Misty's Diary Entries...
Day 1 and 2
It was a long flight. Cramped as usual in flights. I get to sit in the middle seat. This gives me no head rest. I try to bribe James for his shoulder. He moves too much because he can’t sleep. Excitement I guess. Not being the first trip out of the US. I am more focused on sleep. I stay awake for most of the flight anyway. Due to my moving headrest and the light above me being on. My headrest is writing J
Denise & Marco pick us up at the airport. She looks beautiful in a full leather outfit, including a leather burgundy jacket. We get to the car & Denise races in the rain towards her home outside of Rome. She is sure to point out that there is a Metro stop behind us as we turn a corner. Then we make our way down dark roads to her house.
Her house is adorable. It looks like all of the old Italian movie houses. Old yellow gold wall paper, French doors to the rooms and little terraces out each door with some sort of peppers or flowers growing. She says she has to hand wash her clothes because there is no laundry mat and that she has to shop at different stores for meat, veggies and beauty supplies. But this is outside of Rome, peaceful and quite and with a pasture for a horse. Denise said she might get one soon.
She and Marco, are headed out for the evening and I am dying to see the night life of Rome. Especially with tour guides that know the ropes and spots to go. Sure I’m tired but how often will this chance come along. With Denise leaving for work for the next 4 days tomorrow I imagine this being our only time. Before I could answer James declines for us due to our being tired. He stayed up on the plane only to sleep when we got to our destination! Ugh. But we did need the sleep I would have fallen asleep on the dance floor. So we head to bed for the evening.
Day 3
I awake at the alarm and see James taking pictures already. Ahhhh official tourists. Since I take longer to get ready I try to stir up some energy to get in the shower first. That way he can shower while I get ready. I get up and go to the bathroom but alas I am too late or too slow. So time for food! I look around only to find open wrappers and empty ones at that. I did manage to find a few bites left of the trail mix so I savor that as I look outside over the countryside that surrounds Denise’s.
We get out the door and breath in the beautiful weather that we had prayed for. We try to follow the map that Denise gave us & although accurate is a little vague to new comers in the area. As James mentions, we got lost - for over an hour! This throws a bit of a wrench into our schedule but we forge through it and find our way.
We step out the Metro exit and see the Coliseum for the first time. Its grandeur puts me in awe. The burnt read color of the stone in the morning sun is just breathtaking. I try to take pictures knowing nothing I take will do this sight justice. I can’t fit it into one FRAME! We look around and make our choice to stop at the Vatican because it closes sooner than the Coliseum.
We walk past the Old Forum, and peer in at it knowing (hoping) we’ll have the time to come back and visit it today. We pass a large Arch that again sets our cameras off J The views were pictures out of history books. We buy some mushroom pizza. Yes it’s only 9am but that handful of trail mix is not enough. We eat our first Italian pizza on our walk to the Vatican. Inside Rome it’s a little hazy but it ads a majestic look to the sights and the sun starts to fade in and out as we make our way down the busy streets. Let me rephrase that -as we make our long long long way. We see so many beautiful buildings, arches, rivers, bridges, houses, a castle, everything on the way even the color of the trees seems to be so much more vibrant then back home. But then again I am on vacation so perhaps it’s just the fact that I am having more time to take notice of such things. The streets remind me for a bit of my walks with my mom on the damp Paris roads. I miss her laugh on this journey but I do get to see the wide eyes of James that is like a kid in a candy store. So much for us took look at and so little time. So we walk, following the river. As we get close we hear the sounds of ethereal voices singing. Choirs singing the most angelic music. How fitting as we even our stride and pick up our pace on our way to the most famous church in the world. Like music in a move the sounds just fit and complete the picture. We walk up and see St. Peters square. Wow. I mean WOW. I wish I knew all of the meanings of the statues. Someone starts to speak in Italian over the loud speakers. Is it the Pope I wonder? We couldn’t tell. We join the masses and the mass I guess you could say. And after taking in our surroundings we ask about the Sistine Chapel only to find it is a declared holiday for the Vatican.. hmmmm .. Just our luck after that long stroll. But the moment was worth it. We plan to come back on Monday before out train trip. So we turn to our guide book to see what else we can catch for the day. After going through the streets and finding sights that we didn’t even know were “the sights to see” we make our way through the three fountains area. The Pantheon, which has an open dome that was used as a sun dial, and to the Trevi fountain to throw our coins in to ensure another trip back to Rome. We then make our way back to the Coliseum. Wait is a fast moving line and get a ticket that is good for several sights! We walk around and take a ton of pictures, from now on that should go without saying because we are picture fanatics!! We circle the bottom floor halfway and then head up the worn out steep steps towards the 2nd/3rd level, it’s hard to tell. After taking in the sight we find a spot in the sun to sit. We revel about the Romans filling the place with water for ship battles and we try to decide if the architecture is new in some areas or just very well preserved. The concert stage below is obviously new. I can’t imagine that they are going to have modern concert in this place. It seems almost crude. We make our way around the entire top and then head to the Old Forum.
