And Now For The Unexpected
Well, I guess adventure is fun. In the future, when we talk of this, I will refer to this as an opportunity to spend another day in Roma.
I got everything packed up last night and thought I was doing pretty darn well. All I had to do was get ready and head out the door to meet Brandy. I had both my watch alarm and cell phone alarm on the bed beside me. Since I was alone, it wasn’t like all that noise would annoy anyone. Took me awhile to drift off but I finally did.
About 5am, I wake up and I pick up the cell phone to see what time it is… missed call?? Sinking feeling… I look and it’s Brandy and the call was at 2am local time. I do the math… she should have been on the plane to Rome at that point… oy… No way the flight was THAT early…
I try to call back… no luck… I’ve been spotty even getting text messages out. And I haven’t even tried to place a call in Rome. Try to call Brandy… no dice. Then as if by telepathic vibe, the phone rings in my hand.
It’s Brandy… In Atlanta… at her wits end… Fog caused her to miss her connecting flight from there. She was #15 on standby for an Air France flight bound for Rome via Paris…. It’s a midnight flight, what are the odds?? The only other option Delta will give her is a flight out tomorrow at the same time, but of course no offer of putting her up or anything, just be back at 5pm tomorrow… right… She’s not sure if she’ll come if she misses the Air France flight, which will put her nearly 12 hours later. Missing a full day is a big kink in our plans and pushes everything off.
I just told her I understood. I’m semi-proud that the “oh god, I booked a room based on us splitting the cost” thought didn’t occur until later. I just told her to call me back when she knows if she’s making the preferred flight or not.
And I sit by the phone… for an hour… She had said that it would be 20 to 30 minutes and I figure that if there was good news it would have come. Obviously, she’s missing the flight and is working out the details to get home before calling. tick… tock… And she calls, literally as she’s boarding the flight!!! YAAYYY!!!
I tried calling my parents, again, I just get a message that I can’t complete the call – delivered in broken english. I’ve tried twice since today when my phone roamed on to a different network. Each time failure but the last message claimed that those calls are barred?? Huh?? I pay for international calls I receive, why would placing them be any different?? So, a question for cingular when I get back…
At any rate, I checked out this morning. Had hoped to leave bags at the hostel but they said they no longer hold luggage. Seemed kind of weird since they held my bags prior to check-in last week. But the good news was that they pointed me to a place down the street that not only holds luggage but does laundry and has internet hook-up. I was going to need to do launrdy by tomorrow anyway. So, I dropped by, paid the equivalent of $8 for laundry (not self-service), bags being held, and they threw in 15 minutes of net. That was just enough to e-mail home with the update.
Aftewards, breakfast – I won’t say where as I’ve had two people comment on all the fast food. But following that, I went to a grocery and got some fruit and water. The fruit was an experience. I saw a scale, but I figured, like home it was just if you wanted to know what it would cost before you got to the counter. Who cares? So, I get to the check-out and the clerk looks over the bags… I couldn’t understand her but she said something close to scale and label and I got the gist. Went back and figured out that I had to key in the number on the sign BY the fruit (not the little codes were used to on the sticker, despite the fact there is a sticker). And it weighs it and puts the appropriate price and barcode on there… Okay… lesson learned.
Afterwards, hopped a bus to San Pietro. I figured that I might as well get to the Vaticani Musei if I have the free day rather than sit somewhere and wait. So, got there, found the line… and first thought was… not so bad… I was worried, the kids here are still on Holidays. They don’t go back until after the Epiphany (which is Friday). Then someone pointed out how long the line really was. Where I thought it ended was actually just a sharp turn in the road… oh… and there were two more blocks at least beyond that. Then, an angel appeared selling three hour guided tours of the Museum and Sistine Chapel, admission included, 42 euro. And you can skip the line. That part alone would have been worth it. So, I got to pass the whole line with about 20 other people on my particular tour. The guide was great. It really is my preference to have a live guide when possiple and I would not have gotten nearly so much out of the experience otherwise.
The tour basically ended at the Sistine Chapel. You are supposed to be silent in there so the guide described everything you’d see, what to look for, etc. and bid us adieu at that point. One of the other perks, tho, was as part of the tour, we could take a different exit from the Sistine Chapel and head straight into the Basillica – skipping that line which I had done once already (i.e. stood it).
Before I go on, the Sistine Chapel really is something you have to see to fully appreciate. The size, scale, etc. Just unbelievable and the wall behind the alter and the majority of the ceiling was done by one man, Michelangelo. Just beyond my imagination. A true master. And since there’s no photography allowed (and there were enforcers in there for that), you’ll have to take my word for how incredible it is.
Leaving there I got in line for the climb to the top of the dome on the Basillica… Oh well…. one line won’t kill me… I guess… the line lasted at least an hour. I had to choose between that line and another. The other day I thought it was the necropolis, which I had understood was by advance ticket only (I tried and didn’t get one). Today I realized it was actually the tomb of John Paul II. The funny thing is, that line was MOVING. They must have had those people on roller skates.
