Roman Holiday

Rome was the first trip we went on, a chance to see something else in Europe, just as we were getting used to being in Austria. I for one wasn't really a fan of traveling. I am not saying we didn't have a good time. But I felt in a lurch the entire weekend. We had just figured out how to use the bus, where to eat, how to ask people for directions...now we were in an entirely different country where we didn't speak the language and we didn't know the culture. And the culture and mood of Italy is very different from that of Austria. In fact, that was our favorite part of the trip was being able to be loud and rowdy without attracting much attention. It was nice to be in a place where we didn't stand out as loud wacky Americans.

Rome was really different than I was expecting, mainly, it was dirtier. Italy as a whole is pretty dingy, especially compared to Salzburg with its social programs and its meticulous separating of trash and recyclables. Everything in Rome was covered in Graffiti. I was hoping it was just down near the train station, where things tend to be dingy in all cites, but the run-down creepiness didn't end there. Beggars and pan-handlers pepper the streets and harass you wherever you go. We were pretty much traumatized before going because of Phoebe's horror stories of Gypsy mothers pushing babies into your arms in order to rob you of your life's savings and passport. We didn't have any problems, but it kind of put us on edge.

We walked around the first day just getting the lay of the land, and we went to the Colosseum. We narrowly avoided paying for a private tour from a potentially creepy person just hanging out around outside the Colosseum offering to give tours to gullible tourists, and got in the crazy long line. It was very cold in the inside of the Colosseum and we all huddled together for warmth while waiting to get inside. It was beautiful inside, and the sunshine warmed us up right away. Even though we couldn't figure out where to stand for the audio tour, we still learned a lot about the construction of the building and about gladiators and all that jazz.

We saw lots of interesting stuff in Rome, and lots of interesting churches, but we hardly knew what anything we were looking at WAS. We didn't do any research before coming, and so if I hadn't learned about it in art history, I didn't know what I was looking at. Things were pretty beautiful though, the sun came out and everything glowed orange. One thing I loved about Rome was its beautiful sunsets.

The next day we went to the Vatican. Our entry to St. Peter's Basilica was put on hold because of Sebastian. Ever a eagle-scout, he decided it was a good idea to have a utility knife with him. Unfortunately, the Swiss guard did not agree. He had to stay outside.

St. Peter's was incredibly amazing and lavish. It put the Baroque churches in Salzburg which I was previously impressed by to shame. It was enormous, and overwhelmingly beautiful. There were elegant statues, beautiful domes and gold gold gold! Marigrace immediately dragged me over to look at the Pieta, wich was very moving. I walked around in silence for a long time, just gazing upward at all the carvings and frescoes.

We went to the Vatican Museum next, and Sebastian was able to rejoin the group. In the entry hall was a fake-out copy of the Laocoön. I was really disappointed with how small it was until we realized it was not real. The real one was much more satisfying, especially after how much I had studied it in Philosophy of Art.

We went to the Sistine Chapel wich is a part of the museum. There was no photography allowed, and you were supposed to not talk because it is a holy space. People were breaking all these rules and so guards and loudspeakers were yelling at them to behave. It was kind of a mood killer. The frescos were pretty impressive, but after seeing so many reproductions of them, it is weird to see them all together. The most impressive part was that the walls and the celling were totally bare of all decoration other than the paintings. It was all Trompe-l'oeil. The only problem with Trompe-l'oeil paintings is that they always look flatter in real life than they do in pictures, because when you move the illusion is broken.

We got gelato when we got out of the museums and walked around to make sure we saw all important sites and landmarks. We accidentally ran into the Pantheon while looking for dinner. We were so exhausted and beat by the time we actually found a place to eat that didn't turn us away because they were filled with reservations. After dinner we went to the Trevi Fountain which was all lit up and beautiful at night, and will was cheated out of his last Euros when he bought Valentines day roses for all of us. It was a sweet end to a beautiful and warm day in Italy.