Fall Break Chapter 1: Roma

I just got back a few hours ago from one of the most incredible weeks of my life! It started last Saturday, October 25.

I traveled by train the whole time. As a quick aside I really like the idea of having efficient public transportation! I took my first sleeper train from Frankfurt to Milano. It wasn't too bad. The set up was basically six beds that were bunked three on each side of a small cubicle. I was on the top bunk, and had to stow my luggage beneath the bottom bunk, clamber up a rickety ladder to the top, and get settled in all in the dark, trying not to awaken the four other strangers who were already sleeping having gotten on the same train at some earlier station.

At 2 in the morning, border patrol came into our compartment and searched the guys bags who was sleeping below me. I guess they found out that he had been in Amsterdam recently and must have been looking for pot. Other than that, I didn't a terrible night's sleep. It was pretty neat waking up in Italy just across the Swiss border. Too bad I didn't see Switzerland, but I have a feeling I'll be back!

I took a train from Milano to Roma, and the ride was lovely! Northern Italy is hilly, then we went through Tuscany, which was also nice! I would like to see it in the summer when it's full of plant life - everything has now been harvested, leaving behind empty fields. Not complaining - I was in Italy! It was also really neat listening to the families around me speaking Italian - it's such a dynamic language!

Arrived safely to Termini station and headed to Chez Liviana, a Bed and Breakfast, my roommate found on the internet. I met up with my three roomies (which, like the dunce that I am, I didn't get many pictures of -- sorry about that, guys! I'm not much of one for taking pictures of people). It was nice to stay in a place that felt lived in and not a hotel or hostel.

The Room


The View
After I got settled in, we were off! I guess we didn't want to start small, our first stop was colossal.



Norbert felt especially small.

I took a very interesting tour of the place, learned a lot of neat trivia that I won't spew out here. But I did think it was neat that the entrance gates to the Colosseum were numbered, and that the tickets (wee little terra cotta tiles) corresponded to the different gates. Below is number 52.


The bowels of the beast.


Proof I was inside.
Even though it was crumbling and faded, the Colosseum is still an amazing structure! It was neat to be standing in something that is about 2000 years old!

Arch of Constantine, just outside the Colosseum.
Did I mention the weather was beautiful? It was like getting a second summer! I had packed all sorts of cold weather clothes and was almost stuck sweating it out. Glad I had thrown in a few t-shirts!

Below is Trajan's Column, something I had studied in my art history class. The relief spirlas up the column and depicts the military escapades of Emperor Trajan.

Random fountain. I have a hypothesis concerning fountains, but that can wait for a few more pictures.


The Vatican! More specifically, St. Peter's Basilica. After visiting that cathedral, I need not ever visit any other! As a protestant, Catholicism has been a bit of a mystery to me, but through touring numerous cathedrals and pondering everything I've seen and learned, I'm at least starting to understand why they do the things they do.

Fountain. Now it's time for my fountain hypothesis. I think they're actually elaborate bird baths. Note the pigeons at the rim of the bowl.
A close up of the action.

Touring the Basilica was pretty cool, but the highlight (as morbid as this may seem) was touring the tombs of the Popes, including seeing where Peter the Apostle was buried. There was yet a heavy atmosphere around the tomb of John Paul II, and many people were there to mourn him.


After the Basilica, we headed to the Vatican Museum (mainly to see the Sistine Chapel).

Some Ancient Roman Heads for you!


Another flash back to Art History: Laocoon and his Two Sons.


Mosaic floor. Some ideas for home decorating, anyone?

Half-joking.

I was very excited to see this one by Raphael! The Plato and Aristotle - the two philosophers!

Just a note, the museum leading up to the Sistine Chapel is a labyrinth consisting of a miriad of chambers, each one with signs that seem to promise that the Sistine Chapel is next. Again, not complaining! It was humorous after a while, and created a good build up of tension. Cameras weren't allowed in the Chapel, but it was very impressive, of course.


One of my favorite parts of this city: ruins! Everywhere!



And, strange, but I present the Cat Shrine.


Look at that, another fountain! Except this one is famous!


The Pantheon. Pretty cool! However, from a historical stand point, I was disappointed that the Pantheon had been transformed into a Monotheon (it is basically now a Catholic Church).


And the Spanish Steps!
We all had a lot of pasta, some good wine, and gelatto! However, and I'm not sure how this will sound to you, I wasn't as crazy about Rome as I thought I was going to be. It was really neat and everything, but it felt too much like a city. I'm definitely not a lover of city life, and Rome was huge and overwhelming and crowded and crawling and...I could go on. I think this was also why I wasn't crazy about Paris. I'm glad I have been able to visit both, of course! But they weren't my favorites.

I felt sort of disenchanted with Europe at the end of Rome, actually. I could think of little that I would have wanted to see again and was ready to just head back to Brussels. I'm so glad I didn't end up throwing in the towel and continued my journey, but that is going to be kept for Chapter 2. Ha!

In closing, I leave you with this video. I'm thinking Alfred Hitchcock must have visited Rome at sunset, because this seems to happen every night.