Rome Trip Recap
So. Rome. It was pretty cool.
Wednesday: went to work, ran 2 hours of errands after work trying to get last minute Christmas shopping/grocery shopping/etc. done, came home, wrapped everything, celebrated Christmas early, played Super Smash Bros Melee, cleaned up apartment, and packed.
Thursday: got up insanely early (read: 3am, after going to bed at 2am due to a multitude of factors, as you can see above), drove to airport, and flew to Atlanta, GA. Met up with in-laws, boarded another (very large, 7 seats across) airplane, and flew to Rome. Airplane dinner tasted okay but made me feel sick, so I gave my breakfast sandwich to rhb and ate a bagel I had brought instead.
Friday: arrived in Rome having barely gotten any sleep, because honestly, it's practically impossible to get any decent sleep on an airplane. Lo and behold, it was morning magically! We checked in to our uber nice hotel and all insisted on taking a shower before heading out for some sightseeing.
Observations at this point: drivers in Rome are fearless and I would never ever drive there if I had a choice. Imagine scooters everywhere, everyone zooming along at top speeds, cobblestone streets (on the smaller side roads), and very narrow lanes. Pharmacies are much more lax in Italy than in the US. (The in-laws' luggage missed our second flight and they had to get replacement prescriptions until they got it back.) Lights, toilets, and beds are quite different (at least in our hotel). The lights were only working if your room key was in a slot by the door. The rooms each had 2 twin beds, and if you wanted 1 big bed you just pushed them together (they were on wheels, so that was pretty easy, but that means they also moved apart quite easily too...). The toilets didn't have a flush handle; instead there was a large button you pushed on the wall over the toilet. Also, of course, every bathroom had a bidet. And as an added bonus, the shower in our room was really sweet - it had a built-in heated towel rack!
Anyway. Back to Rome. After cleaning up, we ate lunch at a nearby pizza bar and went to the Coliseum (which was literally within 5 min walking distance of our hotel). That was pretty awesome, despite the plethora of street peddlers offering us overpriced umbrellas every 3 steps. (It was fairly chilly and drizzly.) The rain started in earnest after leaving the Coliseum, and after getting soaked despite an umbrella, we gave up any attempts to visit other sites nearby and retreated to our hotel to dry off and take a nap. Dinner was at another nearby restaurant; I had gnocchi in a 4 cheese sauce. It was quite good, although it was a lot of gnocchi without any contrast for the texture, so I couldn't quite finish it. Then we went to midnight mass at a nearby church because it was Christmas Eve. It was in Latin, so I pretty much had no idea what was going on, but... oh well. It was still interesting to watch nonetheless. We stopped at a gelato shop on our way there and all got 2 scoops of gelato - chocolate with hazelnuts and chocolate with vanilla for me (1 scoop of each) - and oh my gosh it was HEAVENLY. I cannot say enough to convey the deliciousness of that gelato. We immediately made plans to return and try new flavors every day.
Saturday: We visited lots and lots of churches. You may notice this is a recurring theme throughout our trip. There are a LOT of churches in Rome. I know, I know, we have a lot here too, but seriously, you don't visit churches here just to look at them. You do in Rome. More often than not, they are some nondescript-looking building on the outside, and then you go in and BAM - gold inlaid everywhere, vaulted ceilings, statues, paintings, the whole shebang. It's incredible. Very awe-inspiring. I must say though (and I mean no disrespect to Catholicism in any way, this is probably just a result of my upbringing) while all of those churches were cool to look at, I don't think I would ever feel comfortable worshiping there on a regular basis. And I don't say that just because they are usually freezing. The ornateness of it all, while awe-inspiring, does not exactly lend the building an air of comfort that I am used to in my church-going experience. It's not bad, just... different, a very different feel than you get in an LDS chapel.
