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Published: January 23rd 2018
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"Happiness is a way of travel-not a destination."
When writing in my journal last night (this journal has various random quotes printed in it) I noticed at the top of the page there was the quote above printed. It was very fitting that this quote was printed on the page I was about to write on concerning Rome because if it wasn't for Rome I don't think I would have completely understood the entirety of the meaning behind the quote.
When it comes to traveling, you need to figure out for yourself how you like traveling best, otherwise you are going to much less than happy about the money you spend on a trip. I'm happiest when I'm eating good, but mostly inexpensive food, and spending the majority of my time and money on experiences. It doesn't matter where you are if you don't know what type of traveler you are. For example, I know my step-dad, Andy, is a very different traveler than I am. He does not want to go anywhere unless he is somewhere warm, preferably the beach, and eating nice meals out for every meal. Andy wants to relax as much as
possible, and does not like to be caught up in walking around all day; Florence nor Rome is the place for Andy. I also found that Rome is not exactly the place for me, but not for the same reasons that it is not the place for Andy.
It is hard to have experiences when there is so many people! I am good with going all day long, doing one thing after another. When my time is filled well, to me, that is money well spent. I don't want to spend a bunch of money to go to places just to relax. One of the biggest things I appreciate about this trip is that I have the opportunity to experience something new everyday. Let me tell you though, Rome wore me out! I figured this is because of the large amount of people that were there trying to look at the same things I was trying to look at. I learned that my type of traveling that makes me happiest includes much less people than what Rome has, and more like the amount of people Florence has, or less.
Nonetheless, I am very glad that I had the opportunity and experience of Rome. The buildings were enormous compared to most here in Florence, and the art in the Vatican was truly amazing; however, I cannot decide if I liked the ceiling of the room where there were maps on the walls in the Vatican, or the ceiling of the Uffizi. The fact that the weather was nice and skies were a perfect shade of blue really helped Rome's case on my list of things I liked about Rome. My favorite part about touring the Vatican was getting to The Pieta. Michelangelo's
Pieta being my favorite was to my own surprise. Before I came to Rome, or Italy for that matter, I thought the Sistine Chapel would by far out-do any piece of art that I would see while on this trip; however, Elizabeth described the Pieta perfectly. Mary is holding her dead Son, Jesus Christ, and even though he is dead it seems as though he still there. The way his body is laying across Mary's lap seems as though he has just taken his last breath, but is not quite gone yet. I've been in the hospital room for two different family members when the final plug had been pulled, and the feelings evoked from that are the same feelings that came when viewing the Pieta. It is eery to stand there and think about Mary experiencing that, but also knowing that he won't be gone for long. Michelangelo did great work everywhere he went, but to me T
he Pieta is something much greater than
David or the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
The other thing that goes with more people in a city is more people smoking! I felt like I could not escape the cigarette smoke during my weekend in Rome, but this is also very common in Florence. I am interested in how serious schools are in encouraging kids not to smoke in Italy, or if that is even a thing at all. I even saw many parents smoking with their babies right next to them in strollers and this made me curious how smoking is looked at and approached in the healthcare system here.
Lastly, while in Rome I was able to try a pasta dish that is supposedly only found in Rome, Cacio e Pepe. I really enjoyed this dish as it was simple, but fairly flavorful at the same time. Ironically, just after my weekend in Rome, I found this dish at the restaurant I dined at for dinner in Florence the following night! I did not order it again, but someone feel free to tell me where they like their Cacio e Pepe from better!
01/19/2018: 16,539 steps
01/20/2018: 20,571 steps
01/21/2018: 18,226 steps
01/22/2018: 15,525 steps
01/23/2018: 19,277 steps
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