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Published: September 9th 2006
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We arrived in Rome, after a 36 hour ferry ride from Rijeka, Croatia to Bari, Italy and a 7 hour train trip from Bari to Rome. The next few days were for resting and working on the blog. On the third day, we ventured out to see the great sites that we knew were just minutes away.
Because our hotel was on the outskirts of the city, with no form of transportation directly there, the hotel provided a free shuttle bus that ran four times a day to and from downtown Rome, but space was limited. We caught the earliest shuttle with our plan of attack being to find one of those hop-on hop-off tourist buses. This would give us an overview and history of the huge city’s many sites and we could go back to the ones that really peaked our interest. There was an abundance of different companies offering this service with the route being basically the same. The circuit consisted of 13 major Roman sites and took two hours to complete. We sat on the top of an open double-decker as the warm August sun beat down on us from above and reflected off the concrete buildings
and roads. I’m sure we looked like the typical tourists with our ear phones on our sweaty heads as we listened to the pre-recorded English descriptions of what we were passing. Although sometimes the descriptions began too early or too late for the sites along the rode, we were able to get the gist of what we were seeing and decided on four sites to tour on foot: The Forum, the Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica (of the Vatican City), and the Spanish Steps.
The Forum, located just northwest of the Colosseum, turned out to be a very large collection of ruins in different stages of deprecation and was once the hub of Rome with over a million inhabitants. It was difficult to decipher the different remains but when we meandered through this maze of columns, walls, and arches we were given a sense of what a metropolis this city must have been during Rome’s empire. We lingered among the many dirt isles between the ruins contemplating what the different walls may have housed, before heading to the nearby Colosseum.
It was a wonder to first set eyes on the Colosseum, having seen this symbol of Rome countless times
at a 2-dimensional level. But now, here it was… real, solid, and eternal. The heat of the mid-day sun bore down on us but we willingly stood in line for a chance to enter this 2000 year old amphitheatre where once the fighting of gladiators and wild animals engrossed upwards of 50,000 spectators. Even in its half dilapidated state, it put to shame any arena I have ever seen and made me reflect on how important time spent in the luxury of entertainment is to human beings. We walked in and out of the arched passageways that once heard the cries of “Jugula!” (“Slit his throat!”) It was time for a more holy spectacle, so we hopped on the bus for the St. Peter’s Basilica.
Upon approaching the Vatican City, we first entered the vast St. Peter’s Square, with its 1 sq. km piazza encircled by 284 columns and 140 statues of the saints. I wondered how many millions of people had walked this pilgrimage leading to the largest Roman Catholic church in the world. Whenever I enter a church, whether it be a small chapel or a cathedral, I get a feeling in my gut that seems sparked
The Forum
We wondered what the different walls once housed. by a reverence for the hereafter and our eternal souls, but I can not explain how overwhelming it was to walk into a basilica as grand St. Peter’s, and I’m sure it is a different feeling for everyone that enters. For me, I had the need to walk down the long nave to the main alter where I kneeled and said a prayer to my sweet son, Shawn, my beloved brother-in-law, Chris, and my long-lost mother, that they may watch over our family and that those of us left behind on this earth live our lives fully and with enough happiness to balance the grief. It felt healing to be in this place, built by mankind’s’ hands but otherworldly in it’s magnificence, but we still wanted to explore one more site before leaving Rome, so it was off to the bus again.
Our final destination was the Spanish Steps and we took time to window shop along the way at the city’s most exclusive and famous shopping boulevard, Via del Condo. The Spanish Steps are a three-tiered staircase that leads to a 16th century French church, Trinita dei Monti. The steps are famous as a hang-out place for young
people, lovers, and French artists. The mood of the place must have been contagious because after walking to the top and stopping briefly to admire the church, Bryan and I descended to the second tier, sat ourselves down on the middle of the steps and I received a sweet kiss from Bryan. I hadn’t explained the area as being a place of romance but nonetheless he exclaimed, “Now we have kissed on the Spanish Steps!”
Knowing we needed to catch the shuttle bus back to our hotel, and that space was limited to 54 people, we decided to head back to the metro early and wait. When we arrived at the bus pick-up there were only about half a dozen people milling around, but over the next hour more and more hotel guests began to arrive. We have learned over these last few weeks the feel of a European crowd waiting to get on any form of transportation. It begins with the sense of energy or restlessness in the air as people try to nonchalantly make their way to the front of the crowd. It is a sort of dance of the anxious. There is no such thing as
The Colosseum
We never did find out what all the holes are... anyone know? lines or first-come first-serve. You can be the last person to arrive but if you can make it to the door first you are assured a seat. Therefore, as the bus rounded the corner, under the illumination of the street light above, it was every man (or woman) for himself and the hotel guests went from a dance into a sprint catching the bus before it had a chance to pull over. Bryan and I, having learned the drill, and having waited there far longer than most, held back only a second before joining in the run. Unfortunately, our pushiness is new to us and we ended up towards the back, unsure if we would make the top 54. Tensions rose, and the python squeeze of the crowd intensified as the bus driver stopped the onslaught of boarding, counted the seats remaining, and announced (as though this was all very normal) she could take 12 more riders. Bryan and I gave each other the knowing look and I grabbed the side of the bus near the door to give myself extra leverage and to hold the crowd back on my side as he worked the crowd on his side. We
The Colosseum from a spectators point of view.
You can see the wood planking in the background partially showing where the old floor would have been for the fighting. All the walls underneath were an elaborate maze of underground cells, corridors, and lifts. squeezed and pushed with the best of them, trying to assure we were among the next dozen people. The Italian swear words flew as we managed to climb the bus stairs and found two of the last 4 available seats we could call our own. We were learning how to adapt to the European culture, a little at a time, and we flashed each other proud smiles as we rode the shuttle-bus back to the hotel.
Now on to Greece, and hopefully that secluded, sandy beach waiting for us somewhere.
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Sam and Phyllis
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My kind of guy
Kissing on ANY steps! Bryan: You're my kind of guy! Sam