Doing as Romans Do: Rome, Italy

Friday, April 17: Ancient Rome
Rome is one of those places a person has to see. It is the birthplace of modern human civilization and has helped established of many places on the map, especially in Europe. Ben and I headed to Rome for the weekend. It is nice to know we live in a town that has flights to wherever you would want to go. Especially if one would want to see Europe.
Our flight to Rome was not too long, about an hour and a half. We arrived at the airport only to wait for our bags for a little while and then run into some men advertising a "shuttle" from the airport to the center of town. They explained that it would be cheaper and faster than the train to get where we needed to go and at that point we needed to get to our hotel that we hadn't a clue as to where it was. We waited patiently for the drivers to be ready. Our wait was soon over as we were motioned to our van, which was already filled with people, most of which whom had not been to Rome yet. The people we met were from several different places on the globe, the couple who were sitting behind us were from Holland and a couple we met while waiting for the driver were from Canada. It was nice to know that we were not going to be the only tourists in town (not that that would really be the case in Rome).
After the short drive into the city center Ben and I arrived at our hotel. We were quickly checked in and our bags were dropped in our room. Ben found that the Coliseum was not too far away, about a 2 or 3 mile walk. As we are young, it seemed easy just to walk there. The weather was cooperating, for the sun was out and it was warm. Collecting our cameras, the map and ourselves we headed out the door, ready for a Roman adventure. On our way to the Coliseum there were many touristy shops on the way. We had to peek in, for before our trip we had determined to get several gifts for those at home. Our peeking was over and we were headed out again. It seemed we were not the only tourists who had decided to walk to the Coliseum. We were following several people headed in the same direction. Once we got there, there was a huge crowd around the Coliseum. Some of which were not tourists. There were some very persuasive men dressed as gladiators that scooped us up to take a picture, with our camera, who we reluctantly shelled over 10 euro. But after that distraction we headed toward the entrance. Now I admit I have been to Rome before and this time the Coliseum did not seem as impressive. I don't know if it was all the tourists we were following, or if it was the effect of the last time I was there. The last time I came to Rome, I was with friends, and I distinctly remember coming out of the metro station and being completely awed. Perhaps the last time I came it was the transition from the modern to the ancient that really impressed me. This time we did not have quite that transition. Nevertheless, Ben at least was very impressed and I knew that the Coliseum was a great building, still standing from the ancient world. We viewed it for awhile and took too many pictures. Then we headed to the other ancient Roman sites, the Palentino and the Roman Forum. It was neat walking through the ruins of the Roman times, imagining what it would have been like to have been a Roman citizen and shopping, getting food and conversing with the fellow citizens amongst the stone structures. Leaving the ruins we walked a block away to the Circus Maximus where the Romans had chariot races and other such wonders. It is just a park now, that is heavily used by the modern citizens of Rome. We soon left the ruins and the Circus for something I had never seen in Rome and that is the famous Mouth of Truth. It was perhaps made famous by Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in the movie "Roman Holiday." It is an unusual site. It is attached to the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, the church was closed, but through the gate we could see its stony faded face. There is an unusual legend attached to it, that if you are a liar your hand will be bitten off. The funny truth about the Mouth of Truth is that it is just a drain cover from Roman times and it simply gets its infamous history from the silly legend. But everyone is always up for a little fun, so I understand why such a legend stuck.

