Rome-ing Around (sorry)

One of the interesting things about traveling for a long period of time is that life is not put on hold the way it is when you take a normal vacation. Usually, I think, “oh, I’ll just deal with that when I get home.” But 7 weeks definitely requires dealing with the day-to-day stuff of living life. You’re physically too tired to sightsee every day, and mentally, it’s kind of draining to see something new or navigate to a new place daily. Laundry has to be done, and even I want to eat at home once in a while (I’d still prefer someone else cook the food though). And, you get sick, which I have had the pleasure of the last 3 or 4 days. Just before leaving Cinque Terre, I picked up a head cold that was apparently looking to spend Easter in Rome, because it has been with me my entire time here. Stuffy nose, sneezing, the works. It’s been kind of a bummer dealing with this as all I want to do is lay in bed and die, but Rome is calling and even 7 days here is not long enough to dedicate more than a day to laying around blowing my nose.

I arrived in Rome after a long (and hot – the AC was broken and my train car was full) 4 hour train ride from Monterosso, and promptly got conned by an unscrupulous cabbie. It was my own fault for not going to the taxi stand and just getting a random cab hanging out outside a side entrance to the train station. But alas, I was too tired and stuffy to walk farther so I ended up donating an extra 10 euro to this cabbie’s bank account. Lesson learned – go to the taxi stand. Anyway, my AirBnB is really nice, and my host even nicer. She gave me a ton of restaurant tips, which I always appreciate, and even walked me to a “good” ATM, meaning it was fee-free. I’m staying in the Trastevere neighborhood, which is across the Tiber River. So a little removed from central Rome sights, but much less touristy and much cheaper – though Rome is still the most expensive per night of all my hotel stays. I finished Thursday with a nice local meal, some grocery shopping, and a stop at the local pharmacy for some cold medicine. Interestingly, at pharmacies in Italy, you actually talk directly with a pharmacist who will tell you which medicine to take – you don’t walk in and grab medicine off the shelf of a Walgreens-type store. It’s more an actual dispensary.

I spent Friday doing a couple Rick Steves Audio Tours and seeing some of Rome’s main sights: Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, the Vittoriano Monument. I had considered joining a group walking tour, but since I felt like crap, I decided I would walk at my own pace so I could rest when I wanted. I enjoyed what I saw of Rome, which was a fair amount of the main sights. It’s definitely the biggest city I’ll encounter on my trip, and that was a bit of an adjustment after a couple smaller cities (Venice and Florence), some towns (Siena, Pienza, Padua, etc.) and some villages (Cinque Terre). It almost feels weird to be in a city nearly the same population as Chicago. Oh, and I saw a climate change protest! Favorite sign from a young guy: “I want a hot date, not a hot Earth.” I really love the protest culture throughout Europe – if the people don’t like something, they have zero qualms about taking to the streets to make their voices heard.

When I booked this trip, I didn’t intentionally plan to be in Rome for Easter, it just sort of happened that way given the route I wanted to take and the number of days I was spending in my other stops before this. I went with it, thinking it would be cool to see Rome at the holiday. I’m not sure I would do it again if I had another option, though. The crowds are NUTS. I would’ve sworn half the city was at the Trevi Fountain, and the other half was at the Spanish Steps on Thursday. The weather was really great the last 2 days, low 70s and sunny, so a ton of people were out and about. Too many people. International tourists as well as Italian Catholics making the pilgrimage to Rome for a long weekend (they’re off on Monday). I haven’t been out yet today, but judging from the sounds in my neighborhood, it was a slow, quiet start to the day (I’m assuming most people went to mass).

I got up at the crack of dawn yesterday for a 7am trip to another country to tour of the Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums, and St. Peter’s Cathedral. I hated it at the time, and was even more nervous about taking another cab (it went fine), but the early start was so worth it. The Sistine was almost empty when we got in, and when we passed through later to get to St. Peter’s, the difference was noticeable. You could barely move in there at 10:30. My guide said the crowds increase due to Catholic grannies coming to see the Pope, as well as the Vatican being closed for two days to tours, so everyone visiting Rome at this time has to cram their visit to the Vatican in on the days it’s open while they’re here.

The Sistine Chapel is really something, and they sadly do not allow photos. It did make you more likely to actually look at the art rather than focus on getting a good picture or taking a damn selfie (selfie sticks are tools of Satan). The ceiling is really impressive – Michelangelo had to be threatened with excommunication before he would agree to do the ceiling. He didn’t consider himself a painter, and painting in plaster was really hard because you had only one shot; he had to paint while the plaster was wet and had to remove the plaster if he made a mistake. There’s a depth to the images and figures that gives it a 3D quality. You almost feel like the people are coming through image toward you.

The Vatican Museums have 4 miles worth of displays of relics and art and other expensive and historic stuff. After the Sistine, we saw some of the more famous things in its collection, including some tapestries, the map room, the Raphael Rooms, and some statues, before heading over to St. Peter’s. I could go on a rant about how much money the Catholic Church has and the sheer overabundance of stuff, but I won’t. It’s enough to just appreciate some of the best items and move on. I’m never going to be ok with the Catholic Church’s long history of controlling, manipulative, and barbaric behavior but I’m also not going to solve it today by myself and I do appreciate the art and history that has been preserved in those rooms.

Anyway, by the time we hit St Peter’s, we were nearly 4 hours into the tour, I was starving, and the crowds were crazy, so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I might have and I took very few pictures of the interior of the dome. I got bumped and jostled and shoved one too many times by a selfie-stick-waving tourist to really enjoy the experience. (Who takes a selfie in front of a crucifix?)

Getting away from the main sights made the most sense, so I spent the afternoon and evening exploring Trastevere and another bohemian/artsy neighborhood, Monti. I’m going to head out later today to see what’s going on for Easter, as well as Rome’s 2,772nd birthday, which is today! I think there are parades, fireworks, and an Ancient Roman reenactment so we’ll see what I see.

Definitely check out Facebook if you want more detailed pictures of the sights in Rome, especially the Vatican. It’s too much to type (or retype) here.

Gelato Update: 46 scoops
lemon – 11, mango – 1, strawberry – 2, caramel cream – 6, dark chocolate – 8, chocolate – 5, chocolate chip – 1; cherry – 4; rum – 1; cookie – 1; chocolate mousse – 1; raspberry – 3; vanilla – 1; mixed berry – 1