Time to move on and the taxi picked us up around 10:30am for our
high speed “bullet-train” to Rome. Great ride; smooth, fast and comfortable.
The skeptical New Yorker in me knew to make sure we used the official train
station queue for a taxi in Rome and not the various “individuals” vying for
our luggage and euros chasing us across the huge train station. A relatively
short ride through the chaotic streets of Rome, yep just like in the movies:
taxis, cars, scooters and bikes going in all directions at breakneck speeds.
Our hotel is a gem adjacent to the French embassy in the Farnese
district of Rome. Centrally located and if we want to, within walking distance
of many of the major attractions. A fairly large room, with a generous ensuite
and prerequisite bidet which takes away from the size of the bath. A very
comfortable bed. The drawback is the safe is key operated and is on a heavy,
bulky key chain which you need to carry with you. It is not very well secured
to the armoire.
We opted for a nap and the hotel recommended a truly Roman style
restaurant less than 2 blocks away. Another fabulous find with outstanding
food, wine and dessert. We walked around after dinner but soon realized a good night’s
sleep was our best option.
It's May 29 and our first full day in Roma. We walked up to the
main artery and bought tickets for the “Hop on Hop off” bus. It's warm here and
it gave us the chance to see the overall layout of the old city and the various
attractions. Laurie’s research had picked out the major sights we needed &
wanted to see and the bus ride gave us the option to further refine her plan.
We jumped off at the main shopping district and found a small
restaurant for a pizza (“when in Rome…”) and then a short walk to the Trevi
Fountain. Wow, a huge crowd but they move. People look, toss their coins, take
a few photos and move away. We did the same, tossed our coins, made our wish
and off to the next stop: the Spanish Steps.
Originally built to allow guests and dignitaries to access the
cathedral, the Spanish steps are just that, a long series of concrete steps
leading up a hill. Not very impressive and not worth the climb but touted as a
romantic spot to people watch in the evenings. But to claim that we climbed the
Steps I went up maybe 10 or so and declared it complete on the list! The area
has lots of cute shops and cafes and we strolled through some of the streets.
While not oppressive, it was warm and we grabbed a cab back to the hotel for
our obligatory afternoon “siesta” (duh, we were just at the Spanish Steps after
all) & rested before dinner.
The hotel clerk recommended a restaurant across the bridge over
the Tiber River in a small, upscale and young neighborhood. Think millennial
with an ancient Roman flair! The food was good but not great and the service was
acceptable. The prices are very reasonable in Rome and afterwards we strolled
back through a square with musicians and folks enjoying the ambiance of a
spring evening. The view from the bridge, (foot traffic only) was amazing with
strategically placed lighting adding to a romantic evening stroll. Tomorrow is
the Vatican and we need to be well rested for what will be a long and arduous
day.
We’re up and had our breakfast and dressed. We found that Farnese
Square, about 300 yards from our hotel front door is a more convenient and less
expensive place for a taxi. The square also provides an excellent open-air
market with stalls selling everything from leather goods and fashion
accessories to fresh produce and pasta. While we could have walked to Vatican
City, we knew that today would be a lot of standing, walking and waiting in
crowded lines so the taxi was an indulgence we enjoyed.
We were not wrong about the crowds. We had pre-booked a tour of
the museum and our scheduled time was 12:15pm. This is apparently one of the
best times to get since the wait times are close to non-existent and we walked
in almost on schedule. The obligatory security scanning and queuing for the
guide while they distribute the head-sets chewed up more time but we were off
on the tour within about 40 minutes. The Museum is immense and it is packed
with people. The art work, statuary & antiquities are amazing but the
guides give you very little time to actually stop and admire the works. Picture
takers, selfie-sticks, huge digital cameras and truly rude people (especially
the majority of Asian tourists) make for an exasperating experience but if you
go in with this knowledge and keep your composure, you can enjoy the tour and its
amazing sights.
We grabbed a quick lunch at a small cafe within the museum.
Overpriced and not very tasty. In all our travels, most Museum eateries are
overpriced but the food is usually quite good bearing on gourmet and eclectic.
This was not the case here. But we were not here for the food.
After the guided portion of the tour, you were given two options:
returning to the museum rooms and leisurely walk among the sights. Trouble here
is that you would be “going against traffic” and the crowds are still quite
large. Option two let you head out and into the entrance queue for the Sistine
Chapel. But once you pass the access point there is no going back to the Museum
proper. We opted for lunch and the Chapel.