The line to the dome, by contrast was full of false starts. They’d hold the line back and only let x number of people go. Each time, you thought, ah, the ticket window must be around the corner.. nope… So, finally, I decided I’d believe the line was over only when we got to climb. I have no idea how tall St. Peter’s is, and I’m too lazy to look it up right now. But you have an option of taking the elevator up to the roof or hoofing it all the way. The difference is only 3 euro, but I figured I’d have a larger sense of accomplishment climbing the whole thing.
I made the first part in front of a crowd of children who were in a mad run. And I somehow fell in with the idea. Fool! By the roof, I felt like there wasn’t enough oxygen left on earth for my lungs. Even the kids were red-faced. For the next climb, I fell in with a crowd more in my age-range and the running ended… And the stairs got smaller and smaller… The first stop was something akin to the whispering gallery at St. Paul’s, and this was when I realized how large this place is. If the people in the church at St. Paul’s from this vangtage at the bottom of the dome looked like ants, then the ones at St. Peter’s might qualify as fleas, if that. Unfortunately the fencing in place to keep people safe spoils much of the view.
Up more stairs after that. Supposedly in total from the roof to the very top is 350 steps (plus those steps they don’t give you a count for to get to the roof). So, it was quite a hike. When everyone hit the top, jackets, hats, scarves – all went flying. I knew once my body’s furnace died down I’d realize it really isn’t that warm. Still, it took nearly 5 minutes to hit that reality. I only made it halfway around the top. The crowd was just unreal. Movement was near impossible, but I got pictures of the parts of the city that I know from my visit so far, which all likes before not behind the Vatican.
From there, it was all downhill. There was one more stop on the roof where there’s a gift shop and a restaurant and you get to see how big Jesus and the apostles on the front of the church really are! The gift shop was mildly disappointing. I can’t believe the nuns weren’t selling t-shirts emblazoned with “I climbed all the way to the top of this dome and all I got was this lousy shirt!”
From there, back to the square in front of St. Peters for a couple of photos without the gray skies. Oh yeh, it’s dry today!!
Now, time to figure out what I’ll do with myself for another 2 to 3 hours…
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Monday, January 02, 2006
Here Comes The Rain Again
Current mood: happy
Well, I’m batting zero on getting up early. If I get up as late tomorrow as I did today, Brandy will be waiting alone in the train station! In other words, I woke up after 10am. I was up late.
First I wandered over to the movie theater nearby. They supposedly sometimes have some “lingua originale” movies showing and I was hoping for something I wanted to see. Nope. They only US films I saw playing were King Kong (seen it, don’t care to again) and Chronicles of Narnia (loved it, but not enough to pay more in Rome to see it than at home). So, I just started walking down via maximally. Before I knew it, I was down by the Capitoline Hill again and ended up taking some night shots of it along with some night shots of the coliseum. Looked decent but won’t be able to tell until I am home how good they are. I had not planned on taking night shots and didn’t have my tripod. So, I relied on leaning against a lot of walls and poles, etc.
After getting back, I discovered I had the room to myself (I think the same is true tonight), so I sorted through all my stuff and then read… And read… With no context that it was getting late, it was 1pm when I finally got wise and went to sleep.
So, waking up late enough to just have lunch again today, I grabbed some McD’s and looked through the guide. I figured out the second column I saw last night was in fact one in honor of Marcus Aurelius. Not that there’s any signage. Then I tried to sort out what I was doing today since I had slept late enough to throw the original plans out the window more or less. Oh, and of course, it was another steady rain all day. I’m beginning to think that’s all I can expect. One day of sun and then three days of rain. Surely I’m due some sun again?
I decided to take the train down to San Giovanni and then a bus out to Appia Antica to see the catacombs. The catacombs were ancient Christian burial ground outside the walls of Rome. I’d read and the guide confirmed that people used to think they were somewhat hiding places but it’s not true. The Romans knew about them. The real reason for catacombs was that all burials (Christian and Pagan) occurred outside the city walls. Land prices were expensive and so those not well off had to dig down and down and down. I visited the Callisto Catacombs, named after a Pope who was originally put in charge of them. It’s the largest, more than half a million are buried there. It was used between the 3rd and 5th centuries (oldest burials at the top, and subsequent newer burials further down). After the 5th century and the fall of the Roman empire, they areas outside the city walls were not considered safe. However, Christians continued to visit this particular catacomb as it was the burial site of a number of Popes and martyrs. That was up until the 9th century when the bones of the popes and martyrs (religious relics at this point) were moved to safety and the catacombs were abandoned. They were only rediscovered in the mid 1800’s. We were taken through the second level. There are no remains left as time (and vandalism by the barbarians after the fall of Rome) destroyed what was there. But one gets to see how the burials were done, some religious art, the odd marble plaque and the site where the early Popes were buried. It was worth the wait, and I do mean I waited. When I got there, along with a pile of others, the place was closing. Guess I should have read the guide a little closer! It closes from noon to 2:30pm… I was there when it closed…
You know I’m cold when? I sat outside with some other tourists (none of which spoke much english). There was nothing to see for miles except what was locked away underground. So, I found a vending machine that dispensed coffee and hot chocolate. Anyone who’s known me for years knows I don’t drink hot beverages. But after an hour of sitting under that little porch, I tried the hot coffee. Still not a convert, but it did warm things up a bit. Afterwards, I walked with two girls (I gathered from a slavic country) down the hill to the only place to get food for miles and got some candy. The tours were sorted out by language, so lost track of most everyone I’d waited with for hours, but I was the first person on the first english speaking tour at 2:30pm!
