It’s been a whirlwind couple of months. As most of you know we made it back safe and sound to the States just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday and we haven’t really stopped since. The posts for our trip got a bit backlogged, put on hold, and needless to say I’ve gotten farther behind then I ever hoped to. My intention was to post these real-time but as you find out when you travel, often times what you plan or intend to do just doesn’t happen. But, I know a lot of you are still patiently waiting to hear and see how we finished off the last few months of our adventure so I am going to continue to post our photos and reflections as if we were still living it up with our suitcases in tow.
The next leg of our journey takes us to Italy. One of the many benefits of our EURail pass was that it included an overnight Superfast Ferry trip from Greece to Italy and of course we made sure to take advantage of that. I’ve been on ferries before but they were nothing like this. This was more like a mini cruse ship. My initial thought was that it was going to be open air, cold hard benches on a big open deck where everyone fought for a square of space and your only option for food was what you could salvage out of the vending machine. Now I’m not going to say this wasn’t the case for some which you’ll see later but in general it was much more luxurious than I ever imagined. I never really ever thought to associate the term ferry with luxury and comfort but this trip defiantly broadened my definition. This particular ferry came compete with private rooms, multiple restaurants and lounges, a shopping area, casino, a pool and even a disco!
Enjoying the beautiful view of Adriatic Sea from the deck.
The super saver way to travel was to just find a nice hard bench or piece of deck or hallway to lay out your bed roll and camp out for the duration of the trip. We spent lots of time stepping over folks camped out or sunbathing, mostly groups of high school or college kids, when trying to walk around on deck.
Some of the skilled and not so skilled ferry deck squatters
Rome
Upon our late arrival in Rome we boarded the metro and rode it all the way out to our hotel (that I did in fact choose) at the very end of the line. Once we finally checked into our room, we were greeted by our Roman mascots. I present to you, as I named them, Maximums and Thaddeus our Roman Polar Bears. Now don’t get me wrong. I loved Maximums and Thaddeus and while they added a kind of quirky flair that just couldn’t be beat, I can think of a hundred, no maybe a thousand, other things that I think I would hang in a room in Rome before a poster of a couple of polar bears. Hey, at least we had our own private bathroom and with that kind of luxury I didn’t really mind the bears (they kind of bothered Matt though)! Day one in Rome was spent exploring The Vatican. On the list of things to see: The Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica.
A few of the fun things we saw in The Vatican Museum: An exhibit of all the different pope mobiles (yes, that is my best impression of me with a pope hat) and a Vatican flag that has been to the moon.
After a long and winding maze through the whole Vatican Museum we finally made it to the Sistine Chapel. It took us forever to get there. You’d see a one sign and you’d think it’s just around the corner. You’d walk through more museum, up more stairs ,along a few more narrow corridors and then you’d run into another sign…just this way….you’ve almost made it. I mean it kind of felt like one of those old roadside attractions where after about a hundred signs you had to stop to see the crazy thing you’ve been slapped in the face with for the last 100 miles. And don’t get me wrong, the chapel is spectacular and breathtaking but I think it was more peaceful and serene at times on the the Italian metro than in there. When I think chapel, I think of a small, quiet place for reflection and prayer. This was not the case. There were so many people jam-packed into that room they had crowd control personnel pushing and shoving people through like cattle on megaphones screaming “silence” and “no photos” in about 10 different languages. At that point it became less of a sacred place of prayer and more of a room with another fancy painted ceiling. A ceiling, none-the-less that you could spend all day staring up at and still not fully take it all in. I went in thinking that the Adam and God painting was it. I thought it took up the whole ceiling…boy was I wrong. In fact, I had to look for it. I had no idea that it was just part of the whole smorgasbord of biblical scenes. I would have liked to have stayed there a bit longer but the people pushers finally weeded us out along with the rest of the herd.
The next stop was St. Peters Basilica. The grandeur of this church is unlike anything I’d seen before. The art that adorned every inch was jaw dropping. You could spend a lifetime in that church and still not see or appreciate the artistry and absolute beauty within its walls. I wasn’t even bothered by the people or the tour groups as there was no problem finding something to look at even if most were just walking by.Of course we made sure to weasel our way to the front of the crowded barrier to get a glimpse of the Pieta. Even with all the hype it still doesn’t disappoint in person. There is something about it that just pulls you into it. It is almost as if you can feel an emotion it portrays that seeps from from the stone it’s carved from. I’ve never seen a carving that looks so human. It is a masterpiece unlike any other.
