Italy part I -- Rome

To say that Italians are passionate people is the understatement of the century. Our tourist experience started with a common Italian sight -- temper! We took a van from the airport to our hotel in downtown Rome. We were barely five minutes on the highway when a car cut us off. With little concern for the 6 passengers, the van driver sped up and harassed the offending driver for what seemed to be 10 minutes by pulling up beside him, rolling down his window, and yelling something that we can only guess we shouldn't repeat here. Once we realized we weren't going to die we found the whole experience hilarious.

Pictured: R&R on the Open Bus in front of St. Peter, the "Wedding Cake" (Il Vittoriano), Trevi Fountain ("3 Coins in a Fountain" fame)

One of our favorite ways to explore a city is by the tourist or "open" bus tour. These double-decker buses let you hop on and off as you tour the major sites. One night we were on the last bus intending to ride back toward our hotel, but halfway through the ride Rich needed to "use the facilities" which are not available on the bus. We were forced to jump off and wouldn't you know it, there wasn't anywhere convenient close by! Just before total panic set in, we saw a combination bookstore/wine bar. As Rich ran for the little boys' room, Rochelle sat down and started a conversation with the bartender and her single patron. Turns out the customer was a Canadian living in Rome who knew seven different languages (but refused to learn Dutch because he thought it was a useless language). He was trying to score with the pretty bartender, who was working her second job ... turns out her first was (of course) an actress and she had a recurring role on an Italian sitcom. It was an enjoyable diversion and it just goes to show that sometimes good things come from bad situations.

Pictured: cats in the Largo di Torre Argentina, starlings in masse above Vatican City, Palazzo Navona

The sights in Rome are incredible -- every time you turn a corner there's another fountain, church, or ruin. One of the things you don't see a lot of is wildlife. Unless you count pigeons (on every fountain & statue), starlings (which do put on a good show when they fly in formation), and cats (living in the ruins)!

Pictured: various in/out of St. Peters including the apostles from the roof and Michelangelo's Pieta

The churches are simply spectacular. At St. Peter's you can take an elevator up to the inside of the huge dome (this didn't sit well with Rich, who got a little disoriented) and walk on the roof. We didn't do the stairs to the top of the dome, but the view from the roof is still amazing. Some of our other favorites were San Pietro in Vincoli (Michelangelo's Moses), Santa Maria del Popolo (mosaic dome and newly restored Caravaggio painting, Santa Maria Maggiore and Santa Maria in Trastavere (mosaic domes), and Santa Cecilia (patron saint of music and 1600 statue of the saint).

Pictured: S.M.Trastavere, S.Cecilia,S.M.Popolo, Caravaggio Conversion of St. Paul

We noticed several recurring themes as we saw the sights. One of our favorites were feet, we don't really know why but once Rochelle snapped a photo from St. Peter's dome, we found ourselves noticing them all over.

Another theme is the legend of Rome's founders Romulus & Remus, who were raised by a wolf. The image pops up everywhere -- a bit creepy at first but humorous the 100th time you see it.

The third is the depiction of Moses with horns -- the result of a mistranslation but pretty interesting to see.


Our other favorite sites were the Capuchin crypt and the Villa Borghese. The crypt is beautiful and creepy at the same time -- the walls are decorated with the bones of thousands of Capuchin monks. The Borghese was our favorite museum. Housed in a former "vacation home," this mansion holds many wonderful Bernini sculptures and other works of art. We took a guided tour with only 4 other tourists, which gave the informative guide lots of time to explain how the Borghese family ingrained themselves in Roman culture.



Other than seeing the outside, we did miss exploring some of the ancient sites like the Colosseum (pictured above) and the roman forum. These will have to wait until the next visit. Ciao!