Busiest day of the trip!

Friday June 14th (Written June 15th)  Day 15

Busy.

Here is a list:
- Checkout of Place 1
- Go across town
- Check in to Place 2
- Go back across town
- Meet with Vatican tour
- 3 hour Vatican tour

- Go back across town
- Rest shortly
- Walk in city
- See opera
- Walk back

Did we do it? Yes!

We woke up after a shifty nights rest.  We walked across town carrying our luggage, mine on my back...

We got a bit lost but found our new airbnb with Matteo.  He was a very lovely man and his place was very inviting.  Fruit was left out for us as well as bread and some spreads.  We had no time to take it in as we rushed to catch our 10am tour.

A quick subway ride later we had just got to the tour group in time meaning no breakfast.  We subsisted on small snacks and bottled water we brought as we were herded past roman sculptures, paintings, fresco walls, tapestries and more.

The Vatican museum was a mad-house.  Much like the Louvre we were squished person-to-person through the huge (but still not huge enough) rooms.  Expansive halls ornately painted and lined with marble statues.  Large pillars and arches beckoned us into bigger and bigger rooms with 2 story high painted ceilings.  The guide was keeping a quick pace and only highlighting the more famous pieces.  After a tiring, educational, exhausting, awe-inspiring, crowded trek, we went through the Sistine Chapel with quiet murmuring and the occasional loud guard or "SHH!" sound.  The best was of course saved for last as we wandered into the St. Peter's Bascilla.

Impressive is not the word.  I can honestly say I will see nothing like it anywhere else in the world.  The sheer scope and magnitude of the building can not be done justice in pictures or words.  Gigantic is selling this place short.  The hall stretched up to unreal heights.  Giant marble pillars and columns as thick as a car shot to the domed ceiling.  The place was massive and every inch was made with incredible amounts of care and detail.  Imported ebony from Africa beside orange marble and then white marble.  Letters lining the top of the walls seemed small, but were in fact 4 meters tall.  Giant statues everywhere that made you feel like you were in a tolkien fantasy world.  The one thing you feel for certain is insignificance.  A true human monument and achievement and a result of religious control.

We left after blessings of holy water by giant baby statues.  Hauke ran to the top of the dome for ipctures while the unfed and sore footed rest of us waited.

When we left the Vatican we ate at the nearest place which as expected was a tourist money grab.  With fainting a growing concern from the lack of food, abundance of walking and the sheer heat of the sun, we all shared a plate of microwaved chicken and fries.  Overly friendly and scam artists, the staff upcharged to a ludicrous extent so we quickly paid our hustlers and left.

We trained back to our place and enjoyed the free snacks provided.  It wasn't a lot, but would sustain us in our semi-fast until dinner.  We only had time to rest briefly before going out for dinner back downtown.  We had found the recommended restaurant but it would not be open for another half hour.  We wandered the area but decided to stick to our guns and eat at a sure-bet.

Our patience was rewarded as an eccentric and fun old man seated us.  Starving and looking to wash away the afternoon's bitter experience.  I held back nothing.  Tortellini's in an inviting and complex broth, cannelloni and a bottle of wine.  Wakana had the roast lamb with potatoes, a salad and Hauke ate veal scallopini.  Nita ordered a wonderful veal with cheese and a risotto with rose sauce.

We ate and drank in the beautiful and amazing meal with an unwavering delight.  A little drunk on the wine (just me), we headed to a mystery opera that Wakana bought cheap-o tickets for.  We had no clue what we were getting into at all.  When we arrived, we found that it was more like a tiny school production as the space was small and the setting was intimate.  A black stage reminding me of drama class was built in a tiny courtyard surrounded by tall buildings.  I counted a total of 40 seats, lawn chairs actually, in front of the stage.  As it happens, we were at the first show of an opera festival with small shows popping up all over the city.  We would look up and see the dimming sky over us, feeling the cool evening air funnel far down into the square.

The show started.  A few solo musical acts including an asian girl from Canada who made lover to her piano as she played.

The solo opera began as a tiny man sang with a voice that boomed into the amazing acoustics provided by the tall buildings.  Then a stage show with a cast that matched the audience in number.  Gorgeous loud voices and a small 4-5 person orchestra played for the intimate crowd.

No suits, no pretentious attitudes, no judgement.  Just pure love of the show, thrill of simply performing, and an air of happiness to be sharing their love.  It was the perfect introduction into opera, and it was only an hour and change in length.  Wakana and I realized that we were sick.  My entire trip has been plagued with a nasty cough that had not been given a proper chance to heal during the trip.  We took the long walk back to the apartment and crashed.... hard.

Food!

Hectic hectic!

The actual fountain

Later that day we walked up to the spanish steps area and stopped at a recommended restaurant called Otello's.  I ordered the very creamy and delicious carbonara and Nita ordered the Otello pasta of fresh tomatoes, basil and parmagian.  Both dishes were incredible but Wakana's dish took top spot with her ultra-tender veal with potatoes.  I was in the mood for pasta so my dish suited me just fine.

Carbonara!

We ended the meal with a smooth and moist tiramisu and an espresso for Wakana and me.  The party decided to split so Wakana and Hauke went off to the Coliseum while Nita and I shopped and took in the downtown area.  While waling we came across an asian man on the street cutting up large grass or fern blades.  We saw what he was crafting and were amazed.  Intricately detailed and folded animals hung in front of him and were a product of obvious and extensive experience.  Nita was taken back by his quickness and noble presence so we purchased a crane that he folded.

Tiramisu

We headed back after a few hours and met with Wakana and Hauke.  I fully expected them to be in heat stroke but they were doing alright.  A quick rest and we were off to do my favourite thing while travelling... eat again.