Anyway, we also stopped by the Pantheon, but it was closed (it was Christmas, after all). Other items of note: we saw a famous fountain (I forget the name) near the Pantheon, covering the entire back side of a large building. I also discovered the hard way to never, ever, ever take something from a street peddler, even if he says it is a gift (in broken English). He shoved a rosebud into my hands and said it was a gift, then went to rhb to get paid for it. But neither one of us had a single euro, and he wouldn't take it back. My mother in law finally dug for some change and satisfied him but then I was still stuck with a flower I didn't want. Who wants to carry around a rosebud when they're sightseeing all day? It was more than a little annoying.
Gelato of the day: strawberry and coconut. Again, so delicious. We spent the remainder of the evening in the hotel talking. We could have gone out again I suppose, but most everywhere was closed and it was cold and raining again so we opted to stay warm and dry.
Sunday: We were planning on attending one of the few LDS wards in the area that met close to the metro, but unfortunately we took too long to get going and missed both wards that we knew when/where they met. We soldiered on nonetheless. First we visited the Capuchin Crypt , famous for their intricate arrangements of monk bones. And we're talking a LOT of bones here. I found it rather creepy, to be honest, although that was not the intent of the display. They didn't allow pictures, but you can see one if you follow the link above.
After that we went to the Galleria Borghese, an art museum on a huge estate in the middle of the city. There was one floor of statues, and one of paintings, most of which I was completely unfamiliar with, but it was still interesting to walk through. It had several famous statues, including Bernini's David. I mention this one in particular for reasons that will become clear later. Finally we stopped by the Pantheon again (since we could actually go inside this time) and then crashed at the hotel. This was the only day I missed for gelato. However, it was actually sunny, so that was a perk (still cold though).
Monday: We went to the Vatican and saw the Vatican Museums (including the Sistine Chapel) and St. Peter's Basilica. Wow. Really, really cool to walk through all of that. As a side note, tour guide street peddlers will have you believe the line to get into the Vatican Museums is forever long, but it's not. It stretched around the first corner and halfway to the next and we were through it in 45 min, not 3 and a half hours like they claim. They like to inflate it because you get to skip the line if you pay 20 euros a head extra for a guided tour. This led to numerous "skip line" jokes for the remainder of the trip, joining the already popular "want umbrella" jokes. Thankfully, it was not raining or we would have had to deal with both...
Dinner that night was authentic Italian thin crust pizza - not from a shop catering to tourists, but from a restaurant filled with Italians.
Gelato of the day: yogurt flavor, and Nutella ice cream with hazelnuts. Oh man, that Nutella one was probably my favorite. Although the coconut was also really really tasty...
Tuesday: We had a guided day trip to Florence. Apparently it was cheaper to get a guided day trip on a tour bus than it was to buy train tickets to go there ourselves. We stopped at a shop halfway there that sold chocolates, cheeses, wines, etc. and got to sample all the wares (well, not the wine but everything else) which was fun, except the things I liked most were way expensive. (Not like we were planning on buying anything anyway, but still.) Once we arrived in Florence, we all got little radio things so we could hear the tour guide and then went in the Galleria dell' Accademia to see Michaelangelo's statue of David. Now you know why I pointed out Bernini's. It was interesting to see the differences between the two, since both are depicting the same Biblical character. That statue is pretty much the main reason people go to that museum, although it also had some unfinished Michaelangelo statues and also a pretty nifty collection of old musical instruments.
After we finished there, we visited the big cathedral in Florence. The outside is actually quite stunning visually, as it is all green and (I think) white marble, but because of the expense of the exterior the interior is rather plain in comparison to all the other churches we saw. Honestly though, it was rather a refreshing change from the overabundance of gilding and every square inch being decorated that was so common in other places we went. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to go up into the dome, which would have been really cool (but also requires climbing about 500 stairs).
Finally we were set free from our tour with instructions to meet up at a later time, and so we went to the Santa Croce church to see the tombs of Michaelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo, and a few other famous people. It was pretty interesting to wander around in there. After that we had a short while to go souvenir shopping, so we all picked out leather wallets from a nearby leather shop. I also found some pretty sweet leather boots (approx. 500 euros) and leather purse (300 euros) but restrained myself. (Those were in the super ritzy leather shop where we met our tour guide to go back to Rome, not in the more reasonable one where we picked wallets.)