After that, I walked to a different bus stop because I had figured out that I could take the 118 to the Circus masseo (Circus Maximus) metro stop and then ride the train to Colloseo (coliseum) and walk up to the Pantheon. Otherwise, back to Termini and the long way around. The walk to the bus stop was desolate. I encountered only two sets of tourists walking the other way. And I waited with only two other people for that bus. And we waited, and waited.
The bus was swift, though. So swift, that I didn’t realize I was passing the Circus Maximus until it was too late. That’s how little there is to see. The dirt track back home is about as impressive. So, my view from the bus window has satisfied that sight. I had already seen that the bus terminated at the Pyramide Metro stop, so I just sat still. Worked out fine otherwise. One extra stop, maybe five minutes lost.
And, after getting off at Colloseo, I walked up to the Pantheon! I remembered the way from the day before. Yayyy!! And I got to go in. Really unbelievable. What I’d seen on TV about it built it up a lot, so I was prepared to be unimpressed by reality, but it’s amazing. Despite the odd rude comment I heard like “whose bright idea was it to put a hole in the roof?” Well, structurally the weakest point and the Romans knew that. It also provides light and the air pressure inside keeps out most of the rain. Considering it’s rained for three days straight, the one puddle in the middle is all the testament one needs to their ingenuity. Not bad for a 2000 year old building.
A ton of pictures later, I wandered over to via del Corso to check out the shops. I found a new cap and a couple of gifts for people. My mantra on trips has been to get small souvenirs. I’ve gathered (and purged) enough in one life. So, I get little things for myself like magnets and post cards. Something to go in an album or on the fridge. But I will get clothing because it has a use and eventually it will be gone leaving just the memories.
At any rate, I did see something that will delight some Georgia fans back home. I wandered into a shop with trendy clothes and active wear and they had a section with a college sports team from the US, only one, no others. And that would be? The Georgia Bulldogs. I stood flabbergasted at this little piece of home 5,000 miles away…. How? Why?? I should have taken a picture with my cell phone – no one will believe me.
That wasn’t the only flabbergasting thing. The prices! Wow! I did find one sweater I would have liked that was a bit different and not too expensive but unfortunately the only color was dark navy. Now, I feel like I have about a hundred sweaters that color and it is my favorite, but I’m trying to branch out here. So, I looked about a bit more a few other places. The final straw was when I found another I really liked in a color I liked (but was different) and it was… nearly 300 euro… so over $300 American…. eep! I decided to quit while I was ahead. Maybe some other time.
Shopping done, I walked back to Termini and dumped my bag before dinner. McD’s of course. It was a departure from the past two nights of pizza. I figure when Brandy is here, I’ll be more likely to try something different. After this, back to the hostel to pack up and hit the hay so I get up on time tomorrow. Brandy’s connecting flight out of Atlanta is literally the same one I took last week, so I have a decent idea when she’ll get here, which is likely a bit after 10am. So, I plan to check out and wait for her at the platform for the aeroport. Then we can go get our tickets to Naples and off to the races!
Oh, and today’s shopping experience plus experiences from the past few days kind of coalesced into a larger observation. First, I forgot to mention this, but my first evening here as I was checking in, the guy at the desk noticed that I was “from” Alabama (not altogether true, not altogether false, but it’s where I was born and all you have to go by from a passport). And the dude began to sing “Sweet Home Alabama!” Ohhkayy… never expected to have a guy with a heavy accent sing that to me in another country. At any rate, today, within a couple of hours shopping, I kept hearing music from America. Songs ranged from the insipid like Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” In a few minutes in one high end fashion shop I heard Linkin Park’s overplayed but beautiful “In The End” and an Eminem song during which I had to stab my ears. It was a this point that I thought back to New Year’s Eve, granted there was some Brit Rock, too, but the American rock was a major part of it. They had a light show that included tons of images from rock and one that stuck with me was the much, much larger than life, Jim Morrison with the American flag as a backdrop. the buildings it was displayed on was literally a few blocks long and at least four stories tall. All of this is leading somewhere, believe it or not. Our cheif export? The piece of our culture that you can’t escape because its traveled the globe? Our music. From Sitting in a little country pub near Stonehenge two years ago listening to 80’s Rock to standing in a clothing store in Rome, it’s there. And the people, some of which barely speak English, are singing along with it. That’s probably not remotely a new observation, but it was a powerful one for me.
