Recap IV

Coliseum

Gladiator School

The Dome of St. Peter's Church as We approached

Inside the Church

The Pantheon

Arrivederci Roma

The last two days of the big Italian vacation were spent in Rome. What a great way to end the tour.

The first thing we did upon arrival was stop and get a bite to eat at the student cafeteria that's part of the University there. I had a salami sandwich with mozzarella cheese that was toasted on a grill to warm it up. The cheese was very white in color and had a different texture than the mozzarella that we get locally. Tasted real good and was only 4 Euros, which was a real good deal compared to some of the places we ate.

After lunch we walked across the street to the Coliseum and the Roman Forum. The Coliseum was amazing. Huge place - seated about 50,000 people. The walls had a bunch of holes in them that were the result of pulling the reinforcing metal out and melting it down for coins. It's curious that it's still standing for the most part, meaning that it was extremely well constructed, yet it fell into disrepair. I guess if you're not slaying lions or feeding the Christians to them, there's not much need for a coliseum of that size. What they needed was a football team. Or better yet, an ice hockey team. It was, after all, the son of Italian immigrants who invented the Zamboni.

After our tour there we headed to Gladiator School. The students all got a chance to learn something of the history of the gladiators and the weapons they used and then got a little training in sword fighting. They had a few sword fights using plastic swords to try out their technique. The students all seemed to really enjoy it and we all got certificates testifying that we are honorary Roman citizens.

After that is was off to the hotel and a late dinner that was one of the best of the trip. Pasta with broccoli, roast turkey with green beans, salad, and chocolate cake for dessert. We also had breakfast there at the hotel and they served a nice buffet. They had crostatta on the menu here as well. I've got to get the Missus to make some of this stuff. Really good.

Our first stop on the last day of touring was the Vatican. Tour groups get fast tracked into the place as long as they've made a reservation about six months in advance. Otherwise, it's stand in line for as much as two hours. At the height of the tourist season they run about 20,000 people per day thru there. We got our headsets and our local tour guide and took right off.

We went into the Sistine Chapel and this was really my only disappointment with the trip. The ceiling and frescoes were recently cleaned and the colors were extremely vibrant - not at all dark like I thought it would be from photos I'd seen. The work itself truly is a masterpiece but there's not supposed to by any photography or talking in the chapel. It was noisier than hell in there! The guard told everyone several times no talking and made a sushing sound several times as well. Maybe Jerusalem is a more sacred place for those of Christian faith but I'm thinking the Sistine Chapel located in Vatican City certainly deserves a little more respect than it was getting. There were a couple of women sitting along the edge who were just gabbing away in Italian. When their husbands came up, they joined in as well. They were older people who should have known better and it was obvious that they weren't rude Americans, either. A bunch of people were snapping pictures on the end away from the guards. What's wrong with people that they can't keep their big mouths shut for a few minutes in church? Michelangelo spent four years painting the thing. You would think people could respect his effort and, once again, the fact that it's a church. I was really pissed off when I went out of there. Probably not the best emotion to have leaving a chapel, but I was just in awe of the work and very thankful that I got a chance to see it and then all these jackasses are gabbing away like it's just some everyday thing.

After leaving the chapel we went to St. Peter's church. It's a huge building, very ornate inside and talking and photography were permitted. Probably just as well, you wouldn't be able to stop them from doing either anyway. I saw were the smoke comes from when they select a new Pope and where the Pope stands when addressing the masses - several different spots, actually. After leaving the church we were hustled out of Vatican City and led to a place to buy souvenirs. We never hit the official Vatican gift shop, so I didn't get a chance to get something for the Missus there. Caught me off guard but nothing I could do about that. I did mail a couple of postcards to people and they got the official Vatican cancellation. Or at least I think they did.

After our lunch break we went to see the Pantheon and a church decorated with human bones. No talking or photographs at this church either. And, of course, someone in our group decided to sneak a photograph. This would have been the same idiot who was checking his cell phone messages in the Sistine Chapel and trying to take photographs.

We had dinner at the "White Hen" - Gallina Blanco - with gallina being a hen as opposed to pollo being a chicken. Surprise - the food was real good. Same type of fare: bread, salad, pasta, entree (roast turkey), dessert. As a side note, I just ordered some baby chicks, Golden Comets, so I'll have the gallina oro pretty soon. If I could just have the gallina that layed the golden eggs, there'd be a whole lot more travel in my schedule. After dinner we hiked/bussed back to the hotel and prepared for an early departure.

I hated to leave but I hated to keep going at the breakneck speed at which we were traveling. It would have been nice to go back to Florence or Sorrento for a few days/weeks/months and just relax. The weather was fast approaching the best time of their Spring. Buy myself a Ducati or Guzzi and get out in the country, send for the Missus and never go home. OK, that might be a bit much, especially at my advanced age, but wait, isn't that what people do when they retire? Screw a bunch of Arizona or Florida, retire to Italy. Someplace near the south with the really cool cycling areas, both motor and bi, just a few hours drive away to the north. It'll never happen, but as they say in the movies, that's the stuff that dreams are made of.

Arrivederci Italia