Gelato was dinner that day (we had a really late, really large lunch) and I had pineapple and coconut. I also sampled the mint, mixed berry, and melon flavors. By the time we left Rome, the gelato shop workers all recognized us by sight and were very friendly with us. (All right, that actually was true by our second or third visit.)
More observations: drinks in Rome are really expensive (like, 1-2 euros for a bottle of water, and 2-3 euros for a bottle/can of soda). Also, they only ever seem to have about 2 choices of soda: orange Fanta (which is quite good over there, by the way, because they use sugar instead of corn syrup) or Coke.
Wednesday: we got up at 5am and were gone by 6am to go to the airport. Our flight (9 seats across this time in the plane) left several hours late due to the pilot being late and then because they had luggage for someone who never boarded the plane. Then we flew (for 13 hours... I never want to do that again, especially since our part of the plane had a ton of really rude, inconsiderate people) to LAX, where we were stuck in customs forEVER, thus ensuring that we definitely were not going to make our connecting flight (even though we had a 3 and a half hour layover planned). Luckily there was another flight going to SLC on Delta about an hour after we got that all sorted out, so we were able to get on that flight. We boarded, only to find that weather in SLC was bad so they didn't want us to take off. An hour later... stuck on the plane still... we finally left. (Luckily we were in an emergency exit row, so it was pretty spacious, otherwise I might have gone a little crazy). We made it fine to SLC, and then had a harrowing drive home on unplowed freeways. It took twice as long to get back home as it usually does, but we eventually made it at 12:30am. Time in transit: 26 and a half hours. At least the food was better coming home, except for that nasty salmon and cucumber sandwich they served for lunch.
I slept until 2 in the afternoon yesterday. rhb is still pretty jet-lagged and both of us have screwy sleep schedules. Hopefully I'll get that sorted out by Monday when I return to work!
I should get pictures uploaded and stuff sometime today or tomorrow; they will be in a separate post. Don't worry. They are coming.
Wednesday: went to work, ran 2 hours of errands after work trying to get last minute Christmas shopping/grocery shopping/etc. done, came home, wrapped everything, celebrated Christmas early, played Super Smash Bros Melee, cleaned up apartment, and packed.
Thursday: got up insanely early (read: 3am, after going to bed at 2am due to a multitude of factors, as you can see above), drove to airport, and flew to Atlanta, GA. Met up with in-laws, boarded another (very large, 7 seats across) airplane, and flew to Rome. Airplane dinner tasted okay but made me feel sick, so I gave my breakfast sandwich to rhb and ate a bagel I had brought instead.
Friday: arrived in Rome having barely gotten any sleep, because honestly, it's practically impossible to get any decent sleep on an airplane. Lo and behold, it was morning magically! We checked in to our uber nice hotel and all insisted on taking a shower before heading out for some sightseeing.
Observations at this point: drivers in Rome are fearless and I would never ever drive there if I had a choice. Imagine scooters everywhere, everyone zooming along at top speeds, cobblestone streets (on the smaller side roads), and very narrow lanes. Pharmacies are much more lax in Italy than in the US. (The in-laws' luggage missed our second flight and they had to get replacement prescriptions until they got it back.) Lights, toilets, and beds are quite different (at least in our hotel). The lights were only working if your room key was in a slot by the door. The rooms each had 2 twin beds, and if you wanted 1 big bed you just pushed them together (they were on wheels, so that was pretty easy, but that means they also moved apart quite easily too...). The toilets didn't have a flush handle; instead there was a large button you pushed on the wall over the toilet. Also, of course, every bathroom had a bidet. And as an added bonus, the shower in our room was really sweet - it had a built-in heated towel rack!
