We stopped for a quick bite at the sandwich shop right in front of the monument – and paid at least twice what we should have for a simple sandwich. Note to self: don’t buy food so close to such attractions, because the price shoots up like nobody’s business. Anyway, we ate and made our way toward the Colosseum among the eager crowds of diverse and muttering tourists, hassled as we went by the dozens and dozens of tour guides. We were irritated until we saw the enormous line to get in. Knowing we had only the day to explore one of the world’s biggest, greatest cities, we eventually caved and had a guided tour for about seven Euros more.
Thank goodness we did, because there was so much that we just wouldn’t have understood without it. Thinking about all the history that’s taken place, the fact that spectators stood watching gladiators in the same places I stood, that the actual Caesar and other men and women of legends had been in the same place, was overwhelming and incredibly cool. Also, the steps were atrocious. The ancient Romans must have had monster thigh muscles if the common stairwell was anything like the ones we climbed. That or time has caused the stairs to shift.
The tour lasted an hour and we debated walking through the Forum, but considering time and the fact that the Vatican is a bit of a hike, we opted not to check it out and instead boarded the metro to take us across the river. We arrived at the Vatican in much the same fashion, hounded by guides offering tours in I don’t know how many languages. As we waited for a crosswalk, a man with an unmistakable New York accent approached us, claiming to be an honest recruiter who wanted us to get as much as we could out of the tour. He chastised the collective death glare we gave him, having no intention to fork over the money for this tour too, and then he asked us if we could tell him where the entrance was. We couldn’t. Touché, old man, touché.
So we signed up for the tour and he led us around the corner to his office where he introduced us to our Scottish tour guide, Ian. I think taking this tour was the best decision we made all week. Ian was lively and entertaining from the very start, accommodating all kinds of humor, though the ten-ish-person group we had seemed to be of similar tastes. Or maybe everyone just loved his accent like we did and were ready to listen to anything that he said. Either way, Ian guided us through the Vatican Museum beginning with the earliest art. The figures in the beginning of the period (and I can’t remember the name of the era for the life of me, so bear with me, pretty please) showed indistinct figures that lacked the precision of the later and anatomically accurate paintings and sculptures of Michelangelo. As we moved through the museum, we could see the progression of science and thought as various religious scenes were depicted, as well as scenes blending the pagan gods of Rome and Greece with Christian images of Jesus, Mary, and other figures and stories.
A few of my favorites were "Pietra", a statue by Michelangelo, and "School of Athens", by Raphael. The relationship between Michelangelo and Raphael was explained to us – a difficult relationship in that they basically hated each other, but Raphael understood what a master Michelangelo was after sneaking a peak at the highly secret Sistine Chapel – as well as Michelangelo’s strained relationships with most of the clergy who attempted to commission him. And of course, the Sistine Chapel was more incredible than can be imagined. Depicting the scenes of Genesis, which Michelangelo decided to paint but wasn’t supposed to, Michelangelo took years and years to paint, modeling his characters after an amalgamation of Greek and Roman art, the arm of this statue mixed with the torso of that one and the face of that bishop that he liked. On the mural behind the altar, “The Last Judgment”, this is exactly what Michelangelo did when depicting Jesus. Unfortunately, you can't take photos inside the Sistine Chapel, but definitely Google it.
Fun fact: Pope Sixtius IV who commissioned the Sistine Chapel wound up with his face on the devilish character Minos, complete with donkey ears, who is painted directly above the door of the chapel, where all the cardinals and bishops would enter and leave the church, because he insulted Michelangelo. Other fun facts: it’s believed that Michelangelo suffered from Asperger’s Syndrome, explaining his obsessive compulsive forays in art and science, as well as his difficulty in dealing with people and social situations. Other fun fact: there’s a good chance Da Vinci had ADD/ADHD, based on his scatter-brained journal entries and numerous unfinished projects, including drawings, paintings, sculptures, inventions, etc.
