Walking with Caesar: Roma

Okay, so Caesar was not actually there. Maybe his spirit was there, roaming the Forum or chilling the Colosseum. I at least walked where Caesar walked, assuming that Caesar walked EVERYWHERE, including miles and miles in the Vatican museums. Actually, he definitely did not do that. Caesar had it made.

Our group trip to Rome was a fun, busy, and incredibly tiring two days. We began by meeting at our favorite little column in our favorite little piazza at the ungodly hour of 7:30. Never again. The bus ride was about three hours punctuated by a stop an an Autogrille. For those of you who don't know, the Italians totally have us beat with their rest stops. They are really big, have an espresso bar, pastries, panini, dried pasta, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and candy among many other edible goodies. It's about as fun as a rest stop could be, I guess.

Our hotel was not much to speak of. Our room smelled a lot like the bathroom, but the view was pretty. What were we going to do? FSU paid for this one. Actually, Mom and Dad gave FSU the money to pay for this one. Go beat them up, Daddy!

We had a nice afternoon. The weather was so beautiful--drier and clearer than Florence. I also had mostly carb-less lunch at a really great salad place. I tried the honey salad (insalata miele) which was of course a bit sweet but really delicious.

We didn't have much free time because as soon as 4:00 rolled around it was time to begin touring the Roman ruins. The first stop for the afternoon was the Colosseum and I cannot tell you how many times I heard Gladiator references from my fellow classmates. Even Linda spared us many of the details of what happened in the Colosseum saying, "I'm sure you're all familiar with the Ridley Scott film so I don't think I need to go into any detail on this point." One person was upset that they forgot their ipod because they wanted to watch scenes from the movie while they were in the Colosseum. I have nothing against that movie, but please.

There were a few interesting things that we did learn about. Obviously the Colosseum was the site of innumerable murders of thousands of human beings, but it was also the site of mass slaughterings of animals (calm down, I'm not going all PETA on you. People are more important than animals). According to some scholars tigers existed in North Africa but the population disappeared because the Romans exported so many to Rome for the games. Also, a few years ago, archaeologists found a sealed off room that was so stuffed with animal carcasses from the games that they had not decomposed even though they were over two thousand years old. Disgusting.

It was really incredible to be back inside the Colosseum. I just had to remind my self to realize how old it was. I know that sounds stupid, but I take stuff like that for granted. It has survived not only years of use, but also the elements, including earthquakes. Still, there it stands, impressive even in half its former glory.

The rest of the afternoon was spend in the Forum and the Pantheon. I hate to say that they were your "standard Roman ruins," but they basically were. It's the inevitability of Italy: after a while, all the ancient temples, all the churches, and all the pictures of the Madonna and Child begin to look the same. However, I was very excited to see the Pantheon again. That is just one building I will never get over. It's just so impressive, so perfect, and so... solid. One new thing I learned about it: Raphael is buried there. I saw his tomb. I don't usually call dead bodies exciting but it was Raphael!

Towards the end of our tour we were really beginning to fade so the ruins are a bit of a blur. We did have a wonderful afternoon pick me up in the form of caffe granita con panna. It's an espresso granita (frozen espresso--really, really strong) layered with delicious whipped cream. Mmmm I want another one.

The evening consisted of a much-anticipated group meal, the highlight of which was definitely the fried food platter. Fried buffalo mozzarella shames every mozzarella stick in the world. Many people were disappointed with the fruit cup dessert, but we consoled ourselves with a Nutella crepe by the Trevi Fountain.

The next day was our day in the Vatican Museums and the Catacombs. Talk about a long day. We were in good spirits in the beginning of the day: the crowds were not too bad and we were able to see so many classics including the Sistine Ceiling. Even though it was crowded and far too noisy for such a sacred place, it was breathtaking. I could have spent hours just staring up at the monument of Michelangelo. It is clearly a painting by a sculptor. The figures leap out with color, dynamism, and shear volumetric form.

The day went a bit downhill after that because we could not find the freaking School of Athens. Of course, the irony is that we were about ten feet away from it when we turned around, saying
"That corner of that fresco is definitely not it. Let's go look." I was also sufficiently embarrassed when a less than cheerful guard asked us if we were lost. When I asked him where the Vatican library was he said smugly, "You're in it." So I gave him a look and asked "Then where is Raphael?" I would have added an exasperated minor expletive had we not been in the Vatican. Just thinking of it made me feel unholy.

We finally found the School of Athens, just as impressive as (though smaller than) I expected. We promptly left the Vatican Museums and headed over to St. Peters. It was really cool because it was still decorated for Christmas. There was a huge Christmas tree in the center of the square and a the coolest nativity scene I have ever laid eyes on inside the cathedral. It had a working water wheel and fiber optic lights for starters. Also, in a side chapel there was a wedding! I caught site of this older couple that, from the looks of the woman's all fur dress, was incredibly wealthy. After all, they were getting married in St. Peter's.

After finishing the Vatican we had a lot of time to wander around Rome which felt like more of a burden than an opportunity. We were just so tired and grumpy and all we kept saying was "I wish we were in Florence. I miss Florence." Now Rome is really incredible and its beautiful piazze definitely beat Florence's few and less impressive ones, but I love Florence so much more. Rome is a city--it's loud, crowded, even a little scary at times. It doesn't have the grace and the calm of Florence which, as I was reading in a travel guide, is really a provincial town in disguise. Rome is a bit dirtier, a bit grimier. Florence is classy. Coming home to our dear Firenze was such a joy.

However, one more thing stood in the way of our adopted hometown: the Catacombs. The Catacombs are a series of early Christian tombs just outside of the main city in Rome. There are 150,000 tombs throughout four levels of tunnels. Many of the tombs haven't even been opened yet. This sounds incredibly cool, I know.

I HATED IT. HATED IT. It was dark and cramped and I just kept on having these horrible visions of getting lost from the tour group or the lights going out, panic ensuing, or whatever. All of these horrible scenarios ended in my lonely death in those awful, dirty tombs. I tried very hard to think about the amazing testament that this place was to the faith of so many brothers and sisters in Christ. However true this was it did little to calm claustrophobic, paranoid me. The farther down we went the thinner the air got and soon it started to get a little harder to breathe. The only thing that calmed me down was when my friend Shelby turned around and said "This reminds me of Zoolander, the part when he's in the coal mines." The memory of Ben Stiller and happy, stupid American movies helped a bit.

So, I have another moment to add to my list of blissfully happy moments: that breath of fresh air when I finally got out of those terrifying tombs.