we made our way towards the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain itself is the largest fountain in all of Rome and one of the most famous in the world so it is also subsequently one of the greatest tourist traps in all of Rome, certainly one of the greatest I saw throughout our trip. All of us simultaneously made wishes while throwing in centimes and managed to get away without being accosted by too many people who attempt to sell crap at every popular site.

From the Trevi Fountain we walked to the Spanish Steps which are accessible from the Piazza di Spagna. An apartment next to the Spanish Steps was also where John Keats spent the last four months of his life and now houses the John Keat's museum. We went in to find out how much the museum cost (4.50 euros) and what exactly the museum was but when we were told it gave information about his life, manuscripts and then locks of hair (which is just weird) we decided there was nothing there that couldn't be found in a book or on the internet.

The Trevi Fountain.

Tired and hot we headed back to our "guest house" and after a rest headed for dinner. Kendra's research on Rome yieleded something called the Piazza Crawl alternatively known as Piazza Navona which has three fountains, the largest of which was designed by Bernini and featured in Angels & Demons.

On the way to Piazza Navona we passed by many sites including more of the Foro Romana; the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, where the Italian equivalent to the tomb of the unknown soldier lies; incidentally walking upon some sort of ceremony that was compromised of a speech, a concert and Roman soldiers (in full ancient costume); and the Pantheon. It was another moment that highlighted how we had such incredible luck when it came to places we planned to go to and places that we stumbled upon.

Dinner at Piazza Navonoa was amazing and made even better by our hilarious waiter who made jokes and references to the Boston area (I haven't met one person who really knows what New Hampshire is), joked about Sean being a ladies man and then flirted with Michelle when he walked past our table as she was on the phone with her boyfriend. Towards the end of the evening he stopped and said that if he married Michelle they could spend 4 months in Tivoli, 4 in Rome and then 4 months on Cape Cod. We also had excellent wine that was our least expensive to date, pesto (again but with a stronger basil taste) and enjoyed our incredible setting. It was very relaxing and we took our time eating, drinking our wine and just sitting.

As we left the restaurant a street busker started up with a remarkable rendition of "Hallelujah" and then continued to sing five or six more songs. His voice was amazing and we sat by a fountain for each one marveling at his voice, his choices in song renditions and our luck. When he was done (and after we dropped some euro coins into his guitar case) we walked around the rest of the fountains which were all lit up for the night and then made our way back to the hotel. Altogether the day and evening combined was incredible and perhaps the best day of our entire trip.

The Spanish Steps at Piazza di Spagna.

Our next day was reserved for the Vatican and because we have a mixture of good and bad luck we ended up being in Rome for a part of Holy week. This mean that we somehow made it into Saint Peter's Basilica as mass was beginning and therefore saw many bishops, a few cardinals and oh! the Pope.

It personally felt incredibly strange being in the center of the Catholic Church and seeing the head of said church while being neither Christian or Catholic - though not atheistic. I could appreciate the Vatican for its architecture and art but could only really appreciate the religious aspect in relation to the effect it had on others. It was very surreal to see the Pope but it was much more the atmosphere of seeing him - thousands of people, hundreds of camera and people of all races and backgrounds - then seeing someone that was personally important to me.

Of course because it was Holy week some things were a bit off schedule. We had wanted to do a tour of the Necropolis (crypts beneath the Vatican) but due to Angels & Demons only 200 people could visit per day and during Holy week the crypts were actually closed. A large part of St. Peter's was also closed during mass and we were unable to see about 3/4 of it including Michelangelo's Pieta.

The monument to Vittorio Emanuele II.

We later found out that after mass finished (and I should note that in St. Peter's square the entire mass was televised on jumbo-trons), St. Peter's would re-open. Until then we decided to go to the Sistine Chapel and therefore the Vatican Museum.

The museum, or at least the line, was host to many people with so called "skip the line tours". I'm sure they would have cut the line shorter but they would have also cost four times as much and been guided. I have nothing against guided tours and in fact enjoy them some of the time but none of us wanted to go on any and really did not appreciate being harassed by people that were selling a product.

Luckily the line moved relatively quickly and thanks to being students we got discounts on the entrance fee. As for the Vatican Museum, I found that it was essentially a labyrinth that takes one through elaborate rooms with Church paintings that were commissioned by a Pope. I'm not particularly fond of religious paintings but I did appreciate their importance in relation to Art History and also History in general. In this vein it was very neat to see an entire hall dedicated to painted maps of rooms credited to the notorious Borgia family.

Another look at the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II.

Our final destination in the Vatican Museum was our real reason for being in there at all: the Sistine Chapel. As Michelangelo's first fresco it was incredible and as a fresco in general it was very impressive. I craned my neck to see the scenes painted on the ceiling and for those intermittent seconds that it hurt my neck I can't imagine how painful it would have been for Michelangelo who lay on his back for years just to paint it.

