Vacation blog
Trip Start
Jul 01, 2008
1
13
Trip End
Jul 31, 2008
Rome,
Lazio,
Italy
Sunday, July 27, 2008
...eventually...
Our first day in town, it took longer to get to our hotel than the flight from Munich. We tok a local train instad of the quick train to the Termini (main Terminal in the "central"- it isn't-part of the city).
We enjoyed a sweet one and a half hour ride on the Euro Star train to Florence that got us there in plenty of time to enjoy a full day in that beautiful city (more on that later). However, we don't know how we made the mistake of taking the local three and a half hour train ride back to Rome. Yikes... THAT was brutal.
But other than the public transportation and the odd little features of Roman existence that we encountered now and then (like the Roman fear of toilet seats in public restrooms... there aren't any...so they must be very much despised...), the last eight days have gone pretty well.
Rome, as an object, is overwhelming. It can be described (be sure that I will attempt to do so), in a very cornball way to be like an onion--- it has infinite layers. This is a city that has over 25 hundred years of RECORDED history. And a lot of that architecture is in evidence when you walk down ANY street.
It's, as I said, overwhelming.
There is a humongous set of ancient ruins from 25 BC to your left (the Forum), down the stairs from a government memorial created by the first kingdom of Italy in the 1880s (the Victor Emannuel II Monument in the Venetian Plaza or Piatza Venetzia), built against an old fortress called the Basillica di San Marco that is from the 15th century. These are all incredible sites within the space of a football field!
The different centuries of building styles create outlandish angles and arches fighting for visual recognition against every horizon line in every direction. My first thought concerning all of this clashing geometry was a snobbish, "WHO is your decorator?" Then, without many more spent mental calories, it occurred to me Rome's equally snobbish reply would be:
Michelangelo,
Bernini,
Lambardi,
Borromini,
Fontana,
Di Vinci,
Specchi...
Oh, ummmmm... well, let's check out the artwork around town. What can you offer the public for free? Again, the answer would put any other town in the world to shame: Carravaggio, Rubens, Raphael, Bernini, Titian...
Ok! OK!! But are there places to just hang out and chill? Si! Si! The Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the great park called the Villa Borghese, the Piazza Narvonna, the Campo Fiori, Trestevere and the Jewish Ghetto and it's plethora of Piatze (plazas) each with their own fountain or multiple fountains...
It got so that at every corner of every building there was some kind of embellishment or monument to see. There was a memorial tucked into this place or a water fountain beckoning one to drink here. Rome would take a lifetime to explore. We have had eight days and had to take two "zero" days where we did very litle but rest in order to stay fresh.
We took day trips to Ostia Antica, the Roman ancient port city off the Tiber river, we went to the beach in this town called Cristofo Columbo. Pretty Mediterranean blue water...thousands of half-naked humans. We took a train to Florence.
We have seen so much history, so many beautiful things. What SHOULD one see when one goes to Rome? Well, there is so much we HAVEN'T seen and that would be a problem in creating such a list. Nonetheless, of what Elaine and I have seen:
1. The Sistine Chapel. It IS that amazing. Go late in the day on a weekday. The ticket office closes at 4pm, so try to go in at around 3:30 to avoid a line that would make Disney themepark veterans quake with sheer terror. There is an entire Vatican Museum filled with enormous treasure that preceeds Michelangelo's (in my opinion) masterwork. Take your time to walk through the Raphael rooms and the Borghese apartments because the guards won't let you backtrack (we learned that the hard way). The frescoes and paintings there are as good as any others on earth. But la Sistina... well Michelangelo wasn't even a painter, he was a sculptor, and he still created the greatest visual aid to Christianity I've ever seen. When you look up, it truly seems three-dimensional, like figures are about to fall down on top of you. The Final Judgement on the wall closest to the entry door is truly one of the most moving works I've ever seen.
2. The Piazza Navonna at night. What a magical place! There are street performers and two luxurious fountains. There are cool little restaurants and cafes to sit and drink in the whole affair. Uh-oh! There's a a group of forty-somethings picking out classic rock! Yet, despite this, the experience was an exceptional use of time.
3. Trestevere and the Jewish Ghetto. Walking around these neighborhoods gives a delightful Italian experience rather than a "I've just been through a tourist trap" psychosis. Take a breather from the heat of the day and stop in the Piazza Soninno to have a tall fresh-squeezed juice: orange, lemonade, limeade, peach...
4. Walk along the Tiber River from the Vatican fortress of San Angelo toward the Piazza de Populo. There are tents with all kinds of shopping and eating opportunities and there is (thank the all mighty), a strong breeze to keep one cool during the stroll.
Well, it's been a great trip. Haven't discussed Florence at all, but I'll save it for the next entry. Back to Munich tomorrow, then a long train ride (11 hours!) back to Amsterdam for two days before flying back to the states.
