Roma-melie

Sunday – Rome


On Saturday we left the ship and were quickly thrown back into real life, where smiling, friendly young people from all over the world no longer jump to fill your every desire and solve your every problem. Finding our way in the heat and confusion from the port to the train to Rome is best described by Norv, who I am sure has done an adequate job. Suffice to say, Civitivecchia is NOT his favorite place in Italy.
But anyway, we ended up in our apartment which is centrally located and is very nice. It is fairly new, all modern with lots of windows and white walls reflecting the sunlight and also filled with the minimum amount of Ikea furniture necessary for survival. Such a contrast to the cruise ship, where every available surface is covered with designs in patterns and colors that are beautiful and rich, but seem to have no connection to each other. Right now the simplicity of design is restful to the spirit.
So after settling in and letting the boys sleep for 5 hours or so while we went grocery shopping, we went to the Spanish Steps last night and ate dinner in a café that was recommended in our guide book. More pasta, more bread, more wine – I’m sure you’re getting familiar with the routine. Then we hung around the steps and took pictures, walked to the Trevi Fountain for more pictures, and made our way back “home” on the Metro .
The next day, the guys went off to the Coliseum (I have been to, done that before), and I attacked in earnest the task of finishing my grading for the class I am teaching online. A quick survey of our neighborhood turned up no internet cafes at all, so I took the Metro to one near the Spanish steps which I had seen the night before. This was a combination laundry and internet café, as I wrote about previously, and I am sure it is a more pleasant place in April or December than August. But the computers were fast and the people nice, so I bought two hours worth of time and settled in. After checking my email and Owen’s blog, I went to the schools course management website, which was down for maintenance from 2-5 a.m., which of course coincided with our 11-2, which of course was where I was smack dab in the middle of. So I philosophically decided to wander around the shops and get something to eat until 2:00. The free time was quite enjoyable – in fact wonderful - and then I came back around 2:30 to begin again. I bought another two hours, settled in and was relieved to be able to open up my class with no problem. I read one essay, wrote comments and posted a grade, read a second essay, began posting comments when the site went down AGAIN for maintenance: the regular Sunday 6-9 a.m. slot, which translates to our 3-6 p.m. I’d forgotten! I tried to remain calm, and decided to use the time to upload the blog entries Norv and I had saved on a media stick, but had had no internet access available to send them off with. That led to 25 minutes of problems, several Sunday “tech” guys trying to help me, etc. – I wrote about it before – and the bottom line was that their computers weren’t set up to accept documents written with our Word program. So I went home defeated.
A few hours later, the guys came home and settled in for several hours of sleep, which was not on my agenda at all. So I took off again for the internet café (this is about 9 Metro stops, and one transfer of trains away, by the way), and found things had settled down in the Laundromat, I got a computer nearer the door and farther away from the dryers, and finally, I was able to finish the class. What a relief.
When I got back to the apartment, it was about 9 p.m., and we went across the street to a “pizzeria” that has a terrace on the back overlooking the Tiber River. It turned out to be a full-fledged restaurant, and was very enjoyable. Greg and Chris got their own pizza’s and we ate the usual pasta/salad. I got to hear all about the events of the boys’ day, which sounded like a real success.
Yesterday, Monday (?), Norv and I got up and went out for a long walk and a “breakfast” at an outdoor café. I’m not sure beer and pizza is even an Italian tradition, but by 10:30 a.m., it was already so hot and so humid that it sounded like a great idea. One of my favorite meals so far…..
By 11:30, we came back and roused the boys so we could get started off on our days’ mission: the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica. Once we got to St. Peter’s, we found ourselves in a line to SOMETHING, and we just got pushed along with the masses, wondering exactly where we were going. It turned out to be a line to climb the hundreds of stairs to the cupola of the Basilica – or to the tombs. We chose the stairs (actually, Norv and I chose the elevator that goes about 1/3 of the way up), and we were rewarded with an amazing view of the Basilica’s ground floor. Absolutely gorgeous and awe-inspiring. After exploring the lower level of the Basilica, we walked around the whole complex to get in line for the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. It was crowded, but we had no wait at all; we just moved along with the group, room after room after room (no time to stop, of course) until we finally arrived in the Sistine Chapel and stood for a while with our mouths gaping open and our necks bent horizontally. It was magnificent. It appeared that the boys, who were tired and hot and hungry and anxious to hit the souvenir shops, were even impressed. No matter; I honestly believe it will be a memory they will go back to for many years in the future.
From there, we took the Metro back to the Spanish Steps and walked to the Pantheon, which was high on Norv’s list of sights to see. It too was fabulous – an architectural marvel and a very immense, marble patterned space. I really loved it. Then we staked out an outside table at a café directly across from the Pantheon and the fountain in front of it, and settled in for 3 hours of eating, people watching, and enjoying the street musicians and clowns who took turns entertaining us (and passing the hat later). This will be one of my very best memories ever. So perfect, with the Pantheon and fountain lit up in the night , the crowd laughing and clapping together, the numerous tour groups marching by with the leaders holding high a stick with something – a sunflower, a pennant, a furry ball - on the top to identify their group. One of the street clowns made fun of them by strutting with a toilet brush holder held up proudly in front of him.
To end this rambling, I will just say we then went to yet another fountain which was even bigger and more amazing than the others – and finally caught the Metro for home. We got home around midnight, and that’s about all I remember. Today we are finishing breakfast and then going off for a day of shopping. This is the day the boys have most looked forward to, so I know they’re going to be happy campers. I look forward to not looking at anything or taking pictures of anything, and most of all, I look forward to coming home tomorrow. See you soon!