David Gawking, Dome Walking, and Market Shopping

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Morning, met Adam and Jen, and after breakfast we headed over to the Galleria Accademia to see the statue of David by Michelangelo. M’s unfinished statues were fascinating as well—many appeared contorted, tense, and writhing, and seemed to be slowly extracting themselves from the marble. If I looked away slightly, out of the corner of my eye, I thought I could see them twisting and slowly emerging… But really, the highlight of the gallery was David. Big hands, big feet, big head (no comments please, heh). I sat and stared for at least 10 minutes, and watched various tour groups float in, peer at the statue, listen to commentary from their guides, then float away. Oh yeah, there were other works of art there, too, musical instrument exhibition, yadda yadda, some plaster castings of other statues, blah blah, some paintings, yadda yadda… (Am I getting museumed out? Well, if you’d seen a half dozen museums in as many days, wouldn’t you?) No pictures, unfortunately. But we’ve all seen David anyway, right?

Next stop was the Dome of the Duomo. We’d intended (I think?) to head to the line up for the church, but passed by another entrance, which lead to the dome and had a non-existent lineup. Without hesitation, Adam steered us inside, and before I could protest my fear of heights… too late. We were in. *gulp*
Dome climb highlights:
- Lots of steps. Yeesh, a heck of a lotta steps.
- Dark corridors. Lots of steps in dark corridors.
- And spiral staircases too. Getting dizzy, and winded.
- More steps.
- Small windows cut into the walls, so we could peer outside and get fresh air. (breathe!)
- More steps.
- More spiral steps.
- Dodging a few down-climbers who’d gotten their fill.
- Legs aching. But no hip displacements thank goodness.
- A few more steps, then…
- At the top, bright light, and oh, the view.
- After shaking off the shakes (and not looking too far down—look to the horizon, look to the horizon! Don’t look down!), managed to snap a few photos.
- Adam took one of me gripping the railing, as proof I’d made it.
- Must admit, the view was breathtaking. Or maybe I was just winded from the long climb.

We then hunted down the sandwich shop we had passed yesterday afternoon during our walk—The Oil Shoppe—and we had lunch there. I had the proscuitto and tomato sandwich on wheat, which was very tasty.

The afternoon was free time. Adam was going to do some research, Jen was going to get her hair cut, and “Lisa is going to do whatever Lisa is going to do.” So we all split up and went our separate ways.

I went shopping. After a brief rest at the hotel, and a bit of writing, I headed out around 2pm to do some shopping and some wandering around. Bought a bunch of stuff for the family unit—but of course, now, I have a bunch more stuff to pack and lug around with me for the rest of my trip. Ah well, at least I wont be lugging it around too much (I hope).

I wonder if Florence turns everyone into a shopping fiend (or, in my case, more of a shopping fiend).

After shopping in the market, I wandered down to the Ponte Vecchio, with the intention of buying a gelato and standing in the sun on the bridge, taking in the view while eating my ice cream. Got a tiramisu cone. Perfetto; YUM. But it was brutal windy out, and I had to turn away from the wind a few times, to protect myself.

Then did a bit of walking around on the south side of the river—not much there at first blush (but I hadn’t really ventured out that far) except more shopping, so I turned around and came back over the bridge. Wandered around a bit more, and decided to head back home. Managed to find a couple of streets that looked familiar, and walked back in the general direction of my hotel. Took my time, and stepped into some shops along the way, as things caught my fancy.

Now it’s started to rain. And I don’t have an umbrella...

Photos at Uffizi, Tombs at Santa Maria Croce, and Confusion at Coquinarius

Tuesday, September 25, 2007.

We met for breakfast at quarter after 7 in the morning, at a corner café near our hotels. After cappuccino and pastries, we headed off to line up for the Uffizi.

Seemed we got there at a good time. Not too far back in line. By the time they let us in at 915am (we’d been there since about 730am or so), the line up had stretched way behind us. But we got in after not too long a wait, thankfully. I tried to take some photos, without realizing that photos weren’t permitted (oops). At one point, I was about to snap a photo of a diptych, when a security dude threw his hand in front of my camera, and said, “Non!” Yikes. I thought he was going to slap me in the face. I sheepishly put my camera away.

