The Cubicle is empty!!!

Where: Rome
When: Sept. 6

We got a late start today. We wanted to get going by 7:30 am but never even came close. Somehow, I screwed up setting up the alarm. Instead of am I set it for 6 pm. Maria luckily got up at quarter to seven and immediately woke us up and called her parents to get-up. So by the time we showered and ready for breakfast, it was around quarter to 9. The breakfast is provided for free from the hotel. We have it at a terrace in the 4th floor with the view of the back of the Vatican. The food has been delisioso!!!

Todays agenda was the Vatican Museum and the Colloseum!

We started at the museum at around 10:30 or so and got an english speaking tour. This place is huge. I fugured that we should do the tour and learn as much as we can and try on our own next time and prepare more about what we wanted to see. The sistine chappel, the pope’s personal private chapel, is basically next to St. Peters basilica. Over time other popes have added to the compound with two humongous building that are connected and make up the two courtyards. One courtyard, canàt remembered the name, is kept up beautifully with gardens and statues. The other is a parking lot.

The tour took about 2:30 hrs and the lady that lead the group was very informative and funny! She must have done these tours alot and she did her tour very well. We went thru the Raphael rooms with shows the fresco paintings by Raphael and his underlings. Also saw the map room. There was a map there that was done in 1528 and it showed magellans ship in the Phillipines which was discovered by Magellan in 1521. Pretty cool stuff! Of course the Sistine Chapel was just magnificent! It’s hard to describe it unless you have an interest in it and have done alittle of research. The fresco’s by Michelangelo (sp?) was cleaned up after all the soot from candles over the years. And they look as fresh from the first day he painted the chapel. There was alot of information thrown at you and that’s why I boutght a book about the vatican. I’ll probably learn more there than I will from the tour. But the tour was great nonetheless for the first go. Hope to make it back some day and spend a day really understand the history and meaning of the most famous works. This Museum is priceless but replicas are available for several euros at the end of the tours. Your not done unless you passed the souvenier shop. And the museum has a quite a few large shops. I guess they’re tired of doing the church picnic’s too.

We took a bit of a rest (2 hrs) and decided to take a tour bus around Rome. This tour bus has a designated route and they can drop you off at certain locations in the city. You can then hop off and see a sight and jump back on when you’re done with sightseeing.

We picked up the tickets and loaded in the bus at St. Peter square. The bus went across the Tiber River and to various castles and churches and building and piazzas and landmarks around town. By the way, they give you earphones to hear about the various landmarks. So anytime you’re at a stop sign, the locals just stare at you funny. But I’m sure they’re used to it.

There are alot of tourists in this city. Yesterday the line for the museum extended for more than a half mile. Today when we got at the museum the line was about 50 ft. Monday is very busy at the museum because aton of people come to see the basilica on sunday ’cause it free and they head to the museum on Monday. The only other time it’s busy is when it’s raining outside. Everybody heads to the indoor sightsee.

We got of the bus at the Colloseum and got an english tour ticket for the Colloseum. Our guide is a Architecture teacher at a local university and he does this once in awhile ’cause he’s researching or part of the restoration process that’s going on at the Colloseum. Already forgot his name though. Anyway, couple of the things he mentioned were interesting. The Colleseum itself had a cover at the top that extended inward so that it shaded the spectators. The floor of the arena was made of wood and covered with dirt (just like in the movie Gladiator) There were several elevator to bring the contestants up. The bottom of the arena floor was mosly cages for the animals. The animals were brought from all over the Roman Empire. At its height, there were 5,000 animals being slaugtered at the games. The animals were actually killed below away from the spectators and butchered and fed to other animals or to indegenous people. Those Romans actually had some good in them. The spectators were seated base on the social status. The lowest were actually seated at the very front rows. But their tickets came with a disclaimer that said, that the Roman heads were not responsible for anybody that got bitten, maimed or killed by the animals. The seats were only about 5′ from the floor and animals sometimes tend to go after the spectators rather than the combatant. Unlike popular beliefs, the christians were not fed to the lions at the arena. They were actually done on a city by the sea outside of Rome. There is a cross at the entrance to the arena to commemorate those killed. The cross was place by the order of one of the Popes.

The place must have looked magnificent when all the marble material were still shiny. Actually, some of the marble from the colloseum were used for St. Peter Basilica. What comes around goes around! When in Rome, kill Julius Ceasar? j-k!

Anyway, the Colloseum was impressive, bigger than I ever imagined. Althugh it ranks second to Lambeau Field as gladiator landmarks. Reminds me, I have to put my lineup in.

Ate dinner at Ristorante Piacere Molise for the third night. Had Bruschetta, Prusciutto, for antipasti, had spaghetti for prima and Saltin boca de (Veal) don’t know what veal is in Italian for secondi with a bottle of Chianti!