We finished the tour at the Sistine Chapel and after asking Ian’s advice about where to go in town, he gave a few suggestions and his number in case we (now our group of three and two Irish girls) wanted to meet up later. We took a quick tour of the actual cathedral, but weren't allowed into Pope John Paul II's tomb, since it was already closed, but the vast, beautifully decorated church was enough to look at.
We grabbed pizza with the Irish girls and went back to get ready before heading straight back into town for aperitivo, which means you buy a drink and you can get all the appetizer-like finger food you want. We sat for a few drinks until Ian met us, then headed to a club a few blocks over in the heart of Rome. Downside: cover charge, upside: free drinks once you’re in. We were having a great time, and I dragged Roz and Caitlin away to dance to Party Rock and Sexy and I Know It in between getting drinks at the bar, but that’s when things went downhill a smidge. Irish Girl #1 starts puking on the side of the dance floor, and Roz, Caitlin and I are forced to take care of her since according to her friend, “oh no, she’s fine.”
Taking care of drunk friends, even puking friends, isn’t so bad, because you love them plus you know if you were ever in that situation, then someone has your back. Not the case when it’s more or less a lightweight stranger who is yelling at you about her purse and how she doesn’t want to stand up. We managed to get her outside and hail a cab for her, but not without being harassed/helped by a few guys who were carrying on in Italian that we didn’t understand, bumping into us and fumbling trying to get this girl into a cab.
We get back into the club, flustered and aggravated but glad to be free when Irish Girl #2 comes back, asking about the other girl’s purse. No one has it. We start searching the bathroom and every nook and cranny to see if someone’s at least taken the money and ditched the purse. To check in dark places, I reach in my purse for my camera to light up these dark areas, and realize that the flap is open and, what do you know, my camera is gone. There’s no doubt in my mind it was the guys “helping” us get the girl in the cab. What’s worse, I’d purposely put my money in my back pocket and had kept my camera on my wrist since I knew my purse only had a clasp, because we’d been warned multiple times about pick-pockets in the city. The only time my camera was in my purse was when both hands were occupied, supporting this belligerently drunk girl get home. It’s over a month later and I’m still unbelievably bitter. Needless to say, the pictures I’ve been using for these posts have come from Roz and Caitlin, and I can’t thank you guys enough for your photos!
After a lengthy search for the purse, the girls left and we took off too, since the club was closing at this point. I was livid and couldn’t have cared less about the purse or the girls at that point, but I tried to tell myself that it was over and nothing could be done. Roz and Caitlin were champs at consoling me and joining in the string of insults aimed toward the girls, and Ian even chimed in a bit. After hanging around on the street, he asked if we’d seen everything we wanted to in Rome, which we definitely hadn’t. With that, we set off for the Trevi Fountain around maybe 4am. We arrived and were, unsurprisingly, the only people wandering around the famous monument. Ian briefed us on the statues and sculptures around the fountain, and we all appreciated the history and how special it was to see such a sight in such a calm and peaceful atmosphere. It was unreal and so beautiful. We wandered around the fountain and entertained maybe trying to take a dip before a police car pulled up, clearly keeping tabs on us.
Soon enough, people began walking around, clearly on their way to work and we realized the sun would be coming up soon. Ian asked if we’d like to watch it rise, because he knew a spot, but that we’d have to hurry. That was all we needed to hear before we let him lead the way, jogging after him the whole way. It probably took ten or fifteen minutes jogging the whole way around the city, but luckily there was very little traffic. I came up behind Ian and he directed me up the steps and around the side of a building, and the stairs about did me in after my first extended jog in a month. We all reconvened at the top of the steps, desperate trying to catch our breath in the rapidly approaching dawn.
Off in the distance, we could see the Colosseum with the Forum splayed out almost directly in front of us. The sky just over the Colosseum began to lighten up, casting a brilliant pink light into the sky, bouncing yellow and orange off the clouds. The sky grew lighter and lighter over the next few minutes, and we stood and watched the sun slowly peek out from behind the great monument, still trying to catch our breath and force ourselves to believe that it was real life.