After the Sistine Chapel we navigated the Vatican maze once more, although this time to leave, in search of food because we were all exhausted and famished. Due to this we ended up eating directly across from the Vatican at a grossly overpriced cafe. The food wasn't worth it price wise but we were hungry, tired and sitting down to eat was sort of made up for it.

From the cafe we headed back to St. Peter's to see the status of the line and to also see if we could take a tour of the Necropolis (which we later found out was closed). Michelle and Amy left to find a park as they didn't want to wait in line while Sean, Kendra and I waited to re-enter St. Peter's. The line was thankfully very fast moving and we entered very quickly, first choosing to take a tour of the tombs of the Popes which obviously house the tombs of many Popes but also house several members of Royal families who were exiled for being Catholic. I found it interesting that there was a Stuart tomb particularly after having taken a Tudor and Stuart England class the last semester.

I'm such a sucker for pictures of ordinary streets or roads in cities or towns
and could not resist snapping this on our way to Piazza Navona,
particularly as the near-sunset light was lovely.

From the tombs of the Popes we went back into St. Peter's. Upon seeing it open we realized how little we saw during mass that morning and how truly massive it was. We were also able to see Michelangelo's Pieta which is kept behind bullet-proof glass after a madman took off a finger and a nose (now restored). While the detail of Michelangelo's David was impressive, the folds and intricacies of the Pieta were almost incomprehensible given what precision must have been necessary.

That evening Sean broke his cot just by sitting on it. All of us were in a state of shock but finally told the proprieter who glared at Sean and then promptly went to find zip ties to fix it. The quick manner in which she went about "fixing" the cot made all of us think that it had happened before and for the rest of our visit in Rome Sean was on edge about breaking the bed again even though the first time it had not been his fault.

The next day was personally very rough for me mostly because when I entered the Colosseum my camera began to freak out, citing dozens of errors, telling me the lens was not attached when it was and then making me think that it had died. That morning my bottle of water (which the day before I had filled with safe drinking water from one of the Vatican fountains - oh the irony) spilled in my bag but as my camera rested above the water bottle and it took a picture without any difficulty after the spill I figured that there was not a problem.

My picture of the Pope came out a bit blurry so here's one of what I believe
are the bishops. As soon as their was movement everyone's cameras
flew up and I knew that the Pope was there not because of his hat or his
small size but because everyone was such in a frenzy. 

To this moment I still don't really understand what happened. Seeing as how my camera worked fine afterwards I'm not sure if it was due to water damage but nevertheless my camera essentially died in the Colosseum and I had a meltdown as a result of it. I remember quite clearly sitting on steps outside of the Colosseum and noticing people with cameras all around me, in particular those with the iconic Nikon camera strap, and wanting to say "I have one too! It's just not working!" Given all the problems, I walked through the Colosseum in a nervous/near breakdown attitude unable to really appreciate it while I thought my camera had died. The feeling followed for the Foro Romana and no amount of removing the battery and re-attaching the lens resulted in it turning back to normal.

The camera later ended up working but only when both my lens and camera where on manual. I was able to take photos as long as I completely controlled exposure and also personally focused the camera. I was unfortunately forced to remove the battery whenever I turned the camera off as it continually flashed me a green light that resulted in the camera sapping battery life. Though the camera was able to take photos manually later that day I was still really depressed.

The moment culminated when during lunch my apple rolled down the hill and nearly went into the road. I instantly burst into tears and when someone said "I'm sure the apple will be alright", I sobbed "It's not the apple!" A day later I would laugh about this but at the moment the apple was everything that had gone wrong on a day that could have been really wonderful.

Inside St. Peter's with the afternoon light shining through.

For dinner we went to the same restaurant as our first night which was a good choice as the food was once again incredible. Afterwards we went out and Michelle, Amy and I discovered what Kendra and Sean had found the night before: DNA, alcoholic water which tasted a bit like carbonated Poland Spring, a bit like lemonade but was devoid of any alcoholic taste and were it not for the label none of us could even tell it was alcohol.

That night I also accidentally locked myself in the bathroom. It took a good two minutes to get out and when I did the proprietor was there glaring at me as if the problems with her door were my fault. She ended up removing the key so that none of us could lock it which frightened all of us as many Europeans have a habit of not knocking on doors before entering.

The next day was our day to leave and we were glad to be rid of our "guest house". While our stay in Rome was fantastic, the guest house was the worst of our entire trip and we all pledged to give it horrendous reviews. We checked out, got breakfast and then set ourselves up for a few hours of wait in a park where it just happened to be the time when all of the dogs were there. Some of them came over to see and play with us and all of us, feeling nostalgic for our own dogs, had a lot of fun play with them.

For lunch we bought some snacks, I finally had a cannoli and we headed for the airport.