The beauty of the Sistine Chapel cannot be over emphasized. It is
magnificent. But it is much smaller than I pictured and as crowded as Times
Square on New Year’s Eve! There are guards everywhere. There is a loudspeaker
system and one guard who is constantly admonishing folks to be quiet. Yes, it
is a reverent space & everyone should be respectful but 500+ people in a 40
X 100 room is going to create noise. The guards seem overbearing. You have your
small space and can look up but it is almost impossible to move around the room
to view the entire ceiling and you do have to worry about pick-pockets. We take
several precautions, I wear a money belt and we don't carry the same credit
card or for that matter much cash but you don't want to be a victim.
There are some benches along the wall but people seem to “own”
them and good luck trying to pry a bored teenager out of her /his spot.
Physically, it is tough to crane your neck skyward for long periods of time.
You cannot take pictures. You are warned that they have the right to confiscate
your camera if they catch you in the act. I'm not sure they have ever done that
and I saw folks sneaking a pic or two but why take the chance. My eyes have
seen it; my mind remembers it.
So on to St. Peter’s Basilica. What a surprise, no lines and we
walked right in to an immense cathedral and the centerpiece of Roman Catholicism.
A truly special place. Immediately to your right is Michelangelo’s Pieta. This
is the one everyone talks about and which was damaged by a deranged individual.
There were 66 pieces broken off the statue and it is now protected by bullet
proof Plexiglas. A shame but you can get pretty close and it will move you
with its realism and true beauty. I mistakenly dropped my hat here and was
fortunate to find it in the same spot several hours later. Honest folks here.
The Nave is huge and there were not many visitors. The individual
side chapels and statues of the saints and Popes were breathtaking. A separate
room for the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was blocked off and apparently
used only for holy day observance. There are some slot holes for viewing and
unauthorized pictures. The gold in the room and altar could feed a 3rd world
country for a decade!
While strolling the Basilica, Laurie noticed that the guards had
started to close off the main altar and there were now wooden barricades
blocking access to it, yet one or two people would talk to a guard and then be
allowed past the barricade. There never was a shy Episcopalian bone in her
body, she asked the guard and he told her that Mass was going to be celebrated
at the Altar and those folks were attending. She asked if anyone could attend
and he told her, “it lasts about an hour”! Now, we both know that the average
Sunday Mass in any Roman Catholic Church lasts at least an hour and what a
fabulous opportunity was just given to us. We were going to celebrate a
Eucharist at St. Peter’s.
True to his word it was about an hour. The Mass was in Italian
and Latin and many of my childhood brain cells were awakened by the recitation
of the prayers. The Homily was in Italian as well and of course there was a
collection. But receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in St. Peter's in
Rome was something very special and memorable. Regardless of denomination, we
are Christians first and St. Peter's is God's house.
True to his word it was about an hour. The Mass was in Italian
and Latin and many of my childhood brain cells were awakened by the recitation
of the prayers. The Homily was in Italian as well and of course there was a
collection. But receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in St. Peter's in
Rome was something very special and memorable. Regardless of denomination, we
are Christians first and St. Peter's is God's house.
The tombs of the Popes are downstairs and it is amazing to wander
through them and recall what we know about each and see how they have been
placed and venerated. A local order of Nuns run several gift shops outside of
the Museum and Basilica. We toured the shop and found quality merchandise at
reasonable prices. While we don't buy every one of our family souvenirs, we do
get some and generally there are some special folks we feel we want to gift. We
also try to buy a small remembrance for our own home.
On our way out through the main entrance (after recovering my
hat) we walked past the open-air staging and altar and seating for the Pope’s
weekly mass and audience. An immense square with room for thousands. The
enormity of the Complex takes on significance as you walk away towards the
river and look back. It was even more memorable since the sun was disappearing
behind the Basilica and few tourists were left in the streets since most had already
gone. Our Mass was at 5pm and it was now well past 7:30 in the evening. We found a local restaurant with views of the
church and enjoyed some fresh pasta Bolognese as we reminisced about our day
and the once in a life time experiences.