Next stop the Napoli Region, specifically Sorrento. And then there will be two. Hopefully someone who will make sure I get up on time as we have some full days coming. Pompeii is rumored to be a day long visit on its own. We also want to see Hurculaneum (tho not sure how long that will be – several people in the past two days have pretty much said, seen one, seen them both, but not sure Brandy will agree on that). I want to either make it down the Amalfi coast or over to the isle of Capri (Brandy is more keen on the latter because of some historical significance – me I just want some sights). And there’s also Naples which has the musuem where all the treasures from Pompeii were taken. There’s also the site of an ancient oracle nearby, but I’ve forgotten it’s name – I know the site is Cumae. I’m sure Sorrento must have internet cafe’s so the trip log will likely continue, but don’t know the frequency. So, until next time!
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Sunday, January 01, 2006
A New WET Year
Current mood: determined
Off to a specatular start for the new year if you’re a fish. This is becoming a trend for me as New Years in Edinburgh last year was so wet that I went and watched a movie… now there’s an idea… I had something somewhere that mentioned there were english movies – could be interesting to watch my own language subtitled…
New Year’s Eve found me wandering. I post somewhat sporadically to a forum called Virtual Tourist- more often I just use the trip tips for research on things to do in a given place. There had been plans to try to get a New Year’s Eve gathering of travelers in Rome that night. The plan was to meet near the Trevi Fountain around 10:30pm. I wandered through there about 8:00pm. Beautiful place at night – did the traditional coin toss to insure my return to Roma. Sat around awhile and ate a gelato while fending off the street vendors.
Sidebar: I’m glad I’d heard of the umbrella vendors. The past two days have obviously been their golden opportunity. Everywhere you turn there’s a little man hawking umbrellas. There seems to be a height requirment that even I exceed. They’re nothing if not persistent. “No,” “no thanks,” and “no por favore” means little. I’ve taken to fending them off with a raised hand as in “ALT!” The question is, who is their market? Purely tourist trade? Did we all leave our umbrellas and jackets behind? I rarely carry an umbrella anywhere, which is why the nice big one I got in college is still pretty much in immaculate condition. The moths will get it before the wear and tear do. So, why the umbrellas? Do the Romans leave them at home everyday? Are their homes fille with rooms of hastily purchased umbrellas? Or are they considered entirely disposable here? Ah, rain’s over, toss the umbrella!
At any rate, Trevi fountain was crowded with the aforementioned little umbrella peddlers, plus little flower peddlers… Also peresistent, plus the little picture peddlers who would take your picture with the fountain. Ohhhhkayy… I only saw one who combined these trades, a flower salesman who would take your picture. With a flower?
So, I decided to head off and wander for a bit, seeking the infamous Spanish Steps. And I wandered. And I wandered…
And feeling much like Moses, I wandered some more…
Finally, I was back at Republicca Square, by Termini… oh well… It was now about 10:30pm… And the free concert had started. I had heard there was a rock concert, but, perphas niavely, assumed it would be in Italian… Nope, 99.5nglish. Mostly rock from the 60’s and 70’s and everyone in the crowd knew the words to them all… wow… And then you begin to understand why it’s not hard to get along here as an english speaker. I stayed through the New Year right there. If nothing else, I give the Italians credit for throwing their all in a party. Granted New Years in Edinburgh was somewhat subdued by the Tsunami news, but the level of electricity in the crowd exceeded what’s billed as the largest New Years Party in the world. Perhaps there was a degree of alchol to account for that, as well. As about half an hour from New Years, I had to fend off one little Indian guy who wanted to be my new bestest friend. The crowd was having a good laugh, and it was mostly harmless, but I decided it was time to make a move to a different part of the crowd. The funny part was when guy after guy started departing the same area. I passed him again later on my way out, and the entire crowd, which was packed had given him a goof 5 foot radius of empty space. I bet he doesn’t remember much today.
There was no countdown, no special signal, just the words 2005 flashed on a building, wiped clean and then replaced with 2006 and the crowd went wild. I was literally two blocks from where I was staying and it took me a good 45 minutes to get back there. After which, I cheerily collapsed into bed. I was first back in the room… That meant both that I’m a fuddy duddy and that I would have to deal with roomies, I suspected, trampling in later. I was right about the latter, but I reserve judgement on the former. I didn’t hear one come in, but sometime in the wee hours, two came clatterring in. Granted they tried to be quiet, but they’re hushed whispers were hushed in theory only.
And somehow, again today I slept late. It was after 10am when I got up, past 10:30am by the time I was showered and dressed. The noisy roommates were all still sound. I know from the hushed whispers that two of them were supposed to be leaving today… they were past check out by half an hour…. good luck….
I dropped in and checked e-mail and then headed to Termini for lunch. Oh well, no breakfast today… Afterwards, spent a good hour sorting out the bus route I needed to get to the Pantheon. I spent 6 euro for the city bus map when there was only really one page – the central routes – that I needed. And then I finally hopped on the #40 watching the areas we were passing through for any sign of where to get off. I actually did pretty good in where I got off, but receive a “C” for then following the right streets. I figured out two hours later that I could have just walked straight there from where I got off. Instead, I took the touristy route and got there 15 minutes after it closed- at least it was open today only “festive hours.”
