I’m trying to try to quick-blog Rome in 250 words a day (or less!). Here’s what we did on day 3.
I. am. sick. This is not fun, but runny nose, chills, and all, today was a great day. We had only two strict items on our agenda: picking up out tickets to Chrism Mass (with the Pope!) for tomorrow, and the Vatican Museum at 3:00.
We started at the Spanish Steps and moseyed our way over to the Bishops Office where we would pick up our mass tickets. On the way, and even after, we saw so many amazing churches. We walked around the corner, saw another: “Want to go in?” “Of course!” They are completely different from German churches: more marble, sculptures, gold, and design everywhere, but less stained glass. All breath-taking.
Our gelato today was a place Rob had scoped out. Yummy! I had chocolate and coffee and Rob had pistachio. HUGE scoops just piled on the cones.
Basically, we wandered a lot today. Rob thinks we walked at least 5 miles, but it could have been 10. It was great. :)
The Vatican Museum was very cool, more than just the famous Sistine Chapel. Before you get into the Sistine Chapel, you walk through halls with artwork, some what you think of when you think of the Sistine Chapel (classic Italian artistry on the walls and ceilings), but several halls had more typical framed art by some famous painters and sculptors. We saw some Dali, . . . and some others that I cannot recall right now. And then we got to the Sistine Chapel. Wow.
We bought some fresh fruit on our way back to our hotel, rested our feet, then headed out for dinner. Rob had spaghetti carbonara and I had bucatini all’amatriciana (tomato sauce, onions, red hot pepper, and bacon). We finished with tiramisu—very different from any I had eaten before. Then, we found me some Kleenex with lotion and just wandered some more. Looking forward to the mass tomorrow at St. Peter’s! Buono notte!
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by Beth
24 Apr 2009 at 21:27
I hear that when you go into the Sistine Chapel you have to wear very conservative clothing. Is this correct?! Rob’s ice cream sounds deeelish. Thanks for including what flavors you’re eating! ha! Also, I love spaghetti carbonara. I hear what we think of as “Italian food” isn’t really what it tastes like when made in Italy. Is this true, or are your dishes basically what you expected them to be?
Glad you weren’t affected by the earthquake! Tim and Robin were here in Guatemala when there were 11 in one day! Yikes!
by xgravity23
23 May 2009 at 21:05
@Beth: There are actually dress codes for most churches. No shorts or skirts, no tank tops or worse (tube tops, halters, etc.). Not for men OR women. You must be wearing long pants. So it wasn’t anything different than all of the other churches we went in.
No, real Italian food is pretty different from what we have in America. The seasoning is completely understated, but still delicious! What did Tim and Robin think about the earthquakes? What do YOU guys think about the quakes? We both really want to feel one… as weird as that is. :)
by PointSpecial
09 Apr 2009 at 06:15
Hey Linden,
Are you in Rome right now? If so, have you been impacted at all from the earthquake? I dunno how far it was from Rome… but it sounds like it was pretty devastating.
by xgravity23
18 Apr 2009 at 21:31
[Written in Rome but it wouldn't post.]
@PointSpecial: We are in Rome right now! But I haven’t felt so much as a wiggle. My husband woke up in the middle of the night on the 9th and swears he felt shaking and heard the dishes in the cabinet rattling. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to find real verification that there was an earthquake at that time, so maybe it was just a really big truck rattling down the street… We haven’t really heard how bad the damage was because all the news here is in Italian and our internet connection is pretty spotty. (N.B. I could sleep through pretty much any natural disaster, so it doesn’t surprise me that I slept through out.)
by Lorraine
09 Apr 2009 at 01:37
OMG: Mass with the Pope?? I’m so jealous! My cousin got to go to one of JP2′s last masses when she was in Italy. I think it would awesome to go, and the art in St. Peter’s is to die for: especially Bernini’s baldacchino (the sculpted canopy-like structure beneath the dome and directly over the altar). *sigh* I’ve really been wanting to go to Rome ever since Strickland’s art history class…
by xgravity23
18 Apr 2009 at 21:30
[Written in Rome but it wouldn't post.]
@Lorraine: Yes, the mass with the Pope was very cool! We were surrounded by nuns and priests. We felt a little awkward since we aren’t Catholic, but somehow, some other pagans were sitting next to us. When we didn’t get the sacrament and know automatically that we were supposed to be wishing each other peace, we didn’t feel so out of place with a couple who were just as clueless as us right next to us. :) I tried not to take pictures of the basilica the entire time, but it was hard. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see everything because they were ushering us out when the service was over.
This was both a great and bad time to be in Rome. There were a ton of people in line for St. Peter’s every time we considering trying to get in to see more of it, and almost every church we went in/tried to go in on Thursday and Friday either had a service going on (so we only stayed for a few seconds and two or three photos) or we couldn’t get in at all. I’m glad we’re here now though–all in all, I think it was a good time to come.