We got up this morning and hopped the bus and metro into the termini station. It looked all sunny and promising so we didn't take our rain gear. We went to the National Museum of Rome. Actually, there are at least 4 or 5 National Museums of Rome in Rome that cover various sections of time. The one we went to today covered the "antiquity" so there only art from BC to a few years AD. A large portion of the art was from Pompeii.
Incredibly, there were parts of walls to entire walls and some which were close to full rooms where they were able to "skin" the plaster artwork from the brick wall in usable shape and transfer it to walls which were then installed in lifesize rooms in the museum. After having been through Pompeii the other day and wondering what it must of looked like in it's heyday it was really cool to see the actual detailed paintings from the walls and mosaics from the floors. (There were many intact or close to intact mosaics.) The residents of Pompeii were obviously very artistic.
After the museum we went and had lunch near the museum. It was interrupted by a mad dash inside to escape the rain. Fortunately we were eating at an off time so the restaurant could accomodate us. We had lunch and dessert and I converted Jacob into a tiramisu fan. By that time the rain and quit and the sun and humidity were back out.
We hopped the metro two stops and went back and took some sunny photos at the colloseo including a couple to prove that both John and I were on this vacation together. LOL A nice American couple took a couple of family photos for us. Then we walked down into the part of the forum we missed. We still didn't get through all of it as it is HUGE and it was starting to look rainy again but we got some nice photos. Can't wait to get them all loaded to the website. So much better than putting them all onto slides and then inviting all your friends over and boring the crap out of them. LOL
Well, it's only 4:30pm but sadly we're back already. Time to pack up and get ready to head out in the morning. Gabriele has arranged to have a car service pick us up at 6:30am. (Ugh!) He will be here too to pick up the keys. We have to show him a couple of places where the roof is leaking too. He's taken over the rental business on this place since his brother Stephano had a motorcycle accident last July. Stephano is now a parapalegic and is still in between the hospital and rehab. They're both very nice though.
Gotta run but the next time I write, I will probably be "Back Home Again, In Indiana."
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Hey lady- you buy an umbrella? Cheap!
Yeah, real cheap. LOL the price depended on how far you were from the entrance to the site and how hard it was raining. Yesterday when it was dumping and we were standing outside St. Peter's umbrellas went for 16 euros for the little folding ones you can get for $5 or less. When it was lightly sprinking and we were just around the corner from the gate they were 5 euros. Both days the men selling them were about every 5 steps every time it would rain. The kids who were dubious about those LL Bean Tek jackets they got for Christmas were pretty darned happy they had them the last couple of days. Happily the forecast for tomorrow is only 20% chance of rain.
The good news is that we got ALOT accomplished today in between showers. We started out with the Pantheon. Of all the things we've seen on this trip it has been my favorite. Just to think that the Romans were able to construct something so massive between 27 and 25 BC that is A) beautiful beyond belief and B) still standing in 2008 is just unimaginable. It has been "catholicized" of course and has several frescos, paintings and inportant religious statues. That's what saved it from being torn down by the barbarians or melted down and recycled over the years. However, you can still see all the fabulous marble work that has many colors. Much of it came up from Egypt (I think at the time of Mark Anthony if I interpreted correctly.)
The dome is huge and was not replicated in size until St Peter's Basilica some 1500 years later. It has a hole in the center to let in light and, of course, on days like today rain. Watching the rain fall in from the sky was an indescribable experience. I wish you could catch it on film but of course, you just can't. They chain off a large section of the middle of the floor where it's wet but around the edges it's still very dry. You'd think that the floor would be a mess in the middle but it seems to be fine. Jacob and I got a good laugh though. The chain is attached to the backs of the pews (they still conduct mass every Saturday night and Sunday morning) and a few of the back pews were very wet. We decided that the pennance for being late to mass on rainy days was having to sit on the "rain" pews.
When we came out of the Pantheon we hit a McDonalds that was on the square there. The kids and John were having DT's for something besides pasta or pizza. Then we took the bus back to the Metro stop and had to make a choice. The Colloseo, Pallatine and Forum were RIGHT THERE or we could take the metro on to a museum and be inside. We had been told that a large portion of the Colloseo was inside so we went for it. Those people were with a tour and apparently never got outside. Poor them. Fortunately it didn't rain because very little of what there is to see is under cover. there are places to duck in but we only needed to do so once. By the time we headed over to the pallatine and forum it was sunny and we took our jackets off for a while.