Here we met Ben our guide free of charge from LA. Haha!! Yes he’s been studying history and theology in Rome and offers a guided tour for tips. I convince James this was a good idea. He believes me and we had the best tour of our trip! Ben tells us stories of each structure and how it was built, why , and who and when. He explains the lives of the senate back then, the vestal virgins and their honors and punishments, the emperors, the buildings for the Divo’s and Diva’s. Sure some of it may be a stretch but it just added so much more to our imagination then had we walked the fallen pillars alone. We also noticed people above us at Palentine Hill which was the birth place of Rome. Where it all started. We vowed to visit the next day. Tired we went back to Denise’s after dinner at a Metro Café outside of the Coliseum.
Day 4
We decided to stay in Rome to ensure that we see the Vatican on Monday morning before our train. I read Let’s go Italy and it suggested a nice hotel/hostel where there are friendly people. I was in need of this. The people in Rome are city folk and not very polite. The crowds are too much for me to relax and feel comfortable in our surroundings. I’d hoped to go to the flea market where I hear you can buy great hardly used leather jackets for $10.00!! But we were warned by our friendly hotel staff that it wasn’t safe. You didn’t have to tell me twice. I gave the idea up and we went to the Palentine hill. Besides those jackets were probably stolen any ways.
Palentine hill. Not having a guide for this tour mad it not as interesting but it was still amazing because of how elaborate everything seemed to be. So tall. I felt like a little girl looking at the heavens. You could feel the history in the stones and fountains that once were. The arena that games happened in prior to the Coliseum, the view of Rome, again all beautiful.
We then made our ways to the Baths of Caracalla after a nice cool gelato. We walked in. Our ticket from the day before covered both Palentine Hill and the baths. Now I will be the first one to say you have to have a good imagination to look at ruins and appreciate them. But I did. The mosaic tiles were ornate. The carvings that were left had exquisite detail. You could imagine the walls full of marble and people talking and enjoying the site of Rome from the windows. The ceiling that must have been stories high with carvings and paintings on all the walls. It’s funny to think that old Rome was Famous for it’s grandness and over dramatic buildings, and the current Rome is tights and full of small houses and is crowded with so little space. I guess that’ s how time goes. You just try to fit in everything and everyone you can.
We finish our bath and sit in the sun and take turns massaging each others sore tired feet. We then strolled to the closest Metro and went back to our hotel room. After a rest we had a so-so dinner a Minos. OK it was no good. I hear all the rave about Italian food and I’ve now been here for three days with not one good meal. My mother cooks great Italian food so we have had nothing to compare to hers thus far. OH well. We get to sleep early to see the Vatican tomorrow!!!
Day 5
We rush to get packed and leave our bags to pick up after we’ve done our last bit of sight seeing. We got to the Vatican in on and off rain and witnessing a small motorcycle accident that almost hit us. We rush through the halls of the Vatican Museum in order to see the Sistine Chapel before it’s time to depart Rome. We see it. I don’t know if it was all the build up through the years or what. Sorry art majors but to me it was just ok. Small actually. Why I was expecting domes, and paintings that were brushed in gold that you just stop in awe at is beyond me. It was crowded in the room and the painting was so busy you didn’t know where to focus first. Don’t get me wrong it rivals my stick figures and it is beautiful just not what I had pictured. So on Kim Wehe’s suggestions we went to St. Peters.
Now that’s what I expected. Large breathtaking sculptures and paintings, gold, domes, candles, marble floors with pillars of marble absolutely priceless. Of course I hear that a lot of the marble to build the Vatican was actually taken off of the Coliseum! Interesting. Anyhow, we walked through the Jubilee doors that are only open every 25 years and we entered the most beautiful church I’ve ever had the privilege to step in.
We then trained to Venice. Ok so it was after we had to get a new passport for James, read James’ diary for the story. Personally I think God did that so I would have one good meal before we left Rome. Lunch was divine, finally Italian food that is worth our time.
Our entry to Venice was like some bad B rated horror movie. Everyone running in the rain scrambling to get away but not from a monster. They ran up and said, “Don’t go into Venice it’s flooded!!!”. At this point my heart sinks. All my pictures of my perfect trip that I had tried to plan just seemed to crumble before me. I had spent endless days and night, weekdays and weekends searching the Internet, reading and planning and nothing was working. Cab drivers yelling, flooded Venice, lots of rain….. I wanted to cry…. I did…and then I took a show in the cute hotel that James had found for us. I realized God has control not me. I gave it to Him… and He took care of us.
Day 6
It was beautiful. No rain!!! Sun! Ahhhh.. We had toyed with going to Florence but went into Venice instead. I am so glad we did. Some of the most beautiful stores. This city was not known for it’s easy layout but to our surprise James found our way… well almost, within a block then I had a hotel call our hotel so we could locate our spot to stay. We dropped off our bags in our quaint French/Italian style room and shopped. We walked and looked at the venetian glass stores that covered the ally ways. We ate at Piazza de San Marco and listened to an Italian Opera in concert. Now this is what I had pictured. Thank you God!
Day 7
Now I’m or we are on our flight home.. James and I have learned a lot about Metros, trains, ruins, shopping, glass, but most of all each other and trusting God. The last two will be an everlasting journey the rest has come to an end for now.
- Misty
PS James does not share his candy unless you ask;) hehehe
Back
|
