When in Rome...

I have been putting off composing an entry about Rome because we did so much in a few short days that the prospect of compiling the experience into a coherent post (within a 30 minute time limit) is daunting, to say the least. We hit all of the classic sites, with a few not-so-classic detours, ate lots of good food, ate some not-so-good food, and had a memorable night walk of the city in the rain.

Since I can't possibly describe everything in detail, I'll stick to a few sites and stories and the rest will have to wait for our return to the US. Our arrival was a complete disaster, to put it lightly. It was sweltering hot (even when you are expecting this kind of weather, the experience is not any more pleasant). Now, Casey did a great job planning, but for some reason, the campsite in Rome was unable to provide us with coherent directions for our arrival. We clung desperately to the hope that we would get on the Metro "A Line", the only public transportation we knew anything about, and would be able to find someone who could help us to navigate. Imagine our chagrin when we exited the train station to find a line of police officers directing crowds away from the "A Line" sign and signaling them to go elsewhere. Oh shoot. So we milled around a bit like lost sheep until we found some signs that looked like they may have been bus route listings. After much complaining, a little bickering, and a mild breakdown on my part, we boarded a bus that may or may not have been headed in the right direction (based on the driver's ever-so-unhelpful, non-committal shoulder shrug when I asked him about the camp ground).

After crossing a treacherous two lane highway on a blind corner (we looked both ways Mom, don't worry), we arrived at our campsite relatively unscathed. It was VERY worth it. The campsite had a pristine pool, and the most decadent bathrooms I've ever seen, complete with mosiac tiled floors, fountains, and classical music.

The evening brought a visit to the Borghese gallery, one of Casey's favorite parts of the city. The weather had cooled a bit as we strolled through the lovely villa grounds toward the museum, which houses unbelievable Bernini sculptures, gorgeous frescoes, and of course, some Caravaggios.

My favorite day was Day 2 in Rome. We spent the morning in St. Peter's Basilica, which was breathtaking. The entire basilica was designed with some ingenious optical illusions that are actually meant to make it look smaller than it is. It is for this reason that any picture you've ever seen of the interior simply cannot do it justice. For example, there is a tiny gold ribbon running along the top of the interior with some "best of" quotes by St. Peter. Once you learn that each black letter on the gold ribbon is actually 7 feet tall, you can start to get a sense of the actual size of this place. We followed the visit with a fantastic lunch at a little market. I'm starting to really enjoy this type of eatery because instead of trying (futily) to translate a menu, I can just point at something that looks delicious and smile. We ended up with salmon pasta salad, polenta in spinach cream sauce, meatballs, and a big old hunk of italian bread with cheese. My mouth still waters thinking about this random mish-mash of a picnic...

That afternoon we went to the Vatican museum, which was predictably clogged up with giant tour groups, but was a great experience nonetheless. Perhaps my favorite part of the day, however, was the evening. We had planned a night walk across Rome to see some of the famous piazzas and other outdoor attractions. And of course, it rained. I would like to remind you that Rome gets an average of one evening of rainfall per month in the summer. I guess we're just lucky? Anyway, we decided the show must go on, so we purchased sketchy umbrellas from a sketchy guy on the street and started our stroll. Anyone who has ever slipped on a slick curb wearing flip flops in the rain can picture the scene as we tried walking along Rome's cobblestone streets. As it turns out, the rain was a blessing in disguise. It was barely sprinkling, but it was enough to send most other not-so-brave tourist running for the hills. Who else can say they got the Trevi fountain completely to themselves on a summer evening??

During the rest of our stay in Rome, we also saw the Colosseum (of course), took a half day trip to a well-preserved ancient city called Ostia Antica (like a mini Pompeii without the volcano), checked out the Roman Forum, several more museums, the Pantheon (really incredible), and saw some gorgeous churches.

Our final meal in Rome was one that we will never forget. I'd like to say it was a romantic, delicious meal, but that would be a lie. We had intentions to check out a small restaurant recommended by our guidebook, but it was closed for the owners' three week vacation (not an uncommon thing in Italy). Instead, we got sucked into what we should have guessed was a tourist-trap restaurant -- something that our guidebook strongly recommends against. We thought, how bad can it be? The food looks good and not too expensive. So we sat down and order some food, which was indeed, quite tasty. It wasn't until I asked for the bill that we realized we'd been had. They sent out the muscular Roman owner, who crouched over our table and hand-wrote a completely illegible list of "charges" on our bill. I had the courage to ask what one of them was for, and he said, "You sit at my table, you pay this fee". Then, he informed us sternly that his services were NOT included in the price, took one step back from the table, folded his arms and waited for us to pay. Fearing for our lives, we paid the sketchy bill, left a generous tip (despite Italy's no-tipping norm), and ran. It's amazing how right it feels to pay 50 euros for 25 euros worth of food when you feel like you're going to be squashed by somebody. So yes, lesson learned. Ask about ALL charges and fees before you sit down. Otherwise, they can charge you for wearing a blue shirt and you can't say boo about it.

Ah well, you win some, you (really, really) lose some.

On to Florence!