After the gallery (we spent over two hours wandering around in there), we took a break for some lunch. Found a street café and ordered sandwiches and beverages. After finding a stable wi-fi connection, Adam and Jen did some blog updates, and I did some reading of my Uffizi Gallery book (17 euro and it weighs a TON, but worth it I think). After that, we decided to wander to the Santa Maria Croce, to view the tombs of various famous people, like Galileo, Machiavelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo. And a memorial to Dante (not actually buried there since he’d been exiled years before). Many of my photos, unfortunately, were blurry and unfocused, since I couldn’t use a flash inside the church and I was suffering from shaking hands syndrome again. Ah well.

After all that walking, we took a short break at our hotel rooms, then met for dinner. We ended up going to a restaurant called Coquinarius, an enoteca that also served fantastic food. I ordered the spinach tortelloni (which showed up in a ravioli casing instead?) and Jen ordered the ricotta and pear ravioli (which showed up in a tortelloni casing instead?). And Adam ordered something called, “the Volcano.” At least there was no confusing Adam’s dish—it looked like a volcano. We also shared two bottles of fantastic red wine, upon the recommendation of our waiter. And there was certainly no confusion regarding the wine.

Travel to Florence to Meet Adam and Jen

Monday, September 24, 2007.

Monday morning, woke early to have breakfast and check email. Unfortunately, the signal from the breakfast room was pretty weak so I didn’t check much. Went back to my room to clean up, then went for a short walk around the neighbourhood, to take a few last photos of Rome.

When I got back to the hotel, finished packing the rest of my stuff, did a final check of the room, then checked out of the hotel. I then made the long, heavy trek to the train station. Long and heavy, because of the weight of my packs. It seemed to take twice as long to walk anywhere.

Once at the train station, I checked the electronic boards to see where my train would be boarding. Track 4, according to the printed schedule, but the electronic schedule didn’t have the train listed yet—I was too early. So I leaned patiently against one of the railings and waited.

At one point, I thought I should probably ask someone if I should be validating my train ticket. I hunkered down to spy on others at the validation machines, to see if anyone else were doing so. Yes, indeed, there were, so I decided I would too. What would it hurt if I did, and didn’t have to? However, it would hurt 50 euro or so if I didn’t and got caught. So I validated it, then waited some more.

Train ride was uneventful--an elderly couple sitting in front of me dozed most of the way, and the fellow sitting in the seat next to me looked like a businessman intent on reading his newspaper, so I contented myself with staring out the window at the countryside. The trip took about an hour and a half, and I arrived at Santa Maria Novella station in Florence just after 11am. Time to meet Adam and Jennifer!!

Except, when I got off the train, I didn’t see them. So I started walking toward the exit, all the time scanning the crowd for a familiar face. Still nothing. I ended up walking right out to the taxi stand in front of the station, and waited there, thinking they might be a bit late. Nope. Nothing. Nada.

Finally, after about 20 minutes had gone by, I decided to give Adam’s cell phone a call. He answered, and I let him know where I was. He said, don’t move, we’ll meet you there.

And then there they were! Yay!

After greetings and hugs, we made our way to my hotel, checked in, and checked out my room. Bigger than the others I’d had in Rome, but with fewer niceties—no tv, for instance, and no shower stall—only a showerhead and faucets in the wall next to the sink, and a drain in the floor! But at least the room was clean, and the view from my window was lovely, too. Home sweet home.

Cleaned up, then met them for lunch. On the way, we wandered through the extensive street market, where vendors sold everything from leather purses to leather jackets, postcards and stationery to jewelry and sunglasses. And almost every other stall sold pashimas and scarves. Ahh, shopping!

For lunch, we went to the Mercato Centrale, sort of a Florentine version of Granville Island market. Vendors for wine, cheese, wine, fruits & veggies, meats and delis, wine, and small cafes and restaurants, too, with wine. We sat at one of the restaurants (“Porks” was the name, believe it or not—no funny comments, Chris and Stephen!), and ordered a bottle of Chianti, a bottle of water, and I had gnocchi al ragu (meat sauce and garlic). It was the best tasting Chianti and gnocchi I’d had in a very long time.


