A Crash Course in ...Italy?
Rome: Day 2
We arose at 7, knowing that we had to get to the Vatican Museum early, as was suggested by my roommate who visited Rome a few weeks ago. Breakfast, as provided by the hotel, was yogurt, a croissant, and salami. There was also something that I think was supposed to be orange juice... but in drinking it on the subsequent mornings I think it was a orange-pineapple flavor.
After breakfast we headed toward what be believed to be the entrance to the Vatican museum. We were wrong.
But that’s okay, because there were signs that we able to straighten us out. Surprisingly, we waited only 10 minutes in line before getting thru the front door. I was again able to salvage my film before it passed thru the x-ray scanner. And even better was that I received a student discount because I have an ISIC (international student identity card).
The Vatican museum is HUGE. It is beautiful. It is confusing. We could have easily spent a week of 8 hour days looking at everything. But we didn’t.
The most amazing picture in my opinion was by Rafael. It was in a darkened, climate controlled room with floor to ceiling tapestries behind glass. The name of the painting is “The Transfiguration.” I have pictures of it posted... Slightly enhanced to allow the full, and true, colors to come out as the lack of light made photography difficult.
As we walked thru the exhibits we were treated with several panoramic views of Rome. The courtyard also had what looked to be a large piece of modern art... I have pictures of it on my photos page, as well as at the top of this page.
Of course we saw the Sistine Chapel too. It was amazing. I wanted to lay on my back and just stare at the ceiling for several hours to pick out all the details. Unfortunately they don’t allow you to take pictures in the chapel so I have no pictures of my own. My suggestion: go see it with your own eyes. It’s worth it.
As we left the museum it was raining and of course neither of us had umbrellas. As luck would have it the umbrellas would find us in the form of a street vendor; so for 10 euro we got two cheap umbrellas. We walked toward St. Peter’s, but the line was very long. Remembering that my roommate had said it’s not as bad in the afternoon we opted to return after we had seen the Colosseum and the Forum.
Jess and I walked to the nearest metro station, boarded, and headed off to the Roma Termini, where we were going to get our tickets to Florence for the following day. After walking in several circles looking for the machines, we found them upstairs by the main entrance. They are rather easy to navigate, except for the fact that sometimes the English version of the program contained Italian words. We purchased our tickets, and return tickets, before heading upstairs to grab a quick bite to eat.
We had something at resembled a ham and cheese in a panini style bread. For fast food it was quite good. We then found 2 more metro tickets (also a project with all the commotion) and boarded another metro that took us to the Colosseum.
The outside of the Colosseum is spectacular. We waited in line, again having to run our baggage thru the x-ray. I managed to save almost all my film... Even though they say “film safe” they can still damage film after multiple passes, thus it’s important to try and minimize x-ray exposure. We waited in line, but when we got to the window we found out it was cash only! Why they wouldn’t have posted that right off the top, I don’t know. We walked back across the street where I changed $100 to Euros. Instead of going back and waiting in line again we headed toward a visitor center that I knew could tell us another place to get tickets to the Forum and Colosseum. They directed us across the street, so after walking around the construction, snapping some pictures along the way, we walked right into the forum. No line’s what-so-ever.
By this time the sun was breaking thru the clouds. It had been raining most of the day, so it was glorious to see it brighten up. I have several great photos of the sun breaking thru the clouds. While we were in the forum I went to snap a picture of a building (ruin, really); The camera went “click” and then nothing. The battery had died.
But I’m an Eagle Scout, and had two extra batteries. After fishing out the right size coin to unscrew the base, and replace the battery, I was back in business.
The forum was very cool. I felt like I was walking thru ancient Rome. I could visualize the buildings as they once stood, and imagine the sounds and smells the city would have produced.
We climbed to the top of the hill where one lonely house stood. I thought it would have made a nice fixer-upper... but I don’t know how much a ruin in Rome costs... So for now I’ll just stick to looking at houses in central Mass.
We finished the Forum and went back to the Colosseum, where we were able to completely bypass the line going in because we already had our tickets. After walking around for a while, we found the “stairs” to the second floor of the Colosseum. I say “stairs” because the angle that they were on made them seem more like a slide with bumps, than actual stairs.
While the Colosseum was very nifty (and even more mind blowing that they were able to build something so huge with no modern tools) I did like the Forum better.
The plan after visiting the Colosseum and Forum was to wander back to the hotel by way of the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and the Piazza Navona. This proved to be quite a task as there were several protests going on throughout the city surrounding new Italian legislation about schools. I’m not sure what the law states, but I do know that the students were outraged.
I did find a second on the way back to grab some french fries at the local McDonald’s. They were just like the one in the US.
Just as we were getting close to St. Peter’s the heavens opened up. Umbrellas were of minimal use as the wind was blowing the rain at a very steep angle. We made it to St. Peter’s quickly made it thru security (running the film thru the x-ray to simplify things) and made it into the church.
We were fortunate enough to hear part of a mass. The Basilica is HUGE. It has the longest nave in the world, and was incredibly ornate. I had that stupid look on my face because I was giggling inside at the grandeur of the sight. I stood quietly in the back and called my mother to forward the message to my Grandmother and Uncle Monsignor where I was. I would have stayed for the mass, but Jess and I were starving. We headed back to the hotel to dry off. On the way we discovered a small restaurant down the street that looked like a nice place to have dinner.
We cleaned up and headed back to the restaurant for 7. They informed us that they didn’t open until 7:30. So we walked back to the hotel and waited until 7:45. At first they seemed to ignore us, and then they seated us after we asked. We were the only ones upstairs at first. Soon however, there were 3 other men, all eating alone, all very Italian eating there as well... They all seemed to have “a little extra room in their jackets” if you know what I mean.
The menu was entirely in Italian, so we discerned as best we could what to order. I couldn’t even tell you what Jess received, but I had a steak with green peppercorns. Everything was very good, but very different. We also witnessed several people walk into the restaurant, kiss the host, waiter, and bartender, before being shown downstairs.
We concluded that we were eating dinner in an Italian Mafia den.
My steak was nearly raw in the middle, but quite good none the less.
Actually my steak was raw in the middle... It was a cold center, with a braised outside. And the peppercorns were spicy!
The glass of wine I had was excellent. They actually open up the bottle of wine you want and pour you just one glass... Pretty nifty.
I should have paid cash, but I gave them my credit card...
So now they have my whole name, credit card number, and signature.
I’m not dead yet, so I figure I’m in the clear. But I can’t help but feel that Jess and I were lucky to get out of there in one piece.
The thunderstorms that had been rolling thru made the evening even more creepy and ominous. So much rain had fallen during dinner that part of the hotel was actually flooded.
I double locked the door, drew the external shades, and setup a tripwire when we got back into the room.
Just kidding about the tripwire, but I thought about it...
Finally we hit the hay, knowing that tomorrow was our day in Florence.