. A taxi ride back to Farnese Square and dessert in the open-air
plaza. We listened to a street musician who played an amplified guitar with a
Spanish flair and I sipped my espresso while we recalled how truly blessed we
are to be living La Dolce Vita! Rome at
its best.
So, a late start today after yesterday’s marathon of sensory
overload. We are off to Ancient Rome and the Coliseum and Forum and other Roman
buildings. Built thousands of years ago by probably the greatest engineering
people (the Greeks were pretty special too) of all time. The Coliseum is truly
magnificent and that it still is structurally sound after all this time makes
it a marvel to behold. Not quite as crowded and we opted for a self-guided tour
with head-sets. Unfortunately, the quality of the audio recordings was less
than optimal but we gleaned the highlights. They've opened the center of the
floor and it gives you the advantage to gaze down into the subterranean
chambers where the slaves, gladiators and animals were housed. The maze of
tunnels and rooms is mind boggling. The fore runner of theatre staging at its
best.
An unusual sight is a stark metal cross standing, centered to one
side of the main floor. Placed there by Emperor Constantine. It's is
incongruous considering the number of early Christians put to death as martyrs
in the early days of Roman rule. We wandered the pathways and viewed the
various exhibits in the access tunnels. Art, photos, scale models and
historical artifacts made for an informative stroll. Our stomachs told us it
was lunch and we found a nice al fresco dinning spot adjacent to the railroad
station entrance and across the street from the Coliseum.
While the food itself was not memorable, our companions at the
next table provided delightful conversation. Our unmistakable northeast accents
initiated the conversation and we soon discovered that she was from Mastic,
Long Island. He did not reveal his hometown. They were both “junior” flight
attendants for Delta and had just arrived in Rome that morning after a long
overnight flight from New York.
Neither one had been in Rome before, but both were eager to
experience as many overseas flights as they could get with their limited
seniority. They lamented that the more senior attendants were well seasoned
travelers who worked a long flight and then hit the ground running to make the
most of the layover time. They were both visibly tired.
We swapped aviation stories and especially security concerns.
They were horrified to hear of our experiences using foreign flag carriers and
their lack of concern for integrity of the flight deck. They revealed the
emphasis put on that issue during their training and that the number one
priority in the job duties was to protect the integrity of the flight deck even
if it required an ultimate sacrifice of their own lives. The instructors never
said that specifically but the message was loud and clear. Some fascinating
conversation. She was moving off the Island to Austin, Texas to avail herself
of the vibrant millennial community developing there.
We are in the heart of Ancient Rome. The ruins are all around and
tours abound. But we've been on so many that we just want to walk around and
absorb the atmosphere. Many of the sites require tickets or a fee to get inside
but the structures are visible, or what is left of them and it is a warm
afternoon to wait on lines or mingle with crowds. We opted for a leisurely
stroll. Most sites have placards & maps which show what was there and its
importance. We even met a couple of “ancient Roman” kitty cats that had taken
up residence in a vast site of ruins.
We worked our way back to our hotel doing a little window
shopping in the various side streets & fascinating back alleys and is our
custom we settled in for our afternoon nap. Restful sleep & then cocktails
in the room (we bring our own) and off to Farnese Square for an “al fresco”
dinner.
There are 12 different restaurants in and around the Square. Each
one has a “hawker” trying to lure you into their table area. They also have
huge posters with their menu selections and specials. We settled on one with an
eclectic selection and a table facing the Square. Good choice! I had an
excellent seafood bouillabaisse (check out the FB live video feed) and as we
waited for our nightly entertainment we struck up a conversation with our table
mates next to us. They too were touring Rome and were from the San Francisco
area. They were traveling with their son who was sleeping off the jet-lag. As
we talked about our lives, we learned that they had adopted their son from
Russia and related a horror story where they were able to meet him shortly
after birth but then had to leave and wait six months to see him again and
bring him to the States. Excruciating tension and emotional pain.
Ironically, she was an MD whose specialty is infertility! We saw
them again the next night (their son they said was not interested in eating out
and was watching TV in the room). They said they would find us on FB but 3
months later, no contact.
We stayed in the Square that evening and enjoyed the music and
people watching. Our favorite guitar player was entertaining the crowds &
received a generous tip from us for his efforts. The hours slip by quickly and
as midnight approached we reluctantly strolled slowly back to our hotel for a
restful and needed sleep.