After those we walked up the street and had dinner in a little restaurant overlooking the Colloseo. It was very good. The portions were huge though and most of us ended up bringing food home. We'll finish them up tomorrow evening or later tonight. I was a little confused though because my risotto with pumpkin actually was zucchini. LOL Ahh translation issues.
Well I'm off to go figure out our last day's agenda. So much to do and yet so little time. The weather has kept us from getting to so much. Hard to just get off the metro and just walk around when it's dumping rain and cold.
The good news is that we got ALOT accomplished today in between showers. We started out with the Pantheon. Of all the things we've seen on this trip it has been my favorite. Just to think that the Romans were able to construct something so massive between 27 and 25 BC that is A) beautiful beyond belief and B) still standing in 2008 is just unimaginable. It has been "catholicized" of course and has several frescos, paintings and inportant religious statues. That's what saved it from being torn down by the barbarians or melted down and recycled over the years. However, you can still see all the fabulous marble work that has many colors. Much of it came up from Egypt (I think at the time of Mark Anthony if I interpreted correctly.)
The dome is huge and was not replicated in size until St Peter's Basilica some 1500 years later. It has a hole in the center to let in light and, of course, on days like today rain. Watching the rain fall in from the sky was an indescribable experience. I wish you could catch it on film but of course, you just can't. They chain off a large section of the middle of the floor where it's wet but around the edges it's still very dry. You'd think that the floor would be a mess in the middle but it seems to be fine. Jacob and I got a good laugh though. The chain is attached to the backs of the pews (they still conduct mass every Saturday night and Sunday morning) and a few of the back pews were very wet. We decided that the pennance for being late to mass on rainy days was having to sit on the "rain" pews.
When we came out of the Pantheon we hit a McDonalds that was on the square there. The kids and John were having DT's for something besides pasta or pizza. Then we took the bus back to the Metro stop and had to make a choice. The Colloseo, Pallatine and Forum were RIGHT THERE or we could take the metro on to a museum and be inside. We had been told that a large portion of the Colloseo was inside so we went for it. Those people were with a tour and apparently never got outside. Poor them. Fortunately it didn't rain because very little of what there is to see is under cover. there are places to duck in but we only needed to do so once. By the time we headed over to the pallatine and forum it was sunny and we took our jackets off for a while.
After those we walked up the street and had dinner in a little restaurant overlooking the Colloseo. It was very good. The portions were huge though and most of us ended up bringing food home. We'll finish them up tomorrow evening or later tonight. I was a little confused though because my risotto with pumpkin actually was zucchini. LOL Ahh translation issues.
Well I'm off to go figure out our last day's agenda. So much to do and yet so little time. The weather has kept us from getting to so much. Hard to just get off the metro and just walk around when it's dumping rain and cold.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
I left Ireland because of weather like this!
That was the quote from our guide today when she was telling us that it NEVER rains this much in Rome. LOL Cold and Cruddy is the only way to describe it. I wanted so much to spend a couple of hours puttering around St Peter's square but you just couldn't. Light rain was broken only by sudden downpours. The complex is huge and there's so much to take in.
We walked through all the galleries of Greek and Roman art that the church has collected. Most of them are copies done in marble some time in the second century AD of bronze work that was done in the first century AD which were long ago melted down. Funny that they are replicas but still almost 2000 years old. There is a huge thing in one room that looks like it should be a table that would take up an entire room and a large one at that. It's made from an "extinct" mineral and was for some emporer, I forget which one and is actually a birdbath, they think. I'd hate to fill that sucker.
The Sistine Chapel was .... I dunno. Not sure what I expected I guess. They always show the painting of Adam touching the finger of God by itself as though it's this grand thing so I expected it to be featured and large in the middle of the ceiling. It's not though. It's just the same size as the other panels on the ceiling. Wasn't expecting that. It's still a beautiful ceiling and I can't imagine spending 4 years standing on a scaffold, looking up. They said that Michaelangelo and fused vertebra in his neck after doing that ceiling and another. My favorite in the room was actually the Last Judgement. It was much more dramatic. I felt sorry for the guys who spend all day going "Shh, No Photo!" though. What a boring and stinking job.