Spaghetti and meatballs.. really?

This time we headed to a fancier place, but it was too fancy for our not-so-fancy-shorts.  We set out to gauge a decent non-tourist restaurant and found a great place nearby.  I ate the linguini with a rose sauce and a bruschetta made of zucchini and olive instead of tomato.  Nita hit her spaghetti with meatballs craving, pizza for Hauke and risotto for Wakana.  We ate the wonderful meal and headed back to pack for probably the most hectic day of the trip.

Brainfarts

This morning we woke up early and I grabbed a baguette as Hauke made breakfast.  We were delayed figuring out the luggage and refund fiasco from our cancelled last day here on the terrace apartment.  We set out and took the metro to the train station to go to Naples.  Unfortunately I had to pick up an SD card and we had just missed the train.  I felt bad as Hauke was looking forward to the trip.  The next train was much later and the more frequent trains cost twice as much.  We walked back to the apartment deflated, but still took in the statues and scenes.  We got back and found --

cut off... oh well...

(I got distracted and forgot what I was writing... sooo that's a lost thought forever)

Rome, the oven city

This morning we woke up after a very peaceful sleep...  for Nita and I.  Hauke and I went to the market for our breakfast of mozzerella, fresh basil, baguette, cold cuts, cherry tomatoes and balsalmic.

We ate our relatively healthy breakfast in preparation for our long day.  Some blank pages of this book were sacrificed for lighting the gas stove.

We headed out and stumbled on the steps of a gorgeous building in front of a large intersection.  We found the tour bus and waited for it by the tour vendor.  The city is saturated with tourists and the vendors that come with the tourism.  Everywhere we go, streetside vendors selling water, or shoddy souvenirs line the streets.  Human statues and rigged "floating" yoga experts all vie for a euro or two for a picture.  I generally enjoy these spectacles as I can usually fend off pushy flower and drink salesmen.  today I was fascinated by their dedication as the day was unbelievably, unrelentingly, and inconceivably hot.  HOT.  Not a cloud in the sky, the sun beats down on all of Rome with an intensity I've only experienced in Japan.

Realistically it probably gets as hot in Ottawa, but with the huge crowds and constant movement, the day became more and more unbearable by the minute.  We ensured our safety with low ambitions and lots of stops/water.  Our first stop was the ex Palazzo di Giusta where we saw the usual vendors as well as gladiators dressed to sweat and bake as they asked for a picture for a small fee.  A man with 2 parakeets placed them onto paying tourists in his white chaplin make up.  Silver statues failed to capture the imagination of the hordes of tourists.

Spanish steps

We continued our double decker tour in the frying pan city to the spanish steps.  We walked to a small cafe where I enjoyed an alright pizza bread and Nita had a great carbonara.  Afterwards we went to the crowded steps and went to the church at the top.  Hauke and Wakana could not get on as their knees were bare so Nita and I sat in the whisper-quiet room.  An inspiring painting captured my imagination of an angel flying low over sinners wrapped in snakes.  Thus far most of the art I've liked has been somewhat macabre.  We went down the steps and walked towards our stop.  and walked... and walked.  The sun was boring an intense hole into our skulls forcing us to stop in the shade for more gelato.  We walked more and realized we had not only missed our stop, but were close to the first stop where we got picked up.

We filled our bottles at a public fountain along with many other passersby and took shelter in a small park area in the center of a huge roundabout.  From there we watched crazed drivers cutting to and for as we rested under large trees.

We took our hop-on bus again to our hotel and I swore never to leave in the dead heat of noon.  After market-bought pasta we cooked for ourselves, we set out (minus poor zonked Nita) for a walk.  The day was much, much cooler in the evening so Hauke, Wakana and I walked far into town over the river.  My SD card was full so I spent time deleting a few pictures along the way.  We stumbled upon som bridge buskers with a dijjeridoo, palm drum and a sitar sounding instrument.  I called it stoner bridge.

We also saw a set of ruins in the street that was preserved.  Among the grassy knocked over pillars sat a bunch of cats that lounged comfortably in their sanctuary.  Beside the ruins was a poster with cat pictures reading:

Please do not feed the cats.  These cats were hit by cars following people that fed them.

So sad.

We got back exhausted and prepared for Naples the next day.

To Roma, with exhaustion

Wednesday June 12 Day 13

Fontana di Trevi... it's beautiful but you can't tell in this pic

I guess we're counting down our last few days although we just got to Rome and there's a lot ahead of us.  Yesterday our flight wasn't that much later.  We arrived at 6:30 and found out how Italian cab drivers rule the road.

Despite not being an actual taxi, but a prearranged driver, our guy was fantastically insane.  I noticed that he and many other drivers found the road lines to be completely optional.  Be it driving in the middle of the road (alot), on the shoulder, cutting across in front of or tailgating; going the wrong way on the road, pushing tourists, he did it all while on his phone.  We charged through the tourists in the narrow streets to our apartment near the Fontana Di Trevi.

We met with our apartment manager and struck out to gauge the area.  We turned the corner and were stunned by the gorgeous fountain.  Our trip has been constantly filled with ornately decorated walls and masterfully crafted statues.  This fountain's sheer size and beauty helped highlight this point.  We hungrily searched the area for a market and ate at a nearby restaurant.  The one we chose was beautiful, but I was a little disappointed by the food.  The swordfish ravioli was too undercooked and the soup was a little bland.  Being in the tourist area, it is more risky eating at the local restaurants.  We headed for bed after having a small chat on our very own terrace.  A place I not only enjoyed but will probably be the highlight of Rome.