I wandered around the outside with hoards of other tourists taking pictures and enjoying what I could. I’ll be back! Afterwards wandered down to the Capitoline Hill – birthplace of Rome and checked out Trajan’s forum and market. I had seen part already on Thursday but I wanted to scope out where to go when I wanted to go in. Figured that out and then walked up to a museum at the top. They had an art exhibition by Manet, but I decided to take in the free John Paul exhibition first. The lack of English signage for that one discouraged me from paying the 9 euro for the other. I mean, if John Paul II doesn’t have English signage, what chance does another exhibition there have? Still, the John Paul II one brought back a lot of memories since his tenure covered much of my life.
From there, back in search of the elusive Spanish Steps. Wandering up via del corso, I encountered a column that looked everybit like Trajan’s column which I had seen an hour before. Took some photos and then crouched down against a wall to go through my bag for my gude and figure out what the heck it was. I managed to do that all of 30 seconds before the poliza came over and just sort of flagged me to move on… oh… nice… Where are you when the little vandals come out at night?? There’s garbage on every square centimeter of your streets and grafitti next to ancient ruins (if not on them) and you’re busting tourists for loitering? You guessed it Jacko, I came 5,000 miles to loiter and cause disturbances. And at night, I whip out the spray paint. You’re right, the tourists are the problem. Obviously I thought this, not said it. No reason to end up in jail tonight!
So, on up via del corso. One slight side-trip to Trevi again for daytime photos (really much prettier at night in my opinion). And then onward… and onward… and did I mention how bad the street signs are? The signs to a destination seem to invariably run out before the last turn. As if I was supposed to magically know that turn? Maybe the tourists stole them. And even if you know the street name, the chance of it being clearly marked near the intersection are nil. But, after much wandering, I finally walked into it just as the sky let loose with another torrent of rain… Undaunted, I took a pile of pictures of umbrellas bounding up those steps. And then I followed suit. I have to say, they are much taller than they look. As you made landing after landing, you began to understand the need for those steps…. Took a few more shots from the top and then breathed a sigh of relief when I was a metro stop.
Made my first train trip to Termini and survived to tell it. I missed the first JAM packed train. I literally could not get on, along with tons of other people. But we waited all of 3 minutes for the next blissfuly empty train. Yayyy!!
Wandered through Termini for awhile window’-shopping and contemplating what dinner will be. Last night was fast food pizza and that sounds awfully nice again. Last night, I thought ordering from the value meal thing would make life easier on me. NOooooooOOoo…. First off, she did’t know what “six” means… hrmm… What’s Italian for six? In French it’s six… hrmm… Finally I had the bright idea to point to the board and hold my fingers up. That got the ball rolling… But the meal I ordered included something like potato chips (that was the difference in all the meals, what the side was). She started asking a question that I could just not get about the chips… I kept listening, she kept saying it… finally the cashier beside her said very slowly, “oregano or rosemary”? Ah, a choice of garnish! Yes! I guess I should have at least READ the phrase book I bought, eh? Then again, it would have been nice if the book had some sort of way to reverse look-up the phrases you see or hear. For the past two days, I’ve been hearing people say, “prego” over and over. I heard it so much in restaurants, I’ve about decided it means “next” but google suggests “preggo” = “preggo” and “prego” = “I pray.” Huh??
Tomorrow, looks like, back to the Pantheon so that I can see the inside. And I want to check out Trajan’s forum and Market. Then, if time, either the Cappchin monks or catacombs. Either involves the final fate of earthly remains!
Today’s Random Observation: I decided to wander through a music store. Wasn’t sure what I’d find. Well, probably 70% of the store was English music. There was literally a section just for Italian and it was less than rock/pop, nevermind Rap. And everything was labeled in English – heavy metal was labeled “hard’n’heavy” = all labeled in English. That was unexpected, but what was more so was the COST of music here if this one store is an example. Even without the exchange rate, the Europeans are paying twice as much for our music! Yikes!! I guess when they visit the US, they must stock up on our music.
And a follow-up on the observation about candy. I did find something other than chocolate today. Some puffed mallow candy that was like our peeps only in a ton of different flavors; banana = yum! And I found some hard candy but the labels meant nothing to me. One was awesome. Not sure what it was. One was wretched, and of course the last thing I tried. I WISH I could remember what it was, but it and the wrapper went straight in the garbage.
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Saturday, December 31, 2005
Bumpy Streets, Aching Feet and oh my only Day Two
Current mood: cheerful
Okay, so I didn’t accomplish nearly as much today as I figured I would but it was a nice day.
