Roman Holiday

Today, we crossed into a different country, walked an inordinate amount, saw some of the oldest shit in existence, ate the world's most delicious lunch, heard some amazing musicians, and in short got so tired out that I don't want to be writing this right now, but I will, because writing is good.  Also, I won't have any time tomorrow, and have some amazing pictures I'd like to share.  With 49 songs on queue on grooveshark, here goes.

We woke up at 8:30, and lay in bed for a while talking about random things.  I'd had a very sad dream, and discussed it with Gill, which made me feel better about it, though not completely.  It was one of those dreams that you are afraid of speaking aloud because you don't want it to become true.  We then went to breakfast, after putting on layers upon layers of clothing because it's effing COLD!  We definitely didn't stay in some hotels because they didn't have air conditioners.  We were so caught up looking for air conditioners that we didn't think to search for hotels with heaters!  It's very, very cold here.  I thought Italy would mean sunshine, but it definitely doesn't.  Oh well.  At least there are extra blankets.  Anyway, breakfast meant some croissants, toast, and a large pot of tea.  Yummy.  The helpful hotel owner here also turned on the television for us, so breakfast was accompanied by Italian Big Brother, which is excellent.

From there, we went and checked our e-mails.  I'd sent one last night to my family asking for advice and love, and received an e-mail from both my mom and my dad, separately.  They made me cry big sad tears of homesickness and inadequacy.  We went back to the room, and I unloaded about how much I miss everyone in my life, and how all I want to do is teleport home and sleep in a bed and never ever move again.  Eventually, we left the room to go to Rome proper, in spite of our distaste for Italians in general, and predisposed dislike for Rome.

We walked from the San Pietro station, where we saw an ascetic with bare feet and a scratchy robe walking on the dirty subway floor.  We derped around looking for Saint Peter's Basilica for a while, in spite of the fact that it was right in front of us, and then finally got into the area.  Once we crossed into Saint Peter's, we were officially in Vatican City, with is a separate city-state from the rest of Italy.  Country-hopping...literally!  xD

"Romans are all bitches"

Nonsensical sign

A large pumpkin

Unknown vegetable.

St. Peter's

The best picture of a fountain I've ever taken

Inside the collonade

A picture of me!  Squinty, because it was bright.

From St. Peter's, we walked in the direction of the Castel Sant' Angelo.  From the Castel, where the requisite tourists congealed with the hawkers of random wares, we walked down the Ponte Sant' Angelo, to find some lunch, since it was about one in the afternoon at this point. 

Jesus wants a high 5

Romulus and Remus at the teat

Awesome bag!

I want that girl's shoes!

The castle

The view from the bridge

A statue of an angel

Couples come to this bridge, lock the locks, and throw the key into the water

:-)

The castle from the other side of the bridge

Our delicious lunch!  It was soooo good!

We lunched on margherita pizza and still water, and let me just say that what we make in the United States and sell as "pizza" is a travesty, and unworthy of the same name as the perfectly-balanced pie we were treated to at the foot of the bridge to the castle.  Seriously.  It was light, and fluffy, and the cheese was obviously fresh, and the sauce wasn't overpowering, and since we shared, it was perhaps my best purchase of the day.  Well, it was more expensive than the twenty post-cards I got for no real reason, but I think I'll get more lasting enjoyment from the memory of that pizza.  I know, I know, who'd have EVER thought that pizza in Italy would be delicious?  You know these things cognitively, the same way you rationally understand that the poppy-filled libations in the station in Prague will by far exceed anything in your experience, but it's still a shock to the taste buds with every bite.  I was expecting a good pizza.  I received the most amazing gastronomic experience of my stay in Italy.  It didn't top the pig's knees, but it was close. 

From the restaurant, we went on to do numerous touristy things, with pictures below.  Unfortunately, it didn't rain while we were at the Pantheon.  If you're ever in Rome while it rains, though, high-tail it to the Pantheon for the once-in-a-lifetime experience of seeing with your own eyes the ingenious architects and their brilliant plan to compensate for the giant hole in the ceiling every time it rains.  The floor is concave in places, and convex in the center, so it filters rainwater along predetermined pathways whenever any comes into the building, turning pieces of the floor into mini-canals, and other pieces of the floor into islands.  It's a glorious sight, but as I said, in spite of the menacing clouds and the likely start to the rain when we'd already passed the Colosseum, there was no proper rain. 

Gill also bought an amazing souvenir for Diogo.  I can't even explain it here, but it's effing fabulous.  I wanted to get the same thing for every single male that I know, but I feel like it could be taken the wrong way.  If you want further detail, she might just explain it in her blog here.

There was a glass bead shop underneath, but these looked a lot cooler than the window

So they took a delicious confection (Florentine cream-flavored gelato, which has hints of caramel, chocolate, and hazelnut) and covered it in dark chocolate.  Whuuuuut!

What strikes me most about Rome is how perfectly the ancient buildings are integrated with the more modern housing.  Many people live in apartments that open directly onto historic squares, and it doesn't seem unnatural.  Motorbikes and vespas blend into the tiny turning streets, all of the grates still emblazoned with "S.P.Q.R." (which I translate roughly as "Romans Was Herre Ya'll!") and well-dressed schoolchildren pop in and out of churches which date back to the beginning of the Catholic religion.  There are gelati stands on every corner, along with panini stands, and tourist shops, all of which sell vaguely the same merchandise, but at seriously varied prices.  We never knew exactly where we were, or where we were going, but Roma opened its arms to us, and I must say that it changed my mind about being in Italy.