Anyway. Back to Rome. After cleaning up, we ate lunch at a nearby pizza bar and went to the Coliseum (which was literally within 5 min walking distance of our hotel). That was pretty awesome, despite the plethora of street peddlers offering us overpriced umbrellas every 3 steps. (It was fairly chilly and drizzly.) The rain started in earnest after leaving the Coliseum, and after getting soaked despite an umbrella, we gave up any attempts to visit other sites nearby and retreated to our hotel to dry off and take a nap. Dinner was at another nearby restaurant; I had gnocchi in a 4 cheese sauce. It was quite good, although it was a lot of gnocchi without any contrast for the texture, so I couldn't quite finish it. Then we went to midnight mass at a nearby church because it was Christmas Eve. It was in Latin, so I pretty much had no idea what was going on, but... oh well. It was still interesting to watch nonetheless. We stopped at a gelato shop on our way there and all got 2 scoops of gelato - chocolate with hazelnuts and chocolate with vanilla for me (1 scoop of each) - and oh my gosh it was HEAVENLY. I cannot say enough to convey the deliciousness of that gelato. We immediately made plans to return and try new flavors every day.
Saturday: We visited lots and lots of churches. You may notice this is a recurring theme throughout our trip. There are a LOT of churches in Rome. I know, I know, we have a lot here too, but seriously, you don't visit churches here just to look at them. You do in Rome. More often than not, they are some nondescript-looking building on the outside, and then you go in and BAM - gold inlaid everywhere, vaulted ceilings, statues, paintings, the whole shebang. It's incredible. Very awe-inspiring. I must say though (and I mean no disrespect to Catholicism in any way, this is probably just a result of my upbringing) while all of those churches were cool to look at, I don't think I would ever feel comfortable worshiping there on a regular basis. And I don't say that just because they are usually freezing. The ornateness of it all, while awe-inspiring, does not exactly lend the building an air of comfort that I am used to in my church-going experience. It's not bad, just... different, a very different feel than you get in an LDS chapel.
Anyway, we also stopped by the Pantheon, but it was closed (it was Christmas, after all). Other items of note: we saw a famous fountain (I forget the name) near the Pantheon, covering the entire back side of a large building. I also discovered the hard way to never, ever, ever take something from a street peddler, even if he says it is a gift (in broken English). He shoved a rosebud into my hands and said it was a gift, then went to rhb to get paid for it. But neither one of us had a single euro, and he wouldn't take it back. My mother in law finally dug for some change and satisfied him but then I was still stuck with a flower I didn't want. Who wants to carry around a rosebud when they're sightseeing all day? It was more than a little annoying.
Gelato of the day: strawberry and coconut. Again, so delicious. We spent the remainder of the evening in the hotel talking. We could have gone out again I suppose, but most everywhere was closed and it was cold and raining again so we opted to stay warm and dry.
Sunday: We were planning on attending one of the few LDS wards in the area that met close to the metro, but unfortunately we took too long to get going and missed both wards that we knew when/where they met. We soldiered on nonetheless. First we visited the Capuchin Crypt , famous for their intricate arrangements of monk bones. And we're talking a LOT of bones here. I found it rather creepy, to be honest, although that was not the intent of the display. They didn't allow pictures, but you can see one if you follow the link above.
After that we went to the Galleria Borghese, an art museum on a huge estate in the middle of the city. There was one floor of statues, and one of paintings, most of which I was completely unfamiliar with, but it was still interesting to walk through. It had several famous statues, including Bernini's David. I mention this one in particular for reasons that will become clear later. Finally we stopped by the Pantheon again (since we could actually go inside this time) and then crashed at the hotel. This was the only day I missed for gelato. However, it was actually sunny, so that was a perk (still cold though).
Monday: We went to the Vatican and saw the Vatican Museums (including the Sistine Chapel) and St. Peter's Basilica. Wow. Really, really cool to walk through all of that. As a side note, tour guide street peddlers will have you believe the line to get into the Vatican Museums is forever long, but it's not. It stretched around the first corner and halfway to the next and we were through it in 45 min, not 3 and a half hours like they claim. They like to inflate it because you get to skip the line if you pay 20 euros a head extra for a guided tour. This led to numerous "skip line" jokes for the remainder of the trip, joining the already popular "want umbrella" jokes. Thankfully, it was not raining or we would have had to deal with both...
