Rome (Days 2 & 3)

My second two days in Rome were mostly spent looking at really old things. That's the thing about Rome, you can't really go anywhere without stumbling over some ancient building or monument, or something else equally impressive. This is the reason Rome has been having such a hard time creating a third subway line - every time they go digging, they find something historical. Those Romans sure did like to build.

We went to the Colosseum and Palatine Hill, which is where a huge ancient castle stood for many, many years. Most or all of the marble from these two immense structures was taken for the Vatican. Apparently, while it's good to be the king, it is sometimes better to be the Pope. It is also a "little known fact" that the Vatican never paid for most of the marble that was quarried for it. I guess it was hard to collect from the person that was supposed to be the representation of God.

We also went to the Vatican and St. Peter's Cathedral and a few places in-between. It is not easy to get into the Vatican and we had to wait in-line for almost three hours, which brings me to an interesting caveat. Lines mean nothing in Italy. I don't care if it's the line to get into the Vatican or the line in the grocery store. If you aren't cutting in line, you aren't Italian. The other interesting thing was that I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside most of the places I went to. So while I went there, I can't really prove it. I saw the Sistine Chapel, however, and was duly impressed. Although, I believe I might have been more impressed by the Raphael Rooms for their amazing use of light.

I am not a huge fan of sacred art and, to an extent, I think a lot of it is pretty ridiculous. However, while I was there, I gained a new appreciation for much of what these artists were doing and attempting to convey. I saw the progression of the positioning of people and the way light is reflected and represented. I saw the importance that the artists attached to certain sections of biblical text and their tireless devotion to achieving a finished product that was often simply amazing. At the same time, I was often struck with all the adornments that decorated these places of God and was left to puzzle over whether all of the money used on these things might not have been better spent on feeding the poor. However, I learned that I was not alone in this question and there were many spiritual leaders even back then that thought along these same lines.

Each day, we walked for about ten hours and tried to see as much as possible. The food was always good, but it was far more starchy than I had expected. The thing I had to remind myself of was that Italians were poor and often Italian food was peasant food. So they cooked mostly what was cheap and in great supply, bread, pasta, and other various starches are easy to come by - as is really good cheese. However, if you're looking for meat, you're looking to spend an awful lot to get it, and usually the two do not mix. If there is any meat added to a starch, it is often a very small amount. For example, a panini will often have a single slice of prosciutto. Pizza will have a hunk or two of sausage or ham if you ask for it. Pasta might have a few hunks of meat in its meat sauce. However, more often than not, you're usually eating a lot of starch and drinking wine, which is cheaper or about as expensive as water.

Rome still remains an amazing city and I would say that if you are only ever going to see one city in Italy, Rome would have to be at the top of the list. There is just so much to see in it.