Last night when I got back, I met one of my (barely) room-mates, a guy (I swear) whose name was Tito (???what it sounded like???) from Belgium. Nice guy, we talked a bit. I could tell the language barrier was there as the conversation would take wild turns as he misinterpreted my comments. You know, I ask “how long have you been here?” and he proceeds to tell me all about the weather back home where it’s snowing. Well…. Later I found out that he’d been here around a week and was, in fact, heading back today. He worried that he’d wake everyone in the morning (tho at this point, it was just the two of us). I told him I could sleep through a bomb, but I actually somewhat hoped his leaving would stir me up a bit early. He headed out for dinner and I collapsed into bed. Last I saw of him. Flat slept through his leaving and even until I heard the door shut behind the other two roomies?? I only know because the other two beds had obviously been used. I must have been dead to the world. It was nearly 10am!
I decided I needed a heavy breakfast and went to McD’s for a mcmuffin. This did not taste like back home I have to say. And if there were hash browns on the menu, I did not identify them. Still, gobbled and ran. Somehow managed to successfully navigate the bus network to San Pietro and saw the Basillica rise up above me. Then I saw the line… ouch… The late start and the size of the lines told me today there would have to be a choice between St. Peter’s or the Vatican Museums. I chose St. Peter’s as I’d heard the lines are shorter… I hate to think of what the other one looked like if this is the case. I was in line close to an hour. Made all the rougher by the fact that there was a gentle mist falling and the line wrapped all the way around the famous square. It was longer when I got to the front. This would be when a rude family started trying to slip in with the group I’ d been standing with for nearly an hour. Some of us managed to keep them out of our part of the line but they still entered behind us… grumble…
I got an audio guide and had planned to see the basillica and then take the trip to the dome. The weather had other plans. By the time I came out, I could tell it had rained harder for awhile and the dome was closed. Still, the inside was beautiful. The most crowded place I have ever been considering its size. As big as it was, there were more people still. Trying to go anywhere others didn’t want to was swimming upstream. I’ll definitely go back for the Musuem. And if possible, I’d still like to see the Dome (on a more agreeable day) and the Grottoes.
Afterward, I wandered over to Castle Sant’Angelo. Long ago, this was the site of Hadrian’s Mausoleum, and the stump of that serves as the basis for the Castle, which was used in the past as a stronghold for the Popes. There was a connection to the Basillica through which the Pope could flee to the safety of the castle if threatened. Really a great place. Awesome views and, lo and behold, actual signage! And much of the signage had english translations! Heaven on earth!
Afterwards, I decided it was time to head back this way. I thought briefly of going by foot. Then I looked at a map and realized that I had no idea how far it really was and if there was a direct way, I missed it. I decided to wait… and wait… and wait for a bus… When one finally showed up going to Termini, it was rapidly full. You know that commercial – I think it was for dial soap? At any rate for soap or deodorant or something. Well, I wish more people on that bus had used it. Add to that, a guy doubled over in pain sitting on one of the seats… Drunk I hope? Or we were all exposed to the next version of the black death… When the bus finally got to Termin, it literally exploded as people flew out the doors. Stop after stop, no one had gotten off and no one had been able to get on…
So, the bulk of today is over. Shortly out to get something to eat (first since breakfast except for that bag of M&M’s that I had while waiting to get into San Pietro… Then gather up what I’m going to do to ring in the New Year’s. There’s a big free concert literally a stones throw from where I’m staying, so that is the leading contender.
Today’s observations. Rome is a land where grafitti artists are either admired or free to run rampant or both. I really think I have seen more grafitti per square mile than anywhere. I think the difference is back home, the stuff has its bounds. You can tell gangland by the grafitti. Here it’s everywhere one looks. Second, based on the limited observation of one store, I think the Romans are total chocolate fiends While I searched a candy store, I found it nearly impossible to find non-choc candy. But on the positive side, I’ve never seen PLAIN M&M’s in the UK.
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Friday, December 30, 2005
Doing it like the Romans?
First off, if you see any weird characters or out of place symbols, blame the Euro keyboard for having characters I’m not used to in the place where I’m used to characters I need. I had less trouble with UK – let me tell you!
I left Atlanta yesterday afternoon in a complete scatter. I was literally getting ready up to the point that I left the house. Well, even afterwards, I was on phone with credit cards letting them know that I was going to be overseas so they wouldn’t question the charges. Yes, in the car, on the way to the airport…
Then on the way to the airport on MARTA, I remembered that I had meant to pick up my eyeglass repair kit and put it in my bag… nope… Then I noticed that my glasses are loose…. of course… So, I worried about this all the way there and through the check-in line. That was luckily faster than expected as some Delta guy took me out of line and put me in the preferred business class line or whatever. No such luck with the plane seat! Once in the airport, I rushed to find a repair kit… $10… It’s above average, but please… Barely managed to grab a salad and wrap that I wolfed down while they called the sections of the plane to board…
I’ve had worse flights and I’ve had better. I did sleep a little, but in fitful bursts. I just can’t find a way to make those seats comfortable enough to sleep. I spent the last half hour on my feet, which I was actually glad about. I went to the bathroom and like a few other people got trapped at the back of the plane while they flight attendants cleaned up… couldn’t get down the aisle to my seat, so just used the time to stretch.
