Rome, Italy: November 6-10
Of course one can’t visit Rome without taking a day trip to the Vatican. It would be sinful. After checking the Coliseum off my life list of things to do, we headed out in the rain towards the holiest city on earth. Once we reached the Vatican we qued up in line for St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest Catholic church in the world and the epitome of Catholicism. We waited in line in the drizzle rain to enter the Basilica. We got through security but just kidding. We didn’t make it actually inside the Basilica. Without knowing we took a wrong turn (a simple mistake) and ended up in the catacombs (which were interesting). Among us were many if not all the tombs of the some two hundred Popes and leaders of the Catholic Church. But once we were out of the tombs we weren’t allowed to go back the other way towards the Basilica. I was ready to throw up my hands and start saying obscenities because of the lack of signs directing visitors towards each destination. But I didn’t because I think that would have been wildly inappropriate.
We decided to let the Vatican defeat us during that round, but after visiting the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel, we would return for round two. We walked back out the street, by this time it was beginning to rain a little harder (just enough for every street vendor to ask me four times if I wanted to buy one of their crappy umbrellas to which I had shrinking patience for). Of course by this time the line
for the museum stretched a few blocks and wound down the street. In the rain we roughly waited about an hour and half to get inside the museum and chapel. Finally after much shivering and complaining (on my end) we were in. But we still had awhile to go until we reached the main destination—Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel with the elaborate ceiling paining of the creation of man. It took awhile because of course with the Catholic Church nothing is easy and simple. We were required to walk what felt like miles towards the Sistine Chapel and after passing multiple look alikes, we were below one of the most famous ceilings in the world. To say the least, the Sistine chapel is magnificent. Michelangelo without at doubt was one of the most creative individuals to have ever walked the earth. The detail and imagery that is involved in the embellished ceiling is almost enough to turn a nonreligious person into a devout Catholic. Afterwards we looked around the Vatican museum and a few of the exhibits.
We were then ready to try the Basilica again. This time, after waiting about twenty minutes, we turned left. It was worth going back for. The Basilica is enormous and extravagant. I can’t even fathom the amount of money put into the heart that holds Catholicism. It makes one wonder how everything works but that is an entirely different subject. For once I was going to let myself be ignorant and just marvel at the beauty of the structure, architecture, and artwork. Inside we saw the Pietà statue of Mary holding Jesus (again done by Michaelangelo). The Basicilca also holds the statue of St. Peter in which it is traditional to rub his feet. The feet of the statue are so worn down that they are smooth and the toes make a now club foot. It was humorous to watch people pretend to be thoughtful and run their hands along the foot and then have their picture taken by another person. My mom and I laughed at the hierocracy of the situation as the guard ushered people away from the holy symbol.
Now that we had seen everything at the Vatican except for the Pope, we went back to the real world. That night we decided to take our religious leader (our patron saint of travel) Rick Steves advice on dinner. He led us to a “classy villa” called La Gallina Bianca. The food was above par and certainly better than what we previously had.
On our last full day the rain was on and off like a faucet. One moment it would appear to 
have stopped and then it would turn into a strong down pour. For some reason, I believe that Rome was almost more beautiful in the rain. It was as if it almost washed away the filth and cleansed the city. But I was determined to not buy a cheap umbrella from the hassling street walkers. After ducking into a few corridors to shield us from the rain and then going practically in circles on the public transit system, we arrived at our destination—the Pantheon. One nice thing I have to say about all the religious Catholic churches in Rome is that they are free. The Pantheon is the oldest Catholic Church in Rome and also houses the graves of two Roman kings and the famous artist Raphael. Although elaborate in its own way, the Pantheon is nowhere near the size or exuberance of St. Peter’s. But the ceiling with a giant hole in the center is awe worthy. Again, I am astonished by the minds behind the building of such places. Never do I think I could be as wonderfully unique as those who thought to create such masterpiece structures.
Again we followed the advice of our guidebook and ate at a restaurant behind the Pantheon called “Miscellanea.” Finally we had excellent Italian food (of course it was on our last day). Not only was the food good but the atmosphere was welcoming and fun. I had an actually tasty pizza while my mom had some type of pasta concoction. Both were excellent. The service was great too as well as the prices. Our waiter, who Rick Steves mentions in his book, was a sweet young guy who on seeing the Best of Europe book on the table gave us a sample of the homemade and delicious “sexy wine” (concocted from berries; very sweet and very tasty).
Although our bellies were full, we had to stop at the supposedly world famous (and obviously mentioned in The Book; not the bible, the guidebook), Gelateria Caffe Pasticceria Giolitti. The Giolitti was appealing and had an assortment of mouthwatering pastries, but we had come for the gelato. I ordered my favorite pistachio of course and my mom got chocolate. They were both good, but again, it actually wasn’t the best. The creamy gelato was satisfying though and I am glad to say I tried it.
As a parting with Rome we went back to finish up the rest of the National Museum, where we had originally started our trip with the friendly museum guide. We were glad to see him again and to explain all the wonderful sites we’d seen. On our last night we also revisited the Trevi fountain. At night the fountain is magnificent. The lights around the edge highlight the large statues and details that surround the water. Of course we followed the tradition of tossing in a few coins into the fountain. I watched them sink to the bottom and that was the last of Rome for me.
We departed Rome the next morning and although it was a historical and sometimes humorous adventure, I was glad we were heading to our last destination, Berlin. I had had it with the umbrella pushers.