After the Chapel we went over to the Basilica and toured it. The scope and scale of it are just amazing. Letters that look 18 inches or so tall are actually 7 feet tall but are just that high up. The bronze pulpit from which only the pope can give mass is just huge. How they got it from where Barbarini stole it (and he did) to the Vatican I'll never know. We didn't get to see a section of the basilica because the were holding mass at that time but we did get through most of it. I am not sure if any of the pictures came out because we weren't supposed to use flash inside anywhere. I'm looking for postcards or a good book of the sistine chapel and the basilica but haven't found one yet. Nippon paid for the cleaning of the chapel and has exclusive rights to all photos. It's interesting. They left two squares alone on the wall so you could see what they looked like before cleaning with the, what 500 years of candle smoke built up on them. When they cleaned them they found so many details that they didn't know existed. It's such a big difference.
Oh, also in St Peter's there's a concrete door, one of 4 holy doors in the city. Did you know about these? I had never heard about this. Apparently every 25 years on Dec 24 at midnight the pope breaks through the concrete sacred door that has a big iron cross on it starting at St Peter's and then goes on to do the same at the other 3 churches. Something about ridding the world of sin. So we know what the Pope will be doing on instead of waiting for Santa Claus in 2025.
Other interesting stuff about the Vatican. It has one of the world's most priceless collections of art. Most of the Greek and Roman stuff has been, ummm, altered though by some extra pious pope in the Renaissance days who had all the statues neutered and a figleaf placed strategically. The tour guides said that the joke is that there's a box of parts somewhere in a vault under the vatican.
Around the Vatican are tons of shops with a host of what I personally would consider to be "stuff" for lack of a better word. If you want anykind of crucifix or rosary bead or prayer card you can certainly find it. Also, some moderately demonic looking photos of the new pope and loads of tributes to JP2.
We walked through all the galleries of Greek and Roman art that the church has collected. Most of them are copies done in marble some time in the second century AD of bronze work that was done in the first century AD which were long ago melted down. Funny that they are replicas but still almost 2000 years old. There is a huge thing in one room that looks like it should be a table that would take up an entire room and a large one at that. It's made from an "extinct" mineral and was for some emporer, I forget which one and is actually a birdbath, they think. I'd hate to fill that sucker.
The Sistine Chapel was .... I dunno. Not sure what I expected I guess. They always show the painting of Adam touching the finger of God by itself as though it's this grand thing so I expected it to be featured and large in the middle of the ceiling. It's not though. It's just the same size as the other panels on the ceiling. Wasn't expecting that. It's still a beautiful ceiling and I can't imagine spending 4 years standing on a scaffold, looking up. They said that Michaelangelo and fused vertebra in his neck after doing that ceiling and another. My favorite in the room was actually the Last Judgement. It was much more dramatic. I felt sorry for the guys who spend all day going "Shh, No Photo!" though. What a boring and stinking job.
After the Chapel we went over to the Basilica and toured it. The scope and scale of it are just amazing. Letters that look 18 inches or so tall are actually 7 feet tall but are just that high up. The bronze pulpit from which only the pope can give mass is just huge. How they got it from where Barbarini stole it (and he did) to the Vatican I'll never know. We didn't get to see a section of the basilica because the were holding mass at that time but we did get through most of it. I am not sure if any of the pictures came out because we weren't supposed to use flash inside anywhere. I'm looking for postcards or a good book of the sistine chapel and the basilica but haven't found one yet. Nippon paid for the cleaning of the chapel and has exclusive rights to all photos. It's interesting. They left two squares alone on the wall so you could see what they looked like before cleaning with the, what 500 years of candle smoke built up on them. When they cleaned them they found so many details that they didn't know existed. It's such a big difference.
Oh, also in St Peter's there's a concrete door, one of 4 holy doors in the city. Did you know about these? I had never heard about this. Apparently every 25 years on Dec 24 at midnight the pope breaks through the concrete sacred door that has a big iron cross on it starting at St Peter's and then goes on to do the same at the other 3 churches. Something about ridding the world of sin. So we know what the Pope will be doing on instead of waiting for Santa Claus in 2025.
Other interesting stuff about the Vatican. It has one of the world's most priceless collections of art. Most of the Greek and Roman stuff has been, ummm, altered though by some extra pious pope in the Renaissance days who had all the statues neutered and a figleaf placed strategically. The tour guides said that the joke is that there's a box of parts somewhere in a vault under the vatican.
Around the Vatican are tons of shops with a host of what I personally would consider to be "stuff" for lack of a better word. If you want anykind of crucifix or rosary bead or prayer card you can certainly find it. Also, some moderately demonic looking photos of the new pope and loads of tributes to JP2.