After lunch, we went for a short walk, and as we approached an intersection, we had to stop for traffic. Over my left shoulder, I suddenly saw the Duomo, and gasped. Adam and Jen laughed out loud at my reaction. They commented that that reaction was quite common among tourists, and that many have distractedly wandered into oncoming traffic because they have been so overwhelmed by the sight.


I took a ton of photos, needless to say.

After that, we split for a couple of hours, so Jen could go shoe shopping, Adam could go wi-fi hunting, and I could just go wander around. So I did. I wandered around snapping a hundred photos of everything I could see. I visited the Loggia della Signoria, in the Piazza della Signoria, in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. The beautiful statues were breathtaking; I snapped a bunch of photos. I wandered to the Ponte Vecchio, and snapped more photos there.

When we met up an hour later, I suggested that we tour the Palazzo Vecchio together, so we did. I took more photos in there.

Then we went for a coffee break/siesta. Adam had his gelato, Jen had her cappuccino, and I had my Orvieto wine. Yum.

After a short break of a couple of hours back at our respective hotel rooms, I met Adam and Jen back at their hotel room, to do some trip planning for Venice and some wine drinking before dinner. Both accomplished successfully, I think, after Adam had a panicked attack of… well, I’ll let Adam and Jen share that story, I think.

Then we went for dinner. Wandered around looking for a specific restaurant that Adam and Jen had wanted to visit, but found that it was closed. So, we wandered around a bit more, and found another “ristorante” and settled in there. We ordered a bottle of pinot grigio, and good food—we were all stuffed. It was quite late by the time we made our way home. I stumbled into bed and was asleep in a few minutes.

Sometimes You Get What You Want Without Trying

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Another full day—mellow, but full. Started off needing to do something, not really expecting anything, and getting a pleasant surprise in the afternoon.

After finishing breakfast, took my laptop back to my room and headed out to the train station to reserve my train ticket to Florence for tomorrow. Got through relatively painlessly (the reservation cost an additional 15 euro), confirmed I got the right ticket, and wandered back outside. It was still only quarter to nine. What to do.

I wandered around aimlessly a bit, just enjoying the relative quiet of the morning, and the cool air. Decided to step into the Chiesa Santa Maria degli Angeli again. Took a few shots inside, sat for a bit. Gave a coin to the woman sitting outside, nursing her daughter and begging for change.
Then went for a walk. Wandered around up & down streets, not really looking for anything, and not really finding anything, either. But it felt good to walk.

Wandered down via Nazionale, with no real destination in mind.

Circled around and back, and went to the National Museum. Used my RomaPass to get in free, checked through security quickly, and started off exploring. Took a bunch of photos of statues, heads, torsos. A sarcophagus or two. Some mosaics and frescoes. (I’m getting museumed out, I think.) Then left.

After lunch, wasn’t sure what to do, but headed out again anyway. Had vague idea that I wanted to buy a bottle of regional wine that I could share with Adam and Jen when I got to Florence. I’d read that the frascati wine, a white, was from the Lazio region around Rome, and was a good, reasonably priced wine. Had wanted to buy a bottle last night, but my nighttime wanderings did not yield any fruit, and I was frustrated. So I didn’t hold out much hope of finding anything today, either.

Wandered down via delle Quattro Fontane, with the intention of heading to the Spanish Steps again, to just hang out with the crowds of tourists in the sunshine. As I passed the cafes and stores and shops—most of which were closed, because it was Sunday—I stumbled across one that was open, and lo! And behold! I saw bottles on wine on the shelf. Right in front of my face.

The shopkeeper was sweeping up outside. I stepped inside, and started examining the wine bottles. I automatically grabbed a random red—the shopkeeper promptly recommended it to me, saying it was a very good wine. I thanked him, and asked him in Italian how much it cost ("quanto costa?"). He told me, by pointing to the price label on the bottle. Ah, grazie. And then I spotted a frascati. Bingo.

After a bit of conversing and small talk—most of it by him, in Italian and some broken English—I bought the wine. I thanked him profusely, and said goodbye. He said, ciao, and “a domani.” I laughed, and repeated my thanks.

Ah, success! Finally! I had a grin on my face all the way down the street.

