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Cheese for everyone!
Before we all left for our respective long-weekend journeys, the gang got together at our place for our first in-home/election-night fondue party. With a little inspiration from the menu at Fondue des Refuges and some creative license with cheese recipes culled from the web, we were able to put together a lip-smacking good time.
Cheese fondue made with apple cider.
Maggie discovers peanut butter.
And now to the rant...
Yes, my first trip to Italy was completely underwhelming and I left the city with a terrifically bad taste in mouth (or in Nat's case: canned mushrooms on a microwaved pita). I'm not sure where my fantasies of this land came from, perhaps the book Eat, Pray, Love, but I imagined that we would stroll around a beautifully coloured city, hopping between Mom & Pop restaurants serving only the finest home-cooked meals and pitchers of house wine brought to my table without even viewing a menu.
In reality, Rome is a dirty dingy city with awful graffiti lining every surface. Chaotic narrow thoroughfares fill the city, crammed with the incessant sound of car horns, heckling drivers, the rumble of construction, and the piles of scaffolding obstructing most views. And if you did stumble upon Mom and Pop, well most likely Pop would be sitting in the middle of his restaurant picking his nose, in defiance of what you might have believed was true Italian cuisine. The place simply felt as if everyone had conspired on a grand plan to bend you over and take advantage of you.
Trust me, I could rant about Rome until we have a new Pope, but I would rather not, and despite Rome not being at all what I had expected, we did have some wonderful experiences there and the remainder of this post (I think) will focus on those instead.
Out and About in Rome
The one Mom & Pop pizzeria we did manage to find.
First view of the Colosseum.
Roof of the Pantheon.
Nat ponders the Pantheon.
Ubiquitous construction site: man on tiny dumptruck.
A pretty building.
The Trevi Fountain.
Make a wish!
This woman was wishing for a better hairdo.
The gelato in Rome was superb (and also cheap). We made sure to eat some every day.
Designed by an Italian, paid for by the French, and named for the Spanish.
View from the top.
Nat is amused by tiny trucks.
The foliage in Rome was truly impressive.
A park/track in the Borghese gardens. In Paris, there would be chairs for people to relax here.
Look at me, I'm a pony.
Well, we didn't go there.
Look, it's a column wearing lingerie.
This speaks for itself.
Vatican and St. Peter's
When you walk from the subway towards the Vatican you will be approached no less than 20 times by individuals wanting to offer you expensive guided tours with the added bonus of budding ahead of the gigantic one-hour line-up. However the Vatican operation is smooth and the long line-up last no more than 15 minutes, so fear not. We were also given the student discount by an employee who I believe was skimming a bit off the top - this is based on the incorrect change I received, yet how could I complain when I already saved money?
The palace itself is ridiculously large, as all palaces in Europe tend to be, and every surface is filled with a sculpture, fresco, canvas, or some sort of ornate scroll work. It's becomes difficult to appreciate the impressiveness of this and it instead develops into an insane monotony. By the time we reached the Sistine Chapel, I had seen so many remarkable works that I wasn't sure I could fully comprehend it. Though to their credit, the Italians take this room very seriously and keep the lights dim, the crowd noise low, and every 20 seconds shout at out everyone to stop taking pictures. If this were France, Michelangelo's masterpiece would've decayed from camera flash decades ago. Even though it would have been a cinch, I was polite and chose to obey the no-photography rule.
Well this almost worked out.
Interior gardens.
Could this hallway/room be more ornate?
They actually lead us through backwards.
The Papal branding is pretty awesome.
Just another fresco.
The Vatican dictionary is missing the word 'subtle.'
A dizzying trip out of there.
Nat recalls Hannah's tumble on these steps.
After leaving the Vatican museum we headed over to the main attraction, St. Peter's square. Unfortunately the centre obelisk and its immediate vicinity were surrounded by fences so we couldn't see any of the secret clues from Dan Brown's Angels & Demons. However, the mathematical effect of standing on one of the plaza focal points is still impressive, even in the rain. But as we waited in line to enter the basilica, I asked the heavens (it seemed appropriate given the setting) to bless us with some sunny weather.
Despite having been inside several cathedrals in Paris such as Notre Dame and St. Sulpice, I was not prepared for St. Peter's. It truly is in a league of its own. Instead of ancient stone, the space is made from gleaming marble of several colours. What is most shocking is the scale. It's not just large, it's HUGE, and all the sculptures and paintings are created to this same terrifying scale. Nat said that this was a place where she could actually feel the presence of 'something' and I understood why.
St. Peter's square.
The Basilica.
Now you see 4 rows of columns...
...now you don't.
Gentlemen, please wear only magenta bodysuits.
The only time we saw Swiss Guard in uniforms. (That other man thinks he can just stroll on in.)
PapalVision™
Breathtaking.
Everything is huge.
More branding.
Our prayers for sunshine are answered.
We also decided to ascend the cupola and forfeited the elevator (that's a 1E savings people!) and headed for the stairs. After several water breaks, Nat counted a total of 529 steps to the very top. But the view of Rome from here was spectacular. From this angle it was beautiful colorful city and I could briefly ignore the negative feelings I was harboring towards it.
I was terrified up there.
From below, we thought these mosaics were paintings. No space invaders up here.
This set of steps is tilting.
The view was worth the hike.
We assumed this is where the Pope lives, but we never actually asked anyone.
Modern stained-glass?
Sending postcards from the top of the church. These will be postmarked by the Vatican's own postal service.
Colosseum and Forum
Again at the Colosseum's entrance we were met with a tangle of English-speaking tour guides offering a chance to skip the line for merely tripling the ticket price. After declining and ogling at the strange man in line wearing a shiny black velvet suit, we entered through security and promptly budded the entire line anyway by upgrading to an official guided tour for only 4E more.
Our tour guide explained all about the history of the Colosseum, its glory days and then subsequent decline and pillaging, while I had fantasized about the movie Gladiator the whole time, a movie which I downloaded the night I got back from Rome.
(T)our guide.
They rebuilt part of the stage. At this pace we could have battles in a few more years.
Token self-portrait. Do you see a pattern?
Above the gladiator's entrance arch.
Then we headed over to the Roman Forum which is massive site of really ancient buildings including the first ever paved street in Rome with its original paving stones. However about halfway through the site we stumbled upon the 'last free English tour of the day' and followed this boisterous and terrifically knowledgeable and/or entertaining guide along as he explained the slaughter of Julius Caesar while a spontaneous formation of nine Italian fighter jets roared overhead displaying smoke trails of the Italian flag.
Inside the Forum.
The guide explains the journey of purple 'VIP' marble columns.
Caesar's cremation site, his own front yard.
Fighter jets from the army expo happening in nearby Circus Maximus.
The Ecstasy of St. Theresa
In the middle of our trip I realized that I really should have brought my copy of Angels & Demons to Paris (and to Rome) and we could have hunted down some of the famous sites in the story. But while reading a guidebook in the hotel I stumbled upon a write up of the Bernini sculpture The Ecstasy of St. Theresa which I remember from the back as a significant marker on the path of illumination. The church, I think called the Santa Maria del Vittoria, was a stone's throw from our hotel so we checked it out on our last morning. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the basically non-descript exterior but the inside was a magnificent surprise, a head-to-toe feast for the eyes that made this tiny space feel ridiculously huge.
The angel's spear is (supposed to be) lit be a hidden window.
This is just nuts.
Rome you were not what I expected; we had our ups, we had our (plenty of) downs, and we shared some special moments that I will never forget; but for us, I just don't think it's in the cards and I fear that we are not destined to meet again.
Week 11 photos on Flickr
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