Before actually seeing Rome, I thought there was nothing worse than a country FULL of the annoying tourists from Italy, my abiding hatred of which I've detailed on several occasions.  They're loud, extravagantly-dressed, get in the way of everything, and in general make such asses of themselves that they made me perfectly content with our plan to skip all of Italy, and visit Rome for a single day.  In fact, the Italians here keep mostly to themselves (or out of the way of tourists) and have been distinctly helpful on every occasion of our interaction.  The only ones you have to look out for are the drivers, who will run over you if you don't scamper across the pedestrian crossing when they slow down from seventy miles an hour to fifty because you have the right of way.

A lovely view of a famous church

People are pretty patriotic here

"Hey mac, you wanna buy an oil painting?"

View of a famous fountain

Even the police officers are better dressed than us!  This one is probably whispering sweet nothings to one of his girlfriends.

Another famous church :-)

The inside of the PANTHEON!

The police officers here differ wildly from the Greeks.  In Athens, I never saw the police doing anything, but they were always in a cluster with the motorcycles, smoking cigarettes and watching you.  In Italy, they don't give a shit what you do.  In fact, they probably have better things to think about than your behavior in all of these holy places.  They get paid regardless of whether or not they do anything about your silence in the Pantheon, for example, or purchase of off-brand goods.  They're all spread out in their fancy outfits on their cell phones, talking to someone.  Everyone is on their cell phone at all times here.  Our bus driver even takes calls while terrifying us within and inch of our lives on the road.  Luckily, he's cut down on the gesticulating, so he at least has one hand sometimes while driving. 

Glorious

I quickly came to the conclusion that there is no way in hell to do justice to the Pantheon on film.  It's the most amazingly beautiful rotunda I've ever seen, and the walls speak of age and good construction.  The inside is a perfect circle, and mimics the Oculus in the top (the hole cut out of the ceiling).  A perfect 360 degrees.  Began in Hadrian's time, and standing since long before the birth of Christ.  Coffered ceilings, empty pediments, and countless decorative windows.

Did I mention that Rafael is buried in the Pantheon?

A different tomb in the Pantheon

Above Rafael's tomb

"Who Nature feared in life, thinking she would be outdone, and Who Nature feared in death, thinking she would die as well."

There's nothing within the scope of my limited talents as a photographer that can express even a fraction of the amazing beauty of the Pantheon.  My little snapshots are nothing compared the the scope, scale, or majesty of the building itself. 

The Pantheon

But I try.  That's the thing about travel this way: you can't see everything.  You're crazy if you try.  However, there are small things you can capture.  Little pieces of life that are there for everyone, but especially for the tourist, who has new, bright eyes, and a honed instinct for the effortlessly beautiful. 

Inside the church of St. Ignatius of Loyola

We walked and walked and walked, following the trails of the tourists, and our trusty map.  Eventually, we would happen across a famous church, of fountain, or pile of rocks, and take pictures.  We came to Rome at a good time: the week before Holy Week in the Catholic calendar means that all the museums are absolutely free.  As in, you pay no money to get in, and only spend money if you want souvenirs, which you can buy for cheaper from the street vendors which hemorrhage the squares.

A super awesome rocking horse

Myself in front of the Fontana di Trevi

  We did the touristy thing a little more, and bought scarves.  Mine is detailed in the picture above.  I can't believe how much we underestimated the cold in Rome!  It was as cold, if not more so, than Warsaw.  The only difference was that Warsaw is more spread out, with less buildings in the way to block the freezing winds.  Roma is pretty well insulated, so with the scarf, I was fairly comfortable walking around.

From the Fontana, we walked to the Via dei Fori Imperiali, and happened upon the following:

Entrance to the Colosseum was free, since it's the week before Holy Week, and we were amazed at the magnitude of this place.  Of course, it was full of tourists, and the grass outside had protesters for Palestine bitching about one thing or another the Israeli government has done, but there was also a saxophonist who played Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and I gave him my last bit of change because music should be acknowledged.  We walked through the Pantheon, and I thought of the scores of eyes that had seen this place; the countless feet that had trampled in and out of it, from time stretching backward unfathomable, and forward infinitely, and felt a little nostalgic. 

If you look right in the center of this frame, you will see the smartest kitty in all of Roma :-)

In the face of all this timeless artifacts, perfectly preserved, stands man, as confused as he ever was about his place in the world.  I waxed philosophic, I must admit, and didn't say any of it aloud because it seems so silly when you put your raspy voice to the idea of eternity.  So instead of spouting useless esoteric nonsense, I got a little silly.  Gill and I were giddy with the sights we'd seen, and ready to head in the direction of home.

My favorite picture of us this trip :-)

The arch of Constantine

Constantine's kind of a big deal...

The many faces of sleep-deprivation

"Yeah, an ARCH"

Lulz

I don't even know.

 And then we were really heading in the direction of the train station, because we both needed to pee and Rome is seriously lacking in any form of public restroom, ever.  We finally found one in the station of St. Peter's, but it was kind of gross, with no toilet paper, and no locks on the doors. 

And that's how I lost my hand...

We found Il Bocca de la Verita!  Completely randomly.  Seriously, just happened across it after talking about how we had no idea where it was, and with thirty minutes to spare until closing time.  It was pretty epic.  And then we went into the church nearby, and took a few pictures of the ancient decorations and the mosaics, looked around the gift shop, and went back to the hotel room after having walked a total of about five miles all together.

One of my favorite graffiti of this trip!

I love this old couple, hanging out of the window the same way they've been doing for about thirty years

And so concludes my largest amount of photos/blocks of text EVER!  I probably have more things to say, but I've been working on this post for the last two days, and the program is getting increasingly bitchy about the amount of photos I've uploaded, so I'll quit while I'm ahead.  Anyway, Gill and I are leaving for our last day of free museums until Palm Sunday, at which time we'll probably be stuck in our hotel rooms all day because the buses don't run.  Don't you love exceedingly Catholic countries?