When I finished loafing around the Spanish Steps and the Trinita dei Monti, I finally wandered back down the street (I had the idea that I would buy another bottle from the same shop), and noticed that the store was closed. A bit of disappointment, but I was glad for the lucky break, for stumbling into it in the first place.

The awning, I noticed, read, “Bar San Carlino”—I made note, so I could visit next time I was in Rome.

St Peter's, and Pantheon Redux

yesterday was pretty mellow. after breakfast, headed back via metro to Ottaviano station, and St Peter's Basilica. got there just after 8am--no line up, yay! got through security and headed in.

no words to describe the beauty, the weight of the place. how tiny i felt. even the photos i took do not do it justice.

as i wandered through St Peter's, i noticed my right hip starting to get sore. the more i walked, the more sore i got. so i favoured it--which made my left hip sore, too. so by the time i exited the basilica, i was a hobbling mess. ah, my weary aging bones. aint a spring chicken anymore, i guess.

i spent just over an hour and a half in the basilica. by the time i left (skipped the dome because i'm still afraid of heights--sorry tony, i couldnt do it!), there was a line growing, reaching almost to the far end of the square.

went back to the hotel & downloaded my pics. then headed out again--this time, to re-visit the Pantheon, which, so far, has been the most profoundly affecting place in Rome for me. i was also determined to find the Piazza Navona, come hell or high water. sore hips and sore feet be damned.

i carefully mapped out my route beforehand in my hotel room. as i headed out, it was just after 1230pm. as i neared the Pantheon, i noticed growing hoards of people. ah tourists--gotta love 'em. i followed the herd, and sure enough, quickly came up to the Pantheon (from a different street this time--i got the full frontal view, rather than approaching from behind and seeing a huge wall of stone).

wow. talk about standing room only. such a difference from the first time i was there. the other day, i was one of only 6 or so people in the church. it was dark, quiet, profound. dare i say, holy? this time--wall to wall people, chatter, flashbulbs from cameras, and a crying baby. as i dodged people and tried to take a few more photos, some fellow standing in the centre started singing. i wasn't sure whether to be pleased or cross. well, the acoustics in that place are pretty amazing, i must grant you.

wandered out, and followed the herd again. found Piazza Navona in no time. and quickly realized that i'd been here already! duh.

the other day, i had been there so early in the morning, that i didn't recognize the place. silly me, i had a picture in my head of a square filled with people sitting in cafes, and vendors selling purses, and artists selling art, and and and... and here it was, yes, just like that. but the other morning, i had blissfully wandered right through the then still-empty square. silly wabbit. and i suppose (to give myself the benefit of the doubt--yah right), i was also expecting to see the famous four rivers fountain--but the bottom half was covered in scaffolding, as much of Rome seems to be nowadays (i have several examples of famous monuments and statues undergoing facelifts, including the Spanish Steps, the VE Monument, etc.). ah well. at least i found it. success, albeit a bit sideways.

later in the afternoon, i visited several churches, including the Santa Maria Maggiore. i also stumbled across a street market, and bought some fruit from one of the vendors. the woman thanked me in japanese ("arigato")--i laughed and said, "bene", and thanked her in italian.

today: more churches. and taking photos of street scenes and piazzas. and visiting the national museum of rome.

Finally in Rome... and finally with internet access!

have finished my third day in Rome. three days of intensive sightseeing, and my feet are killing me, my brain hurts, my eyes are sore, my skin is sunburnt... and i'm in love with this place.

i've been keeping daily notes of my activities. will copy & paste them below, so this entry will be a bit long. sorry for all the scrolling... i'll also try to paste some select photos into the blog. (and at some point, i'll get the rest of my photos posted on some online album somewhere...) so if you've got a moment, please let me know what you think! :)


Tuesday, September 18, 2007. 7:04 am. Vancouver International Airport, Gate C39.

Have successfully negotiated my way through check-in and security. Have just over an hour to kill before scheduled boarding begins (at 8:15 am). All boards so far have the flight “on time.” We’ll see.

The cab ride to the airport was quick & painless as well. Took just about twenty minutes to get here, given how light traffic was so early in the morning. Not complaining, however. I’d rather this, than have to deal with the stress of lateness or delays.