Monday, May 19, 2008
LONG DAY
Just a short post. I'll try to catch you all up on Pompeii tomorrow. As usual we tried to use the directions from Mapquest and got lost. It took us to the town of Pompeii which is on the north side of Vesuvius instead of the archeological site which is on the south face. It was after 2pm when we finally made it and then we ate before we went in. Some of the food was a little wierd, John's bacon on his sandwich was not cooked well, but I had linguini puttensesca which was probably the second best dish I've had here. Beck's gnocchi was good too. He inhaled it.
We toured about 1/3 of the site. It's HUGE. Then headed back towards Rome. We dropped everything by the house and then went to the airport (Fuimincino which John and I have given up trying to pronounce and just call it Fu Man Chu) to drop off the car. With the evening train schedule we just decided to grab a taxi back to the house and it ended up being cheaper than the trains anyway.
Anyway, I'll post about Pompeii and the Vatican tomorrow.
We toured about 1/3 of the site. It's HUGE. Then headed back towards Rome. We dropped everything by the house and then went to the airport (Fuimincino which John and I have given up trying to pronounce and just call it Fu Man Chu) to drop off the car. With the evening train schedule we just decided to grab a taxi back to the house and it ended up being cheaper than the trains anyway.
Anyway, I'll post about Pompeii and the Vatican tomorrow.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
First Day in Roma
Today started badly. It was raining like crazy this morning. In fact the weather reports for the entire week are 60% rain, 80% rain, 60% rain and 50% rain SO…. However, if it’s like today it rained in the morning and then cleared off beautifully by noon and was on the warm side in the afternoon and evening. Now it’s going on 6:30 and it’s gorgeous. We’re back at the apartment and since I have to write in Word and then copy into the blog, I’m sitting outside in the kids’ play area. Right now they’ve gone off to look at the donkeys which is nice because I can get in more than 2 words without an interruption. LOL
So far, our warnings about the water being off today have not held true for our part of the city or if they were, it was while we were gone and we weren’t bothered by it. We went to the Callisto Catacombs which happened to be the set of catacombs which were open on Sunday. They weren’t too far from our house and it only took us 20 minutes to get there. Finding things that are open on Sunday and Monday is entertaining. You definitely have to turn to the antiquities.
The catacombs were very interesting. Mostly now it’s a big hole in the ground with crypts carved out. There are still a lot of pieces of early carvings and paintings though and the occasional statue. Of course, you only get to explore a tiny bit of the known 33 acres worth of the complex. It’s at least 4 stories deep too. We had a really nice priest lead us through. I’m ASSUMING that most of the guides are priests although I really didn’t pay attention. All of the known Christian catacombs are owned and being explored and have been restored by the catholic church. The jewish ones are owned by the jewish community and he stated, no one has gone into the pagan ones. INTERESTING.
After the catacombs the boys were STARVING again, as usual, so we went for dinner even though it was a bit early. We decided that we couldn’t stand another pizza or pasta meal so we stopped at McDonald that was in a Servicio area beside the road. It’s official. McDonalds is dismal on this side of the world too. The only bright spot was that the servicio also had a pastry shop that served canoli that were very good. John didn’t like them but I did. Too much ricotta for him.
Yesterday we stopped in Orvieto on the way to Roma. Wow! I really want to go back there and spend the night and get a chance to really explore. The medieval duomo is more magnificent on the outside than the inside but both are something to behold. It was impossible to get a photo of the whole thing as usual and photos weren’t allowed inside. I picked up postcards Totally worth the drive and hike though.
We didn’t get to do anything other than the duomo. John fell on the stairs in Florence taking one of our big suitcases down. He whacked his little toe on one food and the suitcase landed on his ankle of the other foot. He was really limping so we didn’t walk too much. So Orvieto is on my TO DO list for next trip.
Tomorrow is supposed to be hideously rainy here but mostly sunny south and it’s the last day we’ll have the car so it’s off to Pompeii. Then on the way back we’ll swing by the airport and turn in the car. Then comes the challenge of getting back home. LOL Actually it’s pretty easy. Commuter train to the metro. Metro B to the terminal and the 797 Bus home. It comes right up to the apartment complex behind us and then we just take a little goat (ok here it’s a donkey) path to the house. On Tuesday morning we’ll reverse that only skip the commuter train and take the Metro A after B to get to the Vatican for our tour. At first we were told that the 797 bus only came every 55 minutes but John and I went up to the apartment complex this morning to let the kids play in the park. We were there 45 minutes and the 797 bus came in twice about 25 minutes apart and that was on a Sunday. The sign shows it running on the 30’s which is a much better schedule.
