To Rome

Sorry, we didn't have internet last night

We are both so exhausted tonight. It's only 9:30, but we are ready for bed. I still want to write while everything is fresh in my mind. Tomorrow will be a long day and I know I won't remember everything that happened today.

We woke up around 8 and got ready quickly. I had just enough time to call my parents before our train left at 9:18am. It was late in Phoenix, after 11pm, but I knew my parents would be happy that I called anyways. It was nice to talk to them and hear about my mom's new job. It's hard to believe I haven't talked to them in over 3 weeks.

The train ride was only 90 minutes and it went very quickly. When we arrived in Rome, we had to take the metro and then walk a couple blocks to our hostel. We found it pretty quickly. Though it was before noon, our room was already cleaned and ready for us. Once again, we got lucky! We have a room with a bathroom despite paying a discounted rate for no private bathroom. The hostel is colorful (as its name suggests) and very fun. There is a kitchen for us to use on our floor. The hostel is very near Vatican City. We decided to leave Vatican City for a day when we had more time to devote. So we walked across the river to the Pantheon. I think it is so exciting when you turn the corner from a narrow alleyway into a plaza and see a great monument or huge cathedral. It is such a great feeling. Today, seeing the Pantheon, I definitely got that feeling. When you see it, you know that it's the Pantheon without seeing a sign or anything. The crowds of tourists kind of help give it away.

There was no line and no entrance fee for once, so we just walked right in. The first thing that struck me was the giant hole in the roof. They call it the "copula." That is the only source of light for the Pantheon. It was very dim inside except for a very bright circle on the floor where the sun shone through the hole. The inside was covered in different colored marble. There were sections around the center sectioned off like different chapels in a cathedral. The most exciting thing was Raphael's tomb. In the 19th century, the Pope ordered it exhumed to verify the validity of his body. It was indeed Raphael's body, so they put it back and there it is today. Daniel joked that it was the body of the ninja turtle Raphael. I couldn't believe that this structure has been here for over 2000 years! It was built around 27 B.C. and changed to its current circular form in 125 A.D.

Our Rome guide book had a page with a whole bunch of things to see right around the Pantheon. We followed their instructions and walked a block over to a nearby church. This church was called Santa Maria sopra Minerva. The outside was very plain looking, but the inside was gorgeous! It had the characteristic colored marble and frescoes. I really enjoyed the roof. It was bright blue with the gothic arches crossing over the knave (are you impressed with my cathedral vocabulary?). In each section was a different biblical character. Also notable in this church was a sculpture of Jesus Christ by Michaelangelo. Daniel noticed that there was an "after-market" cloth draped over his mid-section to hide certain male anatomy. It seems not everyone appreciates Michaelangelo's anatomical correctness.

Then we continued a few more blocks to Sant' Ignazio church. This one was notable for its frescoes. The roof of the knave was painted to look like buildings were extending up into the sky. The artist used perspective to make it look like the roof continued up further. It was sectioned off into Europe, America, Asia, and Africa. Each continent had characters rising up into Paradise. It was beautiful. Daniel and I stood right in the middle of the knave on a marble circle to look up and see the perspective perfectly.

Nearby was the Piazza Navona, a popular tourist square. There is one big fountain in the middle and two smaller fountains on either side. In between are tons of artists (presumably) selling their artwork. There were selling charicatures, portraits, landscapes, and duplicates of famous works. We enjoyed looking at all the different styles. Our guidebook also recommended getting some gelato at one of the cafes lining the piazza. At Tre Scalini we got a special kind of gelato called tortufo. It's chocolate gelato with pieces of chocolate in it and a cherry in the middle. There's also whipped cream on top. It was absolutely delicious and a wonderful way to beat the heat in Rome.

Then we walked across the river to Castel Saint'Angelo. As Daniel informed me, this structure was built around AD 150 to house the Pope. It was sort of a Palace for the Pope. This castle has been filled over the years with extravagant treasures reflecting the corrupt papacy. During the plague, Saint Angelo went to the top of the Castle and proclaimed that the plague would no longer affect Rome. And it came true! Nobody else died of the plague. So the castle was named after him. Now it is no longer the Pope's residence, of course, but a museum of sorts. Daniel and I were surprised at the cost, 9,50 euros each. But our book said it was one of those things "not to miss" in Rome, so we paid and went inside. The structure is like a giant circle with courtyards in the middle. We went round and round and round looking at artifacts. Some were really old, like the 1st century AD, and some were from the 19th century. Overall, we were very unimpressed and actually a bit bored. The only cool part was climbing to the very top to get an awesome 360 degree view of Rome. There are so many landmarks you can see from up there. It's like a history lesson identifying all of them.

We walked back towards Piazza Navona to go into a store that was mentioned in our book. All of the goods in the store are made by the monks and nuns. They had candy, chocolate, soap, cosmetics, honey, jam, and liqueur. I bought a set of 6 small jars of different kinds of honey, and two bottles of jam. Daniel of course bought some liqueur. It's chocolate and rum. Sounds good, I can't wait to try all of them.

We followed another recommendation from our book and walked to another piazza. It was really nothing special and kind of a waste of time. But at least we got to see some more narrow alleyways and really old buildings in Rome. We walked through the neighborhoods we spent the day exploring, past the Pantheon, past Piazza Navona, and ended up at Trevi Fountain. It was the same kind of feeling where you turn the corner, and there it is. This thing that you have heard so much about but never thought you would be standing in front of. It was SO much bigger than I thought. It was HUGE! And just crowded with people. We took a few pictures and then quickly went off to find a place to eat.

We were very hungry by this point. There are tons of restaurants around the fountain, so we had no problem. We have taken advantage of the "tourist" menu, which is a fixed price for a certain 3-course meal. Daniel got lasagna and veal, and I got spaghetti. We also each got half a bottle of water and a quarter liter of house white wine. And we each got a slice of cheesecake for dessert. It was pretty good food. The restaurant's atmosphere was very nice as well. There were frescoes covering the walls done in a modern style. It was cool to see modern art done in such an old style.

After dinner we went back to the fountain to watch the sun go down and the fountain light up. We got a good spot on a bench right down next to the fountain. It was so much fun to watch all the people come up and throw a coin in over their shoulder. We each threw our coin in to ensure our return to Rome. As it got darker, we asked a nearby tourist to take our picture in front of the fountain and made the long walk back to our hotel. By the time we got back it was about 9pm and we were so tired. We fit in so much in half a day! We checked many things off our "have to do" list.

Tomorrow we have an even longer day. Our train leaves at 7:25am and arrives in Naples at 8:45am. We don't leave to come back to Rome until 7pm. So it will be a very long day. We heard that there's tons to see at Pompeii, so I know we will be tired.