It’s still hard to believe I’m finally on my way. Weeks and weeks of planning are finally coming together. The strangeness is all.

I think once I’ve gotten on the plane to Rome, I’ll relax a bit more. But can picture myself ramping up again, simply with nerves and excitement. Am I really going to Rome? Am I really going to spend the next two weeks in Italy, and one week in France? Is this really happening to me?

Here I am. Go figure.

The sky is finally getting lighter. But the sky is still grey and overcast. I guess they’ll be getting rain and showers today. It was fairly cool this morning, too, when I left my apartment. I’m sure it’ll be pretty cold by the time I get back…

Is this really me?

Wednesday, September 19, 2007. 9:45 pm Rome time (1:26 pm Vancouver time). Yes Hotel, Room 607.

Yes, I think I can safely say that I’ve finally arrived in Rome. Even if parts of my brain still can’t believe it.

Finished my first full day here. Conclusions and impressions so far: hot, damn hot. And humid, to make it feel even hotter. And lots of tourists. And lots of traffic. And lots of mopeds. I’ve revised my earlier theory of who the potential survivors of a nuclear holocaust would be. I’ve decided now that cockroaches, bike couriers, AND moped drivers from Rome would survive the fallout to create a new race of armoured, reckless drivers negotiating the rubble of the post-apocalyptic world. You need to made of some kind of I don’t know what, in order to survive the traffic chaos of downtown Rome. Yow.

Ok, quick rundown of the day’s activities:

- Landed on time in Montreal. Managed to de-plane fairly quickly, and, following the gate signs, trotted over to my connecting flight in less than 10 minutes. (Dorval Airport is small, eh?) Good thing, too, since they had already started boarding at quarter to the top of the hour (the flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until half past). Trotted on board and settled in and finally breathed again.
- Eat. Doze. Eat more. Doze more. Stretch legs, bend legs. Repeat. Ugh. But at least I had two seats to stretch out on. The flight was only about three quarters full. Short boarding, short de-planing. Eight hour flight was mercifully cut short by a half hour. We landed early in Rome Fiumicino airport. Yay! Got through customs, grabbed my backpack right away.
- Followed the signs to the train station. Bought myself a one way ticket for the Leonardo Express at one of the self-serve kiosks (rather than wait in a twelve person deep line, ugh), took a picture of the train platform (see photo). Trained in to Termini Station.

- Wandered around aimlessly in the train station for a bit, before finally deciding to find my first hotel. Found it fairly easily (it was as if my instinct just took over—or maybe it was just the result of all those hours of studying my maps). Asked if my room was ready yet (no). Left my backpack in the luggage room, and took my daypack and decided to wander around.
- Went back to the train station, to see if I could find a hop-on/hop-off bus tour for a few hours. Bought the Ciao Roma pass for a day (19 euro), and a Roma Pass (20 euro). Ran to the first stop for the bus tour, at Chiese Maria Santa Maggiore. Paid the balance of the ticket, and hopped on. Climbed to top of bus & settled in.
- Bus tour around the city. Lasted about two hours. Took a few bad photos, took a couple of good ones. Decided that a lot of the sites are within easy walking distance, and decided to walk to some of them (e.g. Colosseum) on the days I’ve decided to visit them. Except for the Vatican. That’s a bit far.
- Got back to the starting point, then walked back to hotel. Room still not ready. Ok.
- Left hotel & decided to wander around the neighbourhood to orient myself. Found the Chiesa Maria degli Angeli. Wandered around and took a bunch of photos. Cool from the heat.
- Wandered around the business and government district. Saw lots of handsome Italian men in business suits, looking cool, calm, collected. How do they stay so cool looking in this sweltering heat?
- Found a cheap pizzeria around the corner from my hotel, across the street from the Termini Station. The man behind the counter spoke English. I guess a lot of them do in tourist-dense Rome. I almost laughed out loud. I haven’t had to speak any Italian yet. Just “si” and “grazie.”
- Sat under a tree on Via Cavour, across from Termini, and ate my pizza. An elderly Italian gentleman next to me greeted me warmly with a “ciao” and toasted my Coke with his beer. I laughed and toasted him back.
- Got back to hotel. Yes, room is ready. Finally!