Mauro our server speaks little english but explains well with hand gestures that sometimes borders mimicking the animal. He’s a great trouper.

I’ve been using the internet at the hotel. It’s kindof a internet jukebox. Put money in slot, click on browser, type in web addres and away you go. 1euro for 30 min. cool stuff!

Saw St.Peter sq. at night tonight. awesome! Polizia kicked me out of the square at 11pm.

Tomorrow is a travel day to Conegliano.

Ciao!!!!!

Where: Rome
When: Sept. 5

Just to touch back about yesterdays adventure. When we got to Rome’s airport, we did get 2 of our 5 luggage from the carousel. So we waited for about 45 min before asking if they were done unloading the bags. Our fligh number was still in the monitor and the carousel did not stop, so we assumed that they were still loading. Anyway, after 45 min or so, actually 1 hr, we asked the bag attendant at the Alitalia booth and she confirmed that the 3 bags arrived at an earlier flight from A-dam! That begs the question. If the bags could make it from A-dam with the close transfer time, could we have not made the transfer ourselves and made it to Rome about late afternoon instead or midnight? I guess that the price you pay for being nice and not being insistant. My sister Maria said I should have insisted on a KLM flight as there is a KLM flight to Rome on the hour. Oh! maybe next time.

Anyway, we got to our hotel, Hotel Alimandi, and they checked us in fairly efficiently. The rooms are standard European size ( small for this fat American), but they are clean and we have bathroom in our room not down the hallway. After settling down for a bit, Maria, Deanna and I went to look for something to eat. The concierge recommended a restaurant down the block. We said ok taking his word for it. We got to the restaurant, and there was a person cleaning up the cafe tables by the roadway. We said if they were still open and he said no. But we saw a few tables with customers inside. I thought that was odd, but they might close early on Sunday nights. We started heading down the block and he came running after us and started yelling something in Italtian, i guess that is what language they use here, j-k! he motioned about eating. So in we went to the restaurant. Had 3 individual size pizzzas, 1 bottle or rosso vino, due aqua minerale – no gas. (non-carbonated mineral water, ok) Had a great meal, returned with one of the pizzas for Don and Mary and they finished it around 1:30 in the morning. We all called it the night. What a day and we are only starting the Trip.

Monday morning, today, we all got up late even though I set the alarm for 7am, we did not got going until 9. We had breakfast brunch in the terrace with the view of the Vatican walls and trees. They had plenty of stuff for the buffett. They had American staples of cereal and coffee cakes and coffee, of course. I had eggplant in olive oil with bacon strips, potato balls with hard boiled egg. OJ to drink. Cappucino’s were included but did not partake. Not much of a coffe drinker. After one and a half hour for breakfast we got ready to go and visit the Vatican.

We got rolling around noon. Climbed the steps across the street from the hotel and there was the Vatican. We saw the entrance to the Museum stretch for at least half a mile (no exageration here!) there was plenty of people. Decided to see St. Peter’s Basilica instead. Walked about a mile and there it was the Piazza de San Pedro. What an awesome sight. The history, the ambiance was hard to comprehend and much less describe! The whole thing about the Piazza and Basilica is huge. We went to tour the Basilica, went to the top of the dome! We took an elevator to the bottom of the dome. Saw the cathedral from above. Then climded 361 steps to the top of the dome. What a view of Rome!!! We had a 360 degree view from the top of St. Peter’s cathedral and you can’t get any better than that and no building can be built higher than the catherdral. Hence, Rome doesn’t really have any skyrscrappers to speak of. I have to give Don and Mary alot of credit as they also climbed to the top of the dome. We then saw the tomb of Pope John Paul II. There were alot of people still paying their respects to him. I only saw the tomb for about a minute as they usher you along because of the crowd. From the “basement” of the basilica, you can see the urn containing the ashes of St. Peter. The urn is located under the big altar of the basilica. After the tour of the tombs, we called it the day as Don and Mary were tired from the big climb.

While they rested, Maria, Deanna and I drank some wine at the lobby. They came down after two hrs and we head out to dinner to the same restaurant as last night. Had the seafood platter with rosso vino!

Deanna and I stopped for some gellato after dinner! What’s your favorite gellato?

That’s it for tonight as it’s getting near midnight. The trip is going well despite losing my room key card on the first night.

Ciao!!!

ps – happy labor day everyone!!!

Day: Monday, Sept. 5, 2005 Where: Rome, Italy Well the title said it all!!! We flew to Minneapolis-St. Paul Saturday night. Everything was fine until reaching the twin cities. A storm was passing thru and we were the last one to ... [Continue reading this entry]