Once the sun was up, we made our way to the same metro station we’d been at that morning and parted ways with Ian, the greatest, coolest tour guide I will probably ever encounter. We all headed back to the hostel, knowing we had to check out of the hostel and start our drive to Milan through Pisa in just a few hours, but figured that a little sleep would be a good idea. A few short hours later, we piled into the car with our luggage, and I pulled us back onto the road. Between Rome and Pisa, we drove through the Italian countryside that looked like what I’d always imagined it to look like: sprawling, green fields, speckled with olive trees and little clusters of houses made of some kind of tan stone. It was a surprisingly mild drive and we didn’t even get lost! We arrived in Pisa and stopped for gelato before making our way to the tower for plenty of photos.
The drive to Milan was another story. Long story less long, we took a few wrong turns getting into the city and had an awful time finding the Zebra Hostel that wasn’t marked with any kind of sign. After driving around the city limits for an hour, we found the place but had to spend another hour to find parking. I offer my sincerest thanks to Roz and Caitlin for their unyielding help and patience with me during this drive. I couldn’t have hoped for better tempered, more cooperative, capable navigators. You two are the best. Seriously. Though we hadn’t eaten since midday and we didn’t set foot in the hostel until after midnight, I passed on the meal they were setting out to find and was asleep seconds after my head hit the pillow.
Unfortunately, we had to return the car first thing in the morning, so we were up at 7am and were able to return the car without hassle before finding public transport back to the hostel where we crashed again until 1pm when we finally roused ourselves out of bed. Pizza as first on our list of to-dos was the Napoli pizza place we’d passed on the way back, and I’m glad we did. We had more incredible bruschetta in addition to the best pizza I’ve ever had. We sipped a beer with our meal, and had a few waiters checking on us through our meal, only one of whom spoke a little English. The ordering process had been a lot of pointing and gesturing.
When we finished, a few of the waiters came back and after trying to communicate unsuccessfully, came back with the English-speaking server. Then, they invited us to come back to the restaurant when they closed to go out with them. We accepted. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the city and saw the Duomo, the large cathedral in the center of town. Since it was our last day in the city, we also had more gelato, which may have been the best gelato I’d had all week, which was saying something.
We wandered around the shops for a while, and found an impressive makeup store, where we spent the rest of our evening until we headed back to the hostel to get ready. Caitlin has a friend who’s working as an au pair in the city, so we met her for a bruschetta dinner and some really good beer. As midnight drew closer, we made our way back to the hostel and the restaurant to meet the guys who took us to a bar near the restaurant before heading to a club where we danced. I became unbelievably excited when No Parlo Italiano came on, and had a great time dancing. Since we had to leave the hostel for the airport at 4:30am, we stayed out until close to then, popping back over to the hostel to collect our bags and change before checking out.
We made it onto the plane in plenty of time, and I was asleep before the plane took off, waking up only when it landed back in Marseille. Once back in Aix, I crashed until the early afternoon, recovering from one of the most hectic, culturally enriching, fun, and spontaneous weeks of my life in a country I’ve come to love. Had it not been for my camera, I would say that the trip was absolutely and completely without reason to complain, but even with that significant setback, it was an incredible vacation. Plus, now I speak just a little Italian, or at least to know how to say, “No parlo italiano.”
In the last month, a lot has happened, and I hope to get those posts wrapped up this weekend, outlining all the highlights and traveling including: visiting Matt and Graham in Toulouse, midterms (ew), Jenn and Brooke's visit from Cincinnati and our trips to Madrid and Paris, more schoolwork, Easter in Croatia, and moving my plane ticket home to May 29. Plans are in the works for the study recess in the UK, as well as a long weekend in Amsterdam and Brussels. Like I said, lots has been happening, but I'm hoping for some free-time after my presentation on Thursday. I'll be honest, I've been obsessed with finishing "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" series, so I've been less than useless since it's had its hold over me. Sorry for anyone that has put up with my lack of attention span over the last few weeks! Anywho, I hope you all had a lovely Easter, and I love and miss you all heaps!
Here and there,
Kiley
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