More tomorrow.

Thursday, September 20, 2007. 8:30 pm Rome time (11:33 am Vancouver time). Yes Hotel, Room 607.

Wow. Pretty full day. Spent most of it standing and walking. But it was worth it I think. Because of one thing:

I visited the Vatican Museum. Wow.

Left the hotel early this morning. Had breakfast at the hotel—not bad. Had a good, strong coffee, a croissant with some ham and cheese, orange juice.

Went to the Termini Station. First major task of the day: ride the Metro for the first time. Eek. Actually, it wasn’t all that bad, once I finally figured out where the hell to go. Apparently, the first set of stairs I found (on the east side of the Cinquecentro Square in front of the station) wasn’t the best flight to take. Smelled bad, looked worse—a couple of scary looking fellows hunched in the corner. Couldn’t find the entrance to the Metro. So I wandered into the train station lower level proper, followed the crowds, and found the Metro lines A and B entrances that way. Whew. After figuring out the ticketing system (similar to the one they have in Japan, except you claim your punched ticket before entering the open clear plastic doors—in Japan, you would go through and claim the ticket once you’ve gone through. Kirk, take note, when you ride the trains in Japan! The machine will eat your ticket, but spit it back out on the other side. Well, at least the trains I rode in Sapporo worked that way…), I sorted out which track to take (lineA, to Battistini), and waited for the train. Easy peasy.

Got to Ottaviano Station and got off the train. Followed the crowds up and out. (“Uscita” is one of the first Italian words I’d learned today, along with the phrase, “Uscito lato destro,” which, I’m guessing, means, “Exit to the right side.” And, the matching phrase, “Uscito lato sinistro,” which means, “Exit to the left side.” If everyone in Rome spoke as slowly as the fellow who does the announcements on the train, and repeated their words as often, then I’d be able to learn Italian in no time.)

Walked down Ottaviano street to the road where the Vatican wall rose into the sky. Hooked a right and hoofed it up the hill. There was already a significant line when I arrived, just past 8am. And the line quickly grew behind me, too. So I waited. And waited, and waited. And got cold in the wind, and waited some more. And waited even more. Feet got sore, legs got sore. Still waited. Got word from some people around me that they weren’t letting the “regular” line in until after 10am. (Apparently, tour groups got to go in first.) Ugh.

But sure enough, shortly after 10am, the line started to move. Yay! Was through security and well on my way into the museum by 10:30am. Let the adventure begin…

- Took photos. No, wait, let me clarify that. Took LOTS of photos. Took so many photos that my batteries ran out. My last shot of the museum was the spiral staircase I took to exit. Whew.
- Wandered through hall after hall of endless statues, sculptures, and art. I was irritated equally by those who insisted on reading every single sign and listening to the recorded audio guides at every single piece of art, as well as those who simply drifted indifferently past these extraordinary pieces collected from antiquity through the Renaissance, as if they were nothing much to sniff at.
- I gawked with appropriate frequency, I think.
- The hall of statues was amazing. As was the hall with all the Greek and Roman figures and pieces of sculpture. But I kept thinking, how many examples of “a noble’s head” or “a warrior’s head” or “some random piece of siding” can you have, anyway? Apparently, hundreds aren’t enough. Need to get them all, huh. Ah those crazy popes.
- The Sistine Chapel was simply breathtaking. (Note, the photo I’ve attached is NOT the Sistine Chapel—no photos allowed in there. Despite all the signs, and the harsh whispered “shhhh”es from the guards, and the occasional loudspeaker announcements in Italian and English asking people not to take photos and to keep their voices down—the loudspeaker was supposed to drown them all out I guess?—some people still insisted on taking photos, and flash photos, too, which aren’t even discrete!) I sat there for a few minutes, just taking it all in. It’s hard to believe that Michelangelo spent all those years hanging upside down painting the ceiling. Just craning my neck to see all the frescos gave me a headache (not to mention neck ache and back ache). Yow.

- Missed (forgot, is more like it) the Pinacoteca, with paintings by da Vinci, Carravagio, et al. Damn. I guess there really won’t be a “next time,” so I’ll have to settle for picture books from the library later.
- In all, spent over three hours in the Vatican Museum (not including the two hours I spent waiting in line just to get in). Not bad, I think.

