minirant
April 7, 2004
wow. where do i begin?
all day yesterday, my first full day, from sunup to well after sundown, in the eternal city. the night before (after my last posting), i took a walk by trevi fountain, and, even packed with tourists and vendors of various trinkets (who all seem to be related, or at least know each other) it was a serene end to my arduous day.
the cool spray off the fountain, the happy conversation in a dozen languages, laughter, gypsy music, the cold, cold beer from one of the street vendors… everything about the place seemed to seep into me and melt away all the disappointment i had in naples, all the sunburn i’ve had since palermo, my sore feet and muscles, the stench of train travel (have i mentioned that i’ve learned through experience and travel to no longer be sensitive to my own BO?)
whoosh. sigh.
and walking back to my hotel, i look to my left. oh yeah. colisseum. dig.
and yesterday morning i made my way back there before the crowds started showing up and did a couple of laps. from there, it was a full day – st. peter in chains, pantheon, capitol hill, museums, forum and palatine hill. from imperial rome to medieval rome in about 6 hours. more square meters of michelangelo and cubic meters of bernini than i expect to see in the rest of my life (except for tomorrow in the vatican)
and look, over there… spanish steps.
a little bit of a problem this morning, tho. the crypt of the cappucin is closed ‘for works’. and apparently has been since december of last year. oops.
but i was able to secure a reservation at the borghese museum – and during holy week, no less. no wonder, they move people through there so efficiently, i think the rome metro system should take some lessons. they say you’ve got two hours, and they’re not kidding. i could have spent the whole day there, but i felt a little rushed to get through all the most notable bits before the loudspeaker proclaimed ‘the tour time is over. make your way to the exit’ and the attendants started closing the doors behind me.
anyhoo, i took it easy today, as tomorrow, i take the vatican. st. peter’s and the museum, anyway. the pope is being wheeled out at the coliseum on friday, for which there are massive preparations – tv cameras, lights and sound systems – already underway, so i doubt i’ll catch a glimpse on thursday.
if you don’t see anything from me in a while, look in the papers for a picture of me being escorted in chains by the swiss guard.
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