It isn’t convenient being out this far. We certainly would have crammed more into today if we had been downtown. However, it’s been kind of nice to have a down day and the kids are enjoying being out here even if it still isn’t like home. We still have to share everything with 7 other families.
I still hope to get through the collosseum, forum, Spanish steps and several other things over the three days we have left after Pompeii.
So far, our warnings about the water being off today have not held true for our part of the city or if they were, it was while we were gone and we weren’t bothered by it. We went to the Callisto Catacombs which happened to be the set of catacombs which were open on Sunday. They weren’t too far from our house and it only took us 20 minutes to get there. Finding things that are open on Sunday and Monday is entertaining. You definitely have to turn to the antiquities.
The catacombs were very interesting. Mostly now it’s a big hole in the ground with crypts carved out. There are still a lot of pieces of early carvings and paintings though and the occasional statue. Of course, you only get to explore a tiny bit of the known 33 acres worth of the complex. It’s at least 4 stories deep too. We had a really nice priest lead us through. I’m ASSUMING that most of the guides are priests although I really didn’t pay attention. All of the known Christian catacombs are owned and being explored and have been restored by the catholic church. The jewish ones are owned by the jewish community and he stated, no one has gone into the pagan ones. INTERESTING.
After the catacombs the boys were STARVING again, as usual, so we went for dinner even though it was a bit early. We decided that we couldn’t stand another pizza or pasta meal so we stopped at McDonald that was in a Servicio area beside the road. It’s official. McDonalds is dismal on this side of the world too. The only bright spot was that the servicio also had a pastry shop that served canoli that were very good. John didn’t like them but I did. Too much ricotta for him.
Yesterday we stopped in Orvieto on the way to Roma. Wow! I really want to go back there and spend the night and get a chance to really explore. The medieval duomo is more magnificent on the outside than the inside but both are something to behold. It was impossible to get a photo of the whole thing as usual and photos weren’t allowed inside. I picked up postcards Totally worth the drive and hike though.
We didn’t get to do anything other than the duomo. John fell on the stairs in Florence taking one of our big suitcases down. He whacked his little toe on one food and the suitcase landed on his ankle of the other foot. He was really limping so we didn’t walk too much. So Orvieto is on my TO DO list for next trip.
Tomorrow is supposed to be hideously rainy here but mostly sunny south and it’s the last day we’ll have the car so it’s off to Pompeii. Then on the way back we’ll swing by the airport and turn in the car. Then comes the challenge of getting back home. LOL Actually it’s pretty easy. Commuter train to the metro. Metro B to the terminal and the 797 Bus home. It comes right up to the apartment complex behind us and then we just take a little goat (ok here it’s a donkey) path to the house. On Tuesday morning we’ll reverse that only skip the commuter train and take the Metro A after B to get to the Vatican for our tour. At first we were told that the 797 bus only came every 55 minutes but John and I went up to the apartment complex this morning to let the kids play in the park. We were there 45 minutes and the 797 bus came in twice about 25 minutes apart and that was on a Sunday. The sign shows it running on the 30’s which is a much better schedule.
It isn’t convenient being out this far. We certainly would have crammed more into today if we had been downtown. However, it’s been kind of nice to have a down day and the kids are enjoying being out here even if it still isn’t like home. We still have to share everything with 7 other families.
I still hope to get through the collosseum, forum, Spanish steps and several other things over the three days we have left after Pompeii.
Dial up!
going to keep this short for now. We have dial up! I'll write tonight in Word and then post our first Rome adventures to the blog but don't expect any more photos until we get back until we get home next weekend. We're waiting a bit longer to head out to the Catacombs this afternoon. It was raining alot this morning but the sun is out now. Tomorrow we're heading down to Pompeii and then turning in the car. Then it's public transportation for us. We're out a ways so that could be interesting but it's a nice area. My only issue with this house is that it has a terrifying open stairway. Otherwise there's a yard for the kids with pay equipment, dogs, cats and donkeys. Now if only it would quit raining.
Talk to you after the catacombs.
Talk to you after the catacombs.
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