Then, because my feet were killing me, I took the Metro back to Termini, and hobbled back to the hotel. Washed my feet, cleaned up a bit, downloaded my pictures, changed the batteries in my camera, and decided to head back out to St. Peter’s to see if I could get in with a smaller afternoon crowd. Huh. Stupid thinking, I know. But what do I know?

Got to St. Peter’s, and yes, the line to get in was huge. Decided against it, given how late it was (after 3:30pm by the time I got back down there), so just snapped a bunch of pictures of the piazza. Then hobbled back to the metro on my still sore feet.

Got off at Spagna station, to see the Spanish Steps. The steps and fountain were a bit of a disappointment, to tell the truth, but seeing all the people there made up for it. It was wonderful seeing all the tourists and locals alike, just sitting and mingling and chatting and relaxing and sitting in the sun and sitting in the shade and just hanging out in the piazza. Cool. North America needs cool hang out places like that, where people are actually civilized, and no one acts like a drunken hooligan.

Climbed to the top of the steps and entered the church, Trinita dei Monti. Beautiful church—too bad my camera had to act up and be a party poop. Some of the pictures were blurry, because I couldn’t use flash, and my hands were shaking. Blah.

Walked next to the Trevi Fountain, to see it during the day. I was amazed by my sense of direction, and my memory from the night before. I recognized the streets and the landmarks on the way (for instance, Bernini’s fountain). Wandered through some of the lovely side streets along the way. The shops, the gelato vendors, the sidewalk cafes. Took a bunch of photos at the fountain, and sat my butt down to rest my sore feet for a few minutes.

Made the long trek back to the hotel. Along the way, walked along the via XX Settembre, and remembered that the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria was along here. Found the church, and snapped a bunch of photos (again, some of them were pretty lame because of the no flash, shaking hands syndrome). Done with frustrating myself with poor photos, I finally stumbled back to my room at the hotel. (here's one that actually turned out...)


Has it really been only two days? Feels like I’ve been here for much longer already.

Friday, September 21, 2007. 4:25 pm Rome time (7:25 am Vancouver time). Hotel Patria, Room 305.

Another busy day, but also a day full of mis-directions and running around in circles.

Had breakfast at the Yes Hotel at 7:30am, then dashed over to the Hotel Patria to find out what time their check-in was. Not til 2pm, but the front desk clerk promised me that if something came free in the next hour or two, I could have it. I thanked him and went on my way.

Wandered out to the street, not really knowing where I was heading. Next thing I know, I’m heading toward the general direction of the Pantheon, thinking I had lots of time to try to find it. And my feet were feeling good, and it was a fairly cool morning still, and I had a spring in my step. Ah, how quickly all that good feeling would dissipate…

Through sheer luck, and yes perhaps a bit of intuition and a pretty good general sense of direction, I managed to find the Pantheon. Almost stumbled upon it, to tell the truth. One moment, I was wandering through winding, narrow streets and alleys lined with cafes, shops, restaurants, back doors, and apartments—then suddenly, the Pantheon was there. Boom. Just like that. Big stone, man, big stone.

I was a bit early, so wandered around some of the streets in the neighbourhood, before heading back to the Pantheon for its 8:30 am opening. Went inside and took several photos (some of which actually turned out for a change!), and took a few photos from outside as well.

Feeling smug and content, I thought my next task would be to find the Piazza Navona. I thought I could find it fairly easily; after all, it was about due west of the Pantheon. How difficult could that be?

Hah. More difficult than I thought. I ended up turned around and upside down and inside out, and somehow managed to get lost—emerged onto a main street facing the Castel Sant’Angelo, on the Tiber River! Yikes. Overshot the piazza by a looong shot. Had to turn around and backtrack. By this time, my feet were starting to hurt again, and I was getting cranky. Feeling completely disoriented, I decided that I would head back to Termini Station and my hotel, so I could check out of Yes Hotel and check into Hotel Patria.

