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On to Roma (Rome), Italy - October 26-28, 2005
Our vacation began with Bob, myself and Al (Bob's dad) departing Ukiah at 6am to catch an 11am Continental Airlines flight from San Francisco to Newark, New Jersey. Traffic was a heavier than usual and we managed to finish checking in at the airport with about 20 minutes to spare. With frazzled nerves and huge sense of relief, we waited to board our flight - which then was late. Other than being packed like sardines, the flight was uneventful. We arrived in Newark around 9pm (Eastern) which made our wait for our connecting flight to Rome very short. We boarded the Boeing 762 around 9:45pm and were happy to find the plane nearly empty of passengers. Economy has a 2 seat-aisle-3 seat-aisle-2 seat configuration and with the light passenger load, most of the 3-seat combinations became makeshift beds. We arrived in a surprisingly muggy Rome the next day around 12:30pm (local) well-rested.
The first week of our two-week vacation was to be spent with a tour group run by Globus, on their Italy's Great Cities tour. We were met by a Globus representative and were ushered to our 50-passenger tour bus. A short drive from the airport to our hotel, the Albani, gave us great views of the surrounding countryside. We had a couple of hours to get settled, so we decided to just rest in our room. Double beds are a rarity in Europe, so Bob and I settled on our individual twin beds, each with a good book. Later in the afternoon, we met with the out tour guide, Giam Paolo (or John Paul - the Americanized version), and the rest of the tour group to go over the itinerary, the optional excursions and some tips for touring Italy before we left for our welcome dinner. Wisest pieces of advice we were given were, leave your American expectations at home - you're in Italy, not in the States - and do as the Italians do.
Well, we did right off the bat with a late dinner (the tour dinners were usually scheduled for around 6-7pm, most Italians dine around 9!). While we dined on the a typical multi-coursed Italian dinner, we were entertained by one of Europe's premiere flutists and his guitar accompaniment.
American-Italian food in no way compares to authentic Italian cuisine. Our first dinner consisted of melon with prosciutto and bruschetta as the antipasti, or appetizers; the primo piattos, or first plates, were two different pastas; the secondo pitattos, or main course, was pork, roasted potatoes and green salad (insalata mista) with olive oil and wine vinegar to dress it with; and ended with a gelato (Italian ice cream) with fruit for dessert. And of course, there was no shortage of wine!
Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel
We began our tour of Rome the next day at the Vatican City, which is the world's smallest county located within the city of Rome. First was the Mvsei Vaticani, or Vatican Museum. Italy has around 65% of the world's art collection, much of it housed here. The Gallery of Maps was fascinating, in which various maps depict the geography and cartography of the 16th century. Next is a light-controlled hall displaying thousands-of-years-old tapestries, but more incredible is the ceiling. The ceiling 'tiles' appear carved, but are in fact, painted to appear three-dimensional.
Also to be found in the museum are Egyptian artifacts, sculptures, paintings, and of course, Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel (picture copyright ATS ITALIA EDITRICE). Photography inside the chapel is not allowed, nor is talking, as the museum staff and guards are quick to remind. When you consider the history - Michelangelo's four years painting it (1509-1512), and the more recent history with the election of Pope Benedict XVI - with it being the very room in which the cardinals'conclave was held, it is even more breath-taking, awe-inspiring and humbling. It really puts perspective on the word 'historic'.
St. Peter's Square and Bascilica
We exited the Sistine Chapel, walking down the very steps the papal Conclave used to enter St. Peter's Square to announce Pope Benedict XVI's election. St. Peter's Square, or Piazza San Pietro, is anchored by St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the world and the home of the Catholic Church. The basilica is the final resting place for many former popes, including Pope John Paul II. Pictures cannot convey how vast the building is, nor how revered.
The Vatican is guarded by members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, Vatican City's army. Only Swiss, unmarried, Roman Catholic males, between the ages of 19 and 30, with military school backgrounds, and who pledge a solemn oath of loyalty to the pope, are eligible to serve. They have to have an amazing amount of dedication to wear those uniforms!
The Roman Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine
The day continued with a short bus ride across the Tiber River to the Roman Colosseum. Amazingly, it was built around 72-80 A.D. and still stands today. It could seat 50,000 (!) spectators for events such as combat between gladiators, criminals and/or wild animals (or any combination thereof). It is not difficult to imagine such grandiose displays surrounded by thousands of cheering Romans. Sailors would unfurl immense clothes to provide sunscreens over the arena - a feat in itself!
Much of the center area of the Colosseum shows what was housed under the arena floor - cages and cells, tunnels, and spots where elevators were used to bring in the animals.
Just outside of the Colosseum stands the Arch of Constantine. Emporer Constantine dedicated it to remind the Roman people of his armies' triumph over co-Emporer Maxentius in 312 AD. What's interesting about this arch, is that it was not constructed from scratch for this purpose, but was 'made over' with portions of other arches, monuments and sculptures. Constantine was said to have had a 'divine vision' prior to battle and was later attibuted with legalizing Christianity.
A stroll through Rome
Our afternoon excursion, the 'Roman Highlights and Dinner' took us down the Spanish Steps to a substantial shopping district with shops from all the big name designers. A typical Roman street is full of lots of small (tiny!) cars, folks on scooters and foot traffic. Which when you consider the streets were built two millenia ago, they are faring rather well, though it can be a bit overwhelming.
The walk took us past the Parliment and to the Pantheon. The Pantheon was Europe's largest domed building until the Renaissance and was amazingly built around 125 A.D. The dome's center is open, the building's main light source and must be interesting to see during rainstorms. Thousands of years later, the Pantheon is still used as a place of worship.
Our stroll led us to the Piazza Navona. Once home to chariot races, it has become somewhat of an artists' colony. In the evening hours, many artists set up easels and tents to create and display their works. The square itself also is home to Bernini's Fountain of Rivers, though I was more taken with the Fontana di Nettuno, or Fountain of Neptune.
Dinner ar the Tanagra
The tour ended with dinner at the Tanagra Restaurant which features opera singers during your meal. Our emcee, pictured below left in the rose-colored dinner jacket, spoke fluent Italian, English and Japanese and moved from one language to another flawlessly. The opera singers were extremely talented and very entertaining. Al, my father-in-law, learned first-hand how entertaining opera could be when one of the sopranos, in the part of the gypsy, performed the piece Habanera from Bizet's opera Carmen. Her character, in search of yet another man, tested Al's lap in his audition.
