I am both sad and glad that I waited as long as I have to blog about our trip to Italy and Germany. Sad because I have undoubtedly forgotten many details of my favorite trip I have ever been on. The silver lining? I would have given a long, historical narrative if the trip was any fresher. All that history and significance was so overwhelming that I had a hard time answering "How was your trip?" without diving into a long history of Romulus, Remus, and the Vestal Virgins.
We left out of LA the beginning of October. We had a direct flight from LA to Berlin. That was a long, painful flight. We flew Air Berlin which we never have before. We had heard horror story after horror story of tight seats, nasty food, movies not working and lots of lost luggage. Because we were prepared for the worst we ended up pleasantly surprised. Not that I ever want to fly them again, but it wasn't the Gitmo style torture I was expecting. I stretched out on Brandon and was decently comfortable for the 12 hour flight.
When we landed at Tegel (Berlin) we were exhausted. We had a 4 hour layover before we got on another plane to Rome. Tegel airport is basically a converted Eastern European bus stop. Before Brandon and I went on this trip, we had looked up Tegel to see if it's some place we could get some good rest and this is what we found:
We imagined ourselves as the shoeless guy in the middle, face down on the linoleum. Tegel was looking pretty bleak, but we were so tired we somehow managed to catch some sleep on bumpy metal chairs. We boarded our flight to Rome and landed in Rome at sunset (the airport is about 20 miles outside of the city). We took the Leonardo Express Train into town and saw lots of laundry flapping and graffiti walls. We arrived at Termini and headed out to try and find our hotel on foot. Rome is not the easiest city to navigate, but we did a decent job and only got semi-lost once. When we got to our hotel it was truly Italian! I love staying in places that feel like the country you're in. It was tiny and tacky. I loved it! Here's a picture of the bathroom. The shower was so small that if you dropped your razor or soap you had to step out of the shower to bend down and get it.
That night we went out and did Rick Steves' walking tour of Rome. First, we jumped on the bus (Rome's busses are on the honor system. You're supposed to have a pass but there isn't anyone taking your ticket on the bus. Occasionally an inspector will get on the bus and check for passes and give you a hefty find if you are ticketless. We couldn't find where they sold tickets late at night, so we just hoped on a bus and felt like criminals). On the bus ride I was really nervous about Rome. It's chaotic, full and extremely energetic. We ate dinner outside next to the ruins of an ancient apartment building and then did our walking tour of Rome. Once I had some food in my belly and had seen a few sights, I absolutely fell madly, deeply in amore with Rome. I loved all the squares full of people strolling, the music, the food. It is incredible! We made it back to our hotel, slept well and got up the next day for Ancient Rome. Because I can't remember the chronology of our trip any more, here are a few highlights:
Paletine Hill (I am
positive I am butchering Latin and Italian spellings). These are the ruins of the huge palace that several of the Roman emperors lived. I was able to stand in the spot where they had their throne room and boss Brandon around. Felt really natural.
The forum was an absolute treasure trove of historical fun. Here is a temple. As you can tell, we're well below the entrance taking this picture. During Michelangelo's day this temple was used as a church and ground level was actually where the door is. So basically the Forum is really well preserved because it was buried and neglected.
Julius Caesar was drug from where he was stabbed by the Senate through town to be burned here, on this exact spot. Apparently there are always flowers on top of this spot. And in front of this mound of ruin is a little spot where you can see Brandon preparing to give a speech to the ancient Romans. This is the exact spot Mark Antony gave Caesar's eulogy..."friends, romans, country men...lend me your ears."
We were hardcore Catholics in Rome and had a great time doing it. Here is the first legal Christian church built within the city of Rome. It is on the very edge of the ancient wall and it was built by the holy Roman emperor Constantine. It was magnificent. I know not everyone loves Rome and that a common complaint is "if you've seen one cathedral, you've seen them all." We didn't feel that way at all. Each had it's own story, relics, and history. Like this one...they took the doors off the Roman senate and used them for the doors of the church. You can touch the doors of the Senate! Thousands of years old, some of the most famous and important people of all time walked through them...and so you can you! And we did!
We went into the Capuchin Crypts where they artfully decorate with their dead. It was not. my. favorite. Above the crypt is a museum where you learn about the friars and their history of self flagellation to bring themselves closer to Christ. A little creepy to me.
They always say how many people die at the Coliseum. It seems to me that most of those deaths happened going up and down the stairs. They invented concrete and representative government, you think they would have gotten to railings!
The Scala Santa. This holy site are the stairs from Pontus Pilates' home. Theoretically, the same Jesus walked up on his way to be given the news he was to be crucified. People have been going up these stairs on their knees, kissing the top step, for literally thousands of years. And you better believe we did too! I was sandwiched between a priest and a nun. Loved every minute of it!
These stairs were crazy and designed by Michelangelo. We didn't realize, but if we had walked 30 seconds past these stairs, there is a much easier way to get up the hill. We also didn't know that when we got to the top we would interrupt a mass that was going on in the church by asking in our broken Italian, "Do've Museo?" Oh tourists...
We did the Vatican and all its splendor. We got super lucky and snuck out of the Sistine chapel with a tour group. We just "blended" in and didn't have to wait to get into St. Peter's Basilica.
I loved Rome at night. I loved waiting outside of cozy restaurants with stray cats and the sounds of sirens always in the background. I loved cramming on tight metros and getting lost in the little alleys.
Made by Jewish slaves after the Roman's sacked Jerusalem. They destroyed their temple, took their people, and took the rubble from the temple and made a "welcome to rome" arch.
Sheesh, I still haven't covered all of Rome, Pompeii, the Amalfi coast or Berlin! And now all I want to do is stop blogging about it and go back!