Dinner that night was authentic Italian thin crust pizza - not from a shop catering to tourists, but from a restaurant filled with Italians.
Gelato of the day: yogurt flavor, and Nutella ice cream with hazelnuts. Oh man, that Nutella one was probably my favorite. Although the coconut was also really really tasty...
Tuesday: We had a guided day trip to Florence. Apparently it was cheaper to get a guided day trip on a tour bus than it was to buy train tickets to go there ourselves. We stopped at a shop halfway there that sold chocolates, cheeses, wines, etc. and got to sample all the wares (well, not the wine but everything else) which was fun, except the things I liked most were way expensive. (Not like we were planning on buying anything anyway, but still.) Once we arrived in Florence, we all got little radio things so we could hear the tour guide and then went in the Galleria dell' Accademia to see Michaelangelo's statue of David. Now you know why I pointed out Bernini's. It was interesting to see the differences between the two, since both are depicting the same Biblical character. That statue is pretty much the main reason people go to that museum, although it also had some unfinished Michaelangelo statues and also a pretty nifty collection of old musical instruments.
After we finished there, we visited the big cathedral in Florence. The outside is actually quite stunning visually, as it is all green and (I think) white marble, but because of the expense of the exterior the interior is rather plain in comparison to all the other churches we saw. Honestly though, it was rather a refreshing change from the overabundance of gilding and every square inch being decorated that was so common in other places we went. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to go up into the dome, which would have been really cool (but also requires climbing about 500 stairs).
Finally we were set free from our tour with instructions to meet up at a later time, and so we went to the Santa Croce church to see the tombs of Michaelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo, and a few other famous people. It was pretty interesting to wander around in there. After that we had a short while to go souvenir shopping, so we all picked out leather wallets from a nearby leather shop. I also found some pretty sweet leather boots (approx. 500 euros) and leather purse (300 euros) but restrained myself. (Those were in the super ritzy leather shop where we met our tour guide to go back to Rome, not in the more reasonable one where we picked wallets.)
Gelato was dinner that day (we had a really late, really large lunch) and I had pineapple and coconut. I also sampled the mint, mixed berry, and melon flavors. By the time we left Rome, the gelato shop workers all recognized us by sight and were very friendly with us. (All right, that actually was true by our second or third visit.)
More observations: drinks in Rome are really expensive (like, 1-2 euros for a bottle of water, and 2-3 euros for a bottle/can of soda). Also, they only ever seem to have about 2 choices of soda: orange Fanta (which is quite good over there, by the way, because they use sugar instead of corn syrup) or Coke.
Wednesday: we got up at 5am and were gone by 6am to go to the airport. Our flight (9 seats across this time in the plane) left several hours late due to the pilot being late and then because they had luggage for someone who never boarded the plane. Then we flew (for 13 hours... I never want to do that again, especially since our part of the plane had a ton of really rude, inconsiderate people) to LAX, where we were stuck in customs forEVER, thus ensuring that we definitely were not going to make our connecting flight (even though we had a 3 and a half hour layover planned). Luckily there was another flight going to SLC on Delta about an hour after we got that all sorted out, so we were able to get on that flight. We boarded, only to find that weather in SLC was bad so they didn't want us to take off. An hour later... stuck on the plane still... we finally left. (Luckily we were in an emergency exit row, so it was pretty spacious, otherwise I might have gone a little crazy). We made it fine to SLC, and then had a harrowing drive home on unplowed freeways. It took twice as long to get back home as it usually does, but we eventually made it at 12:30am. Time in transit: 26 and a half hours. At least the food was better coming home, except for that nasty salmon and cucumber sandwich they served for lunch.
I slept until 2 in the afternoon yesterday. rhb is still pretty jet-lagged and both of us have screwy sleep schedules. Hopefully I'll get that sorted out by Monday when I return to work!
I should get pictures uploaded and stuff sometime today or tomorrow; they will be in a separate post. Don't worry. They are coming.