Rome

Gillian

Finding the hostel was a bitch. We had to take a train to a bus to a train again. Our bus to Venice was delayed because there was a car crash on the highway, so then we missed our train and were delayed an hour. We finally arrived in Rome at about 11:20 at night, then took the last subway to the stop we were supposed to arrive at. Then wandered back and forth along the streets of Rome in the middle of the night in search of a camping hostel. Much arguing and “the fuck is this place” later, we gave in, got a cab and arrived at the hostel. Then had to switch into a “shared” tent because they had apparently booked us in a private one. But cool, able to finally get to sleep, settled, nice.

The next day we just lounged around. We wanted a day to just take it easy and it worked perfectly. We hung out by the pool, swam (or in my case, floated face down) around, checked our emails, and occasionally ate. It was sweet.

Yo, the Sistine Chapel is fuckin’ impressive (we went to the Vatican the next day). Going in I was thinking, “Yeah yeah, big huge painting, very important.” But gawDAMN that thing is massive and so detailed! What would its modern day equivalent be? The ceiling is, as legend foretells, the most impressive, but for a reason I wasn’t aware of - all the bodies look 3D. Michaelangelo, the fuckin’ genius, used some sort of shadow drawing style to made the bodies stick out. And he did this hundreds of years ago, right? I usually can’t tell what makes one artist from hundreds of years ago better than another artist who used the same style, but I’m pretty sure I could see what made Michaelangelo so impressive. Ditto for Raphael, who designed a lot of the rooms that led to the Sistine Chapel, most notably (for me) the room with the four themes - Poetry, Philosophy, Theology, Justice. Very nice.

The next day, we got to see the “ancient area” of Rome. It’s really nice, except if you want to see anything in-depth in Rome, they charge ya up the fuckin’ nose. 15 euros to get into the Vatican, 12 euros to get into the Colosseum and walk within the ancient ruins, another 8 euros for a tour of it all. What the fuck, Rome? Be more like Prague and Berlin, please. Anyways, I should cut down on the swears, as I am preppin’ for work at kids’ camp. Regardless, ancient Rome is so beautiful. I tried my best to look at the ruins and then imagine myself standing there way back when, while Caesar would roam (pun) around, gazing upon his empire. And I think the way the city is designed and preserved, it really helps you get into that mind-state. I almost didn’t want to bother myself with taking pictures, so I could just focus on taking it all in. But I took a whole bunch anyway.

We also got to wander around the residential area a bit in Rome, which was cool. I got to do that in Vienna also, which was really nice. I think you see the connections other cultures have to your own when you immerse yourself amongst the local housing. You’re off the beaten track, away from all the annoying tourists with their sandals, short shorts, and ridiculous t-shirts (to be fair, this is exactly how I’ve been dressed). So it was cool to see.

We definitely took it easy for this week. We had enough time to see what we wanted of Rome, and then the rest of the time relax by the pool, talk to people, and watch lots of football at the hostel pub. Which is nice, because it always gives something to discuss - e.g. what team you cheerin’ for in this match? Oh really, cuz I... (and then off into discussion about something that most likely has shit-all to do with soccer).

So anyway, it’s my last night here, the trip is petering out. Hopefully we’ll be able to party despite all of a sudden some gross weather moving in. And that’ll be a nice send-off. I’ve also got some more Facebook contacts, in Ireland and in the States. So now I have places to stay in Belfast, Reno, Georgia, and Jersey, among others.

Cool. Peace. See ya soon at home, friends and family. :D