My favorite part of St. Peter’s were all the stone mosaics. If you didn’t take the time to really look at them you’d blow right past it thinking, “Oh…that’s a nice painting.” Which I did for about the first half of our tour. But it makes it all that much more spectacular when you stop to notice that that wall size scene isn’t just paint but micro sized pieces of stone all laid out with perfect precision to create just the right shadows or expressions. I had to go back to the beginning and look at them all over again with a completely new perspective. I’ve always loved mosaics and tile work but this was beyond I ever imaged humanly possible. I couldn’t even fathom the time and diligence it took create all of them. And the best part was that being made out of stone they still held the brilliance and colors as if the artist had just finished laying it. Time had not faded their impact on me!
Climbing up to the top of the dome in St. Peters was a bit disorienting at times but boy was the view worth it
Looking out over St. Peter’s Square.
That’s what you call a suit! Matt made sure to take note of the spiffy duds of the Swiss Guard standing watch at the Vatican exit.Day two in Rome was spent exploring the Roman Forum, visiting the Colosseum, tossing coins in the Trevi Fountain and browsing art in the Piazza Navona.
Overall, I really was impressed by Rome. I came in with low expectations. I thought it was just going to be another big, busy, dirty city like Paris or London overrun by traffic with little character or charm. This was not the case at all. Much like my experience in Greece, this city lives it’s history. And yes, it is touristy and busy but charm and historical culture hasn’t been paved over or forgotten. It continues to live and grow together with the modernization of today. No matter where you look, you can find a glimpse of a whole society of stories lived once upon a time long, long ago. The whole city truly is an open air museum at its finest!
And people may say the Italians are rude…I say they have passion and heart! They may be loud and opinionated but when it comes down to it they make the best food. And that’s all that really matters!
Some of the sites from the Roman Forum.
Getting a glimpse of the substructure inside the Colosseum.
We made our way to Trevi Fountain to toss in a coin and make a wish. Apparently you are supposed to throw the coin with your right hand over your left shoulder with your back to the fountain to ensure a return trip to Rome. I later found out that throwing “One coin means you'll return to Rome; two, you'll return and fall in love; three, you'll return, find love, and marry.” Since we already have the love and marry part taken care of the fact that we only threw one coin worked out for us. Hopefully the shoulder you throw it over doesn’t play that big of a role as I’d love to go back someday.
The bustling art market at the Piazza Navona.
Of all the big cities we’ve been to so far I’d have to say that Rome is definitely up towards the top. It has no shortage of spectacular sites, history, and stories, it’s easily walkable, with fantastic food, and passionate people. What more could you ask for?
Hanging out at the little wooden toy shop trying not to have fun….(saying that, I think my nose just grew a bit)!
Pompeii
The next day we hopped a train to visit the preserved city of Pompeii. I didn’t quite know what to expect with Pompeii. I knew it was buried one day by a volcanic explosion but that was about it. Everyone had talked it up so I went in with open mind but deep down I kind of thought it was just going to be more ruins… I wrong again.
This whole site was completely unbelievable. It’s like you literally stepped back in time. The streets, buildings, paintings, tile floors are all still there. When you see the artifacts in a museum you kind of get an idea of what life was like back then but here you get to walk in their footsteps down the same streets. You can see the wall paintings where they were originally meant to be viewed standing in the same spot where these people used to look at them hundreds of years ago. It really put all the things we had been seeing throughout the museums into a community of real people.
When the ash cloud hit the city it preserved everything… even the people. You could see their expressions, their body language, even their clothes. I was fascinated by the fact that you could even see the detailing of their sandals. They just stopped… frozen in time at that very moment.
Even the food vendors street was the same as a tiled bar bistro. I could use a counter like this in my house.
Just a glimpse of the magnificently preserved wall paintings.
If you get a chance to visit Italy and you like history Pompeii is a must!
Spending a day in Pompeii with Mt. Vesuvius in the background
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