Saturday, April 18: Vatican City
We thought we would be smart and head to the Vatican City a little earlier than the average tourist, about a half an hour before it opened. We got there in good time and started our wait about a block and a half away from the main entrance. While in line, we met a couple from near London who were on a weekend getaway like we were. We had a nice chat about our homes, work and what is worth to see in Rome. But we soon parted at the door which we reached at 9:15 a.m. 15 minutes after the museums in the Vatican had opened. We were through the security and ready to see the religious artwork that was available. Unfortunately, as we walked through the museum, viewing the precious and beautiful artwork I could remember seeing some of what we saw. I felt a little deja vu, for in a another life (the life of a student) I had seen it. Continuing on our journey through the museums, I kept telling Ben we had to go through a lot of artwork to get to the Sistine Chapel, but we kept on getting sidetracked by various bits of other artwork in other sections of the museum. Finally we found the right path. The path was long and draining to the Chapel, but I was encouraged it was worth it to go through it all. As we got nearer to the Sistine Chapel the artwork got more and more modern. We soon were seeing Salvador Dali and other modern artists, sadly we did not spend much time viewing these pieces of art. Everyone in line, including Ben and I wanted to see the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo's more impressive piece of art.
The Sistine Chapel was awesome, just as I remembered, crowded and a bit loud, despite the fact that one is supposed to remain quiet while viewing the masterpiece. I have seen the Sistine Chapel before, though I have that privilege I was still very impressed. It truly is a beautiful piece of artwork that I certainly could stare at time and again and see something new and different. We were soon through what we wanted to see at the Vatican. We stopped by a building to see the Pope's carriages through the years and were amazed by the number of them and the ornate beauty of his possessions.
We left the Vatican City satisfied with what we had seen and glad that the overwhelming amount of artwork was no longer in front of our eyes. We spent the rest of the day finding souvenirs for ourselves and family. Determined not to leave Italy without a little something for those at home.

Sunday, April 19: Those Other Famous Sights
No journey to Rome is complete without seeing the Trevi Fountain. We were within walking distance of the fountain, so we took the chance to do that. When we reached the fountain it had, of course, a mob of people from all parts of the world each one doing something different, taking a picture, throwing a coin or just enjoying the sight of several hundred people admiring it. The fountain (if you've never seen it) is a dramatic picture of what I think are sea gods controlling their water steads (horses). Like the Mouth of Truth, the Trevi Fountain has a story, but its story is that if you throw a coin behind your back, your wish will come true. This was also in the movie "Roman Holiday" but I have a feeling it was famous before the movie came to film it. After seeing what we could see of the fountain, we headed for the Spanish Steps. This was also within walking distance so we walked the several blocks from the Trevi Fountain to the Spanish Steps. Like the fountain, the steps were full of people but, unlike the fountain, they were able to sit and rest on the steps. We took part and rested for a bit. In front of us, with the view from the steps, one can see a long road, this road is Rome's high end shopping district. One more thing I had not seen on my former visit to Rome as a student. I asked Ben if we could see it and he agreed, so we joined the hundreds of people walking down this road. Whatever high end thing you would desire, you could find on this road. There was a Louis Vuitton store, Prada, Gucci, Dior and whatever sort of thing you could want or need there was a store for it. We peeked in the stores, but being high end we only looked. It was fun, but it was hard to believe that someone could afford such things, even if it was just a designer name that they were buying. We soon tired of the mayhem of the people and prices and decided to go to St. Peter's Basilica, which we still hadn't seen (due to my lack of remembering how one could get there).
St. Peter's is quite a walk, so we took the metro. It was easily found just around the Vatican wall. Admittedly, this Basilica was as busy as the fountain and the shopping street, but one has to remember that it is the largest Basilica in the world. The Basilica was just as I remembered, vast and beautiful. But one thing I remember doing, we could not do. There was a mass going on so we could not go closer to the main altar. So we just stood on the sidelines, watching as a few people could get through to the mass. We continued to view the Basilica and were soon done. We decided to head back to the hotel to rest before dinner, so we hopped on the metro and rode it to our hotel (for it had started to rain). Once we were back in our room we watched a very competitive game of soccer (all in Italian, mind you) cheering for the team of our choice. Soon that was over and it was time to eat. We rode the metro to a wine bar, but unfortunately it was full. So we headed in the direction of our hotel, via the sidewalk just looking for any sort of restaurant that caught our eye. One caught it immediately. Outside of this restaurant, lights were flashing and when we entered we were greeted with great hellos and were immediately seated. The restaurant was rather homey, despite its packed nature. The walls were decorated with rustic pictures and tools. The music was fun and loud, all due to their DJ who certainly enjoyed his job. We ordered a roasted chicken and potatoes. Boy was it tasty! The chicken was moist and the potatoes flavored and cooked to perfection. It was the highlight of our trip, just having waiters and their DJ enjoy their job. If you're ever in Rome, go to this restaurant, I believe it is called Malto Calto. You will certainly experience a fun and homey atmosphere. We went back to the hotel satisfied with our meal and our day. We had throughly enjoyed our own "Roman Holiday."