Managed to finally walk all the way back by just after 10am. Finished packing the rest of my stuff, and checked out. Hoofed it with all my heavy gear to the Hotel Patria and checked in. (Thank goodness my room was ready. See the shot of the view from my hotel room. Too bad the photo can’t relay sound effects—this is definitely a much louder location than my previous hotel; I’m a short block away from a busy street, the via Nazionale, and there is constant sound of traffic, mopeds, sirens, honking horns.)

Cleaned up, then headed out again. Next stop: Colosseum. Walked to Termini metro station, and hopped on the metro out to Colosseo stop. Found a HUGE line up at the Colosseum, and decided against it. So I wandered up to the Palatine Hill (having read in several guide books that the line ups tend to be shorter there), bought my ticket after cueing up in a short line, and got inside the gates. Wandered around looking at all the ruins.

(Quick note on the metro out to Colosseo. I had to take the B line today (up til now, I’d been happily hopping on and off the A line between Termini and Ottaviano station, where I could easily access St. Peter’s and the Vatican Museum, as well as Spagna station for the Spanish Steps. The A line is fast, clean, comfortable, and easy to use.). I guess I know why they call it the B line. It’s definitely seen better days. The train cars are covered in spray painted graffiti. The windows are dirty and barred. The seats inside are hard, and the interior looks generally more exhausted. Some of the electronic signs work, some don’t. I think even the people on the train looked more tired than the ones I saw on the A line trains. Huh. Well, at least it got me where I needed to go.)

After wandering the grounds of the Palatine (and taking a bunch of photos), decided to wander through the Forum grounds. That was pretty cool—but pretty damn hot, too. Forgot to put on sunscreen this morning (duh), and have a bit of sunburn on my face and my upper chest, as well as my arms and the tops of my feet.

Finished wandering through the Forum, and decided I would try my luck at finding the Piazza Bocca de Verita (the Mouth of Truth). And truthfully—my luck had run out. By the time I finally found the place, I had backtracked twice, gotten stuck in a dead end street that ended with a wall (I could see the damn church from where I was standing, I just couldn’t find a quick way to get out there, short of jumping 12 or so feet and probably crushing my legs, if not worse, so I had to circle all the way around), and then overshot the right street, twice! (I blame it on sunstroke.)

Then I stupidly stood in line for almost 15 minutes to see this thing (for whatever reason, exhaustion, probably, I’ve fallen into dumb tourist mode—I see a line up, and I line up along with everyone else, not even questioning why I’m lining up, only following the dumb tourist flocking instinct of: “if everyone else is lining up, then it must be worth seeing, right?”), only to end up taking a rushed, blurry photo of it. Duh. And no, I won't post that one.

Feeling really stupid by this point, and tired, not to mention cranky, dehydrated, and sore-footed, I decided to walk to the closest metro station (Circo Massimo) and headed back to the hotel.

More tomorrow, pending recovery from dumb tourist syndrome.

Practice makes perfect

just finished another practice packing of my backpack. ahh, it's not that heavy, really! i just have to remember to keep good posture, and remember that when i'm negotiating narrow hallways that i'm now four feet wider all around. i think i've done reasonably well with managing to keep the clothing count fairly low. lots of black clothing that can be mixed and matched, a couple of long sleeved shirts & a cardigan (for touring catholic churches in modest dress), a couple of sun dresses (i checked the long term forecast for rome: highs of 25 on wednesday when i arrive, yipee!), a bunch of tshirts, a pair of capris, and miscellaneous underclothing, etc.

i may, however, have to reduce the shoe count. of course, this only gives me an excuse to shop for shoes while i'm there. oh the tragedy.

i had earlier intended to wander around downtown with a fully packed backpack, as practice, to get a feeling for how heavy it will feel after more than, oh say, the five minutes at a time that i've tried wearing it to date. if the weather clears tomorrow, i may do that at midday. i'm sure i'll fit in with all the other tourists wandering around town these days. pack on back, map in hand, birkenstocks on feet. half amused, half bewildered look on face. is this the standard tourist uniform? i plan on avoiding that as much as possible. reading and researching online has led me to believe that rome is a far, far classier place re dressing than i'm accustomed to. and yes, i've packed a nice pair of heels, too.

i should probably practice my italian this evening, as well. uno, due, tre... ah va bene.

a domani!