Passport control here is the most lax I’ve ever been through. No forms to fill out, no questions, just a stamp of my passport and a wave… okkkkay…. not that we don’t go overboard back home, but that was unexpectedly easy…. so, I just jinxed myself somehow…
By 10:30AM, I had found the hostel and dropped off bags. Then, it was time to see some Rome.
I had looked at enough maps that I had a vague idea of where to find the Colleseum – my only plan today as it’s not like I had enough sleep or anything… I walked down Via Nazionale and spied part of the forum. My first navigation success! After I found the forum, it was a hop and a skip before I saw the Colleseum loom overhead. I took a tour. I’d read beforehand that there were usually people pushng their tours. The big advantage being that they get to skip straight past the line of people waiting to buy their own tickets. So, I went that route. The tour was about an hour. There were a few new bits of info, but most of it I had read in one place or another. Still, it was nice and more than worth the $9 or so it cost (guessing at Euro rate to dollars). Afterwards, continued on my self and took in most any nook and cranny that they let you into. Then walked over to the Palatine Hill – included in admission to Colleseum. This was part that I have to say would not have been worth it by itself. Even though my guidebook included info about it, there was just no hope. It was a maze of paths that wildly went into any direction and dead-end without seeming to go anywhere obvious. NOTHING has a sign on it. I could have been looking at a demolished apartment building from the last century for all I knew. I wasn’t per se expecting English signage, but something with even a name would be as helfpul as all get out.
Oh well, lest I sound like I hated it, I didn’t. The colleseum was more than I could have imagined and more than filled the afternoon. And after leaving the Palatine hill, I came back through ground level of the forum (before I had only seen it from streets above). Walking through it, you got a good idea of what had been there. And I get brownie points because I was the only one who knew the one pile of rubble everyone was scratching their heads about was the site of Caesar’s cremation. Points to Brandy for her pictures and my guidbook’s comment that people still leave flowers in respects to him there. At any rate, I looked really smart to a handful of rube tourists.
Afterwards, back to Hostel and check-in. Seems like an okay place. The room is nice, but it’s four flights up – and I do mean stairs! Normally not a big deal, but I walked my feet off today and hadn’t eaten since the measley breakfast on the plane, so I really thought I was going to keel over wih my bag. Really, I should say FIVE flights of steps as it appears that Italy, like the UK has this habit of calling floor #1 the first floor above ground floor…
After I sorted out my stuff and stowed everything away, I headed back to the mall at Termini to find dinner. As I said, I really haven’t eaten anything today since a croissant and a banana on the plane. At lunch time, I had an apple and some raisins I tossed in my bag yesterday. No more…
So, where did I eat on my first day in Roma? Well, you know the Romans were masters of the Arch, so I ate under the golden ones -McD’s of course! To give me credit, I did look a bit beforehand but after I passed my third McD’s in rapid succession (how many do they need= and laughed at the Roadhouse grill (thus far the only American places I’ve seen), I gave up.
I can report that the food seems to be pretty constant everywhere so far (Scotland, England, and Roma). And the language barrier struck for the first time. I looked at the signage and was delighted to see a hamburger labeled a hamburger! Yayyy!! But I asked for a hamburger ketchup only and she rung up JUST a hamburger… uhm… no, I wasn’t done ordering… I thought at first she just thought I paused too long, but as I was sitting there eating my hamburger with EVERYTHING on it, it I realized that she thought I mean only a hamburger… hrmm…. Gotta find out the italian word for ketchup…
So, now I get to be glamorously unhip and go to bed at 8pm… I’ll try to hold out a bit and read, but I’m not hopeful about that. Anyway, I plan to get a somewhat early start tomorrow as I want to get the Vatican in before New Years!
Miscellaneous observations so far. The road rules really are different here. It wasn’t as hard to get used to the UK being on the wrong side of the road and there being virtually no pedestrian right-of-way (outside the “zebra crossings”). Here parking is just kind of…. well, it’s more like abandoning your car on the street, curb, sidewalk, you know, just wherever strikes you as a good idea at the time. But more frightening is crossing the streets, which is just a wing and a prayer in my estimation. I’ve tried to follow relative locals across streets as much as possible, thinking that maybe the motherly advice of “safety in numbers” applies. Cars will do their dead level best not to let you by, speed up, dash around, whatever, but the general rule seems to be a polite stop if they fail at that. And last of the road rules, the street lights for pedestrian crossings (for what they’re worth) have three lights, stop (if you want to), yellow, and red. I’m amused that yellow is longer than green… Yes, it warns you red is coming longer than it’s green. And the motorists are so pent up by the time the red light does get there, you better be out of there.
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Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Let’s Take this baby Off Road
Current mood: awake
Category: Writing and Poetry
Over the weekend, I had a little, mind you only a little, time to read. Instead of the piles of comics, I decided to pick up a graphic novel from Oni Press that I bought based on a blurb in previews. As it turns out, it was well worth it.
