When In Rome...

I want to do a nice post about our vacation-- I do. But I know I can't capture it with words. Pictures will seem pretty flat in comparison to the reality, also, and that's why I keep postponing it. But I don't want to lose it, either, so...

Post One: Roma!

This is where we started our big fat vacation, and it was a great start. I walked poor Mike into the ground. Oh, I heard his pleas for mercy, but I forced him to keep up. I think he's glad I did, because there was so much worth seeing. We did forget our camera for the entire first day. I blame jet lag.

Highlights: Borghese Gallery, mostly the sculptures by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Mike doesn't even remember this museum which we struggled through the rain and our exhaustion to get to (and I admit it's a little hazy for me, too), but some of the sculptures made me want to dance and clap like a three year old. I have a thing for sculpture. Seeing that marble, all polished and looking so soft just pulls the rug out from under me--I get a moment of solemnity akin to reverence--and then unleashes a tidal wave of plain old joy.

This was maybe my favorite one, and the picture doesn't do it justice. The hand is just digging into the flesh, and you have to remind yourself the thing is made of stone. I loved it.

We did a walking tour at twilight, and that was a perfect way to see the whole city and get a history lesson with it. I was't sure about spending the cash for the tour, but I'm so glad we did. It was awfully dark by the end, and I did have the misfortune of grabbing the tour guide's chest just a moment before my eyes fell on Mike standing on the other side of me. That part was awkward. Again, I blame jet lag.

Best part of day 2 in Rome had to be Saint Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. Having just read The Agony and the Ecstasy (biographical novel about Michaelangelo), I was ready to be impressed. But there's really no ready for that kind of experience. This is about one fourth of the square outside where you almost don't mind waiting in line. I kept wondering how the Pope feels about having such a constant crowd running amuck outside his home. I sort of expected him to poke his head out of the window and hollar for us all to keep it down!? Geez, can't a Pope read in peace? Shout out here to our good buddy Rick Steve for the tour.

The Basilica was enormous, and really beautifully proportioned. Best part: The pieta of Michaelangelo's. Marble, or butter? Hard to tell--it's that soft. I'm not that into the whole Madonna and crucified Jesus art thing, but this was moving. Here's my fairly bad picture taken through the glass.

And the Sistine Chapel--the first thing that struck me was what an ugly building it was in, and then it makes you realize how amazing the art is to have preserved so ugly a structure. This is also where we are starting to finally gather that those Italians don't like you photographing much of anything much of anywhere.

The Vatican Museum was awesome, and then we spent the rest of the day just wandering around, you know, the colosseum and stuff. We loved Rome.

Lastly, I can't fail to mention the food. We ate at restaurant called Lucifero's in a little back alley in the Campo di Fiori which our tour guide recommended, and it was hands down the best pasta I've ever eaten: creamy and light sauce on a spinach ravioli. Sounds simple, but it was perfection. Also, there were two of the best pastry shops on earth by our hotel, as well as a charming outdoor market with fresh fruits and vegetables the likes of which you just don't find in an American grocery store.

I wasn't really expecting as much from Rome as I was the rest of our destinations, but I was wrong to short this city. Definitely somewhere I'd like to go again.