We woke up at 7:30 to get an early jump on the day. I actually slept very well and wasn't feeling too tired. Blake and i decided to catch breakfast later around the city rather than waste time trying to find something to eat.
Leaving the gym, we walked toward the metro and took it to "Ottaviano" where we walked toward St. Peter's Square. Unfortunately the Sistine Chapel was closed so we decided to tour St. Peters Basilica instead and hit the Sistine Chapel first thing tomorrow.
Entering St. Peter's Square is an awe inspiring sight. Hundreds of pillars form two outstretching semi-circles that hug the square. On top of each column are huge statues of the Saints. In the center is a large obelisk with a cross.
We went through security and stopped against getting an audio guide. Entering St. Peter's Basilica was breathtaking. Grandiose, spanning, with beautiful art and sculptures adorning every centimeter. We actually went back to get the audio guides as just wandering around we were being ignorant. I suppose much of the significance of the Basilica was lost on me for not being Catholic, but I was impressed by the amazing architecture, history, and detail. My favorite sculpture was the "Pietá" by Michelangelo. It depicts the Virgin Mary holding the dead Jesus in her arms. The figures looked so real and the sculpture technique so good, the stone arms and legs of Jesus seemed to have a flesh-like glow. It is one of the few works to bear Michelangelo's signature. The genius completed it when he was only 25.
Wandering around the giant great halls of the Basilica, we stopped in front of such famous monuments like the bronze statue of St. Peter and the 29 meter high baroque baldacín, Canopy, by Bernini. This is the high alter and it sits on the grave of St. Peter. only the Pope can stand under the 4 giant, marble barroque columns.
My favorite part of the visit was climbing the 119 meter dome of Michelangelo. After saving 2 euros by not using the short elevator, Blake and I climbed the hundreds of Vertigo and claustrophobia inducing stairs to reach the top where we were given a jaw dropping view of the city. Spanning out below, the Eternal City certainly lived up to its name. Everywhere I looked there was another giant monument. Too much. Rome was overwhelming, almost to the point of debilitation.
Before climbing all the way back down, we stopped at the second tier inside the Basilica to be given an amazing view o the entire cathedral. There was a mass taking place and we were able to watch the procession from the perspective o the dome. All of the priests wore their flowing robes. The voices of the choir rose up to fill the Basilica. There were fantastic mosaics a long the walls and I marveled at the exquisite art and detail that was put into every aspect and part of the building. We walked half way around the upper tier and then decided to head to Piazza Navona for lunch.
Neither Blake nor I had had anything to eat all day. It was almost 2pm and we were both starving. We stopped for a half slice of pizza with chunks of tomato and mozzarella. It was enough to hold us over as we headed in the direction of Piazza Navona where after checking out the menus in front of the plethora of cafes, we chose one on the corner with a southern view of the Piazza. At our table on the outdoor terrace, Blake and I ordered a huge pizza, half diavola and half other toppings. I enjoyed sitting at the table and watching Rome go by. As we had seen walking around the city during the day, Italian drivers were crazy. One just has to have faith and walk through the middle of the traffic. I'm surprised there are not more accidents.
We still hadn't seen the Colosseum so we wound through the streets heading in the direction as indicated on the map. Its important to note that Blake and I were probably lost for most of the time, and this was only the beginning.
We ended up by Piazza Venezia and were given another jaw dropping sight of the Vittoriano, a gigantic white marble sculpture, with columns and a gigantic statue of Vittorio Emanuel II mounted on a huge horse. The site commemorates Vittorio Emanuel and a unified Italy. Today it is the home for the tomb of the unknown soldier. Blake and I climbed up the stairs and were a given a nice view of Piazza Venezia. Walking left from the side facing the front, I was given a view that I hope to never forget. As I came down the steps, I peeked around the corner and saw the Colosseum at the end of the long cobblestone street lined by a spectacular tower, statues of emperors, and collapsed ruins.
We walked down the middle of Via di Fori Imperiali until we were right outside the Colosseum's giant walls. A commanding structure, the Colosseum had 3 visible levels of arches and overlooked the grassy lawn where people were out front taking pictures.
We got in line to buy our tickets joined a guided tour that turned out to be pretty disappointing with a mediocre guide and obnoxious American tourists. Despite the poor tour it didn't take anything away from the fact that I was standing in the Colosseum. It was incredible. The rows of stadium seating were impressive and I was actually a little surprised how "small" the actual battlefield was. Smaller than I had envisioned. I could see the labyrinth of pillars and bricks where the slaves working the "special effects" for the fights would have been. The 50,000 seat amphitheatre would have been staggered into seating by social class hierarchy. with VIPS, Senators, normal people, and slaves each having separate seats, progressively higher. I touched the lichen covered stones and shivered at the thought of how many people had died building and fighting in its blood sport contests.
Exiting the Colosseum, we walked past the Arco di Constantino built in honor of Constantine following a military victory. We came to to the gate of the Palatine, the spot where Romulus killed his brother Remus and founded Rome in 753 B.C.E. Unfortunately, the Palatine was closed and we would have to wait until tomorrow. Our ticket for the Colosseum and Palatine was still good for the next day.
We kept walking to Circus Massimo, where one of the emperors had his personal racetrack. It is now a dirt track around a grass field. We stopped on a stone bench to check the map and plan our next visit.
We caught the metro and took it to "Barberini" and then decided to head to Campo di Firori. In Campo di Fiori we had an excellent gelato and enjoyed watching the people in the square. Danilo had told us about it yesterday, so I was glad to have visited it. Looking at our tourist map that always seemed to get us more lost than fix our position, we realized that the nearest metro stop was actually the Colosseum. We ended up making a huge, three hour loop to end up right where we had just been.
We made it back to the gym and received a text from Danilo saying that he would be coming in a bit. We told Danilo about our day. He was going to leave right away but instead asked if we wanted to come along in his car as he was going back over to his girl friends and offered to take us to Trastevere, a spot that had been highly recommended in the guidebook. We got ready very quickly and hopped in the back of the small car.
Danilo talked t his Polish girlfriend in Italian. We asked him if he understood us when we spoke in Spanish. "80%." He had trained martial arts all over the world, including Barcelona. I asked him if he knew Alex Esteve, our friend who my Dad and I had stayed with Barcelona, but he did not.
We drove to a hill overlooking the city. Stopping to take a quick picture, we got back in the car and drove to Trastevere where Danilo and his girlfriend said goodnight to us and explained how to get back taking the night tram and metro.
On the other side of the river from the center area of Rome, Trastevere is the spot for local Romans. Lit up with beautiful lights among the ancient buildings, piazzas, and cobblestone streets. Blake and I wandered around before stopping at a restaurant that had a 3 course meal for 14 euros. The dinner was excellent.
After dinner, we decided to head back to not miss the metro. With our slightly improved sense of direction we did a walk, tram combo and made it to the Colosseum around 11:45pm. We had thought the metro closed at 12:00am but were off by half an hour. Too cheap to take a cab and deciding to surpass our long walk in Dublin, we elected to walk back to Danilo's gym on the other side of the city.
In what ended up being a 2 and a half hour journey, we walked from the Colosseum to the Vatican, stopping to talk to a guard who told us that "It was too far to walk and that we should just take a cab" and then continuing on to Danilo's which was off the map. We became terribly lost and confused around the last two metro stops, which appeared extremely counter intuitive. We eventually made it back after asking 3 kids who thought that I was going to rob them where the street was. I took a quick shower in the gym and then went to sleep around 2:30am. Despite getting in late we still had plans to get up at 7:30 to see the Sistine Chapel.
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