Off Road is cleverly written and well-drawn By the end when I saw a real photo of the inspirations for the story, the author and two of his friends, I felt like I was looking at a photo of old friends.Kent is an art school student who gets walked over by the women in his life. His friend, Greg, is a high school jock with well-off and hinted-at-absentee parents who toss money his way. Brad, the last of the trio, is by comparison from the bottom of the ladder. He has a father he’s lost respect for and the relationship has come to blows. But his is, interestingly often the most mature voice and the one most willing to tell it like it is.
The story of an off-road adventure in the jeep, by itself, would be amusing, but coupled with a powerfully character-driven story and it’s a book you won’t be able to put down until the end.
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Tuesday, November 29, 2005
And Then There Were Two…
Current mood: energetic
Category: Travel and Places
I held off on mentioning this partially because I’ve been slam-busy and partially waiting for things to firm up, but I’m no longer going to Italy completely solo.
I’ll still have some me time, but part of the trip, Brandy, a friend for more years than either of us probably care to admit, is joining me.
Specifically, on my 5th day there, Brandy flies in and we’ll head down to Sorrento by way of Naples. We’ll be there four nights to take in the sights at Pompeii, Hurculaneum, and whatever else we can find time for. It kind of came about out of the blue. Brandy has been to Rome before but did not have time to get to Pompeii, and she planned to go back one day. I didn’t figure she’d drop things to scurry down there with me, but I invited her along and she got her tickets last Friday. YAYYY!!!
We’re still working out where we’re staying. Brandy is going to try the hostel experience her last night in Rome but didn’t want to try it the whole trip. Either a hotel or possibly a reasonably priced self-catering apartment we found. Still in research mode as of yet.
Oh, yes, she’s also there one night in Rome. Hopefully we’ll get an early start back that day to catch some sights. We’ve already planned on seeing Nero’s Domus Aurea.
I have two nights after she heads back to round out my trip on my own as it will begin.
I’m not quite to the counting the days spot yet, but it’s already a month away! Maybe I am counting?
Time to go read the Rome and Naples travel guides I got…
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Saturday, November 19, 2005
American City That Best Fits you?
Current mood: sleepy
Category: Quiz/Survey
American Cities That Best Fit You:
60% Austin
55% Washington, DC
50% San Diego
45% Atlanta
45% Miami
Which American Cities Best Fit You?
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Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Being Sick Ain’t No Fun
Current mood: sick
I started feeling kinda poorly the end of last week, scratchy throat, sniffles – the usual. Was hoping allergies. Went home for an early rendition of Dad’s birthday (which is actually this coming Friday). With luck the folks won’t look back on the visit as the coming pestilence. Saturday and Sunday I continued to feel worse.
Only drove back to Atlanta Sunday because I had a big project shipping Monday that no one else knows… great… By Monday morning, I was sure that I had a feeling for what the walking dead feel like in the zombie movies. I went to work with the idea of getting said project ready to go and then going home… of course, nothing is ever that easy… said project had issues… and more issues… and I skipped lunch (not that I felt like eating really) and struggled through six hours… not quite a full day… And then I limped home and collapsed. I could tell before I left work that I was having flashes of fever. Still am…
Today, I was dead lazy… the alarm went off for when I’d normally prepare for work… I got up, called in, and collapsed again… I woke up around 11am… checked voice mail (forgot to change it to say I was out). I had breakfast/lunch (crackers) and lay on the couch and watched the rest of Season 2 of Greatest American Hero. In my state, that was only a couple of hours (which was what I lacked) before the hot flashes of fever knocked me on my butt again. More sleep was followed by more sleep… followed by an hour of Season 1 of Kids in the Hall. At least I’m moving through some DVD’s I thought as Fever #303033 broke.
Since the end of the cupboards was in sight, I had to get out for a bit. Feeling better than I was, I ran a couple of errands, returned a couple of things to Home Depot and stopped by the post office before Kroger. Kroger… what an experience… I would have been in and out if not for the lines at the regsters… I went solely for the “U-Scan” line so I could be in and out quick… no dice… despite the sign that says 15 items or less, eveyone ahead in the lanes had BUGGIES full of items… nice… I’m standing behind more people (with a couple of items). They look like they are fuming, but I literally am – I can feel the heat rising off of me… great… I’m going to be a vector in some CDC study any day now.. When I finally got my turn with a register it kept stopping and asking for “cashier assistance.” I’m getting pretty ticked and the cashier manning those registers kept treating me like a retard… I silently hoped that he would catch the bubonic plague from me… Finally he realized that the register scale was broken and it couldn’t tell that I was bagging my items… well, gee, thanks Sherlock…
Back home I had a brief whine fest with my Mom. She, of course, recommends the doctor. I’m 98% sure that it’s a cold and the only thing the doctor would tell me is to take aspirin and wait it out… I’ve had enough sinus infections to recognize those… And my sinuses are much clearer today than the previous two… my hearing is almost clear… just the repeating fever and a bit of a cough now… I think I’m on the road to recovery.. Maybe back to work tomorrow or Thursday… we’ll see…
In the meantime, either more reading or TV… or sleep… sounds good… I think the cats are starting to recognize me as one of their own…
Tags: Italy, Rome, Travel
Mark
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