When in Rome...
Got back yesterday from a company trip to Italy. We spent a couple of days in Florence, then a couple of days in Rome. I'd been to both before, about 20 years back when I was on a study abroad program in England I traveled through continental Europe over the long Christmas/New Years break. I'd liked Florence quite a bit back then, but had run afoul of things being closed for the Christmas holiday while in Rome and was unable to do much other than view things from the outside.
I looked back at my journal (old notebook journal, not this here newfangled livejournal thing) for the time I was in Italy back then. There was a comment to the effect that I'd like to come back someday when things would be open, and to have enough money to stay in something better than the cheap youth hostels and backpacker places I'd been in, and to be able to eat in better restaurants than just the cheap standing room only stalls. This time around, I was staying at much better places than I'd be able to on my own, and most of our meals were arranged ahead of time and in restaurants I'd likely not feel able to afford. This time around, most of the days were fairly heavily scheduled with tours as well, so free time was limited. I did get to see some of the places that had been closed the last time I was there, however.
Being the only westerner on a Japanese tour group created some interesting moments. A few times, getting on various buses or entering restaurants, museums, and such, the people working there had to verify that yes, I was part of this group. I also got a few odd looks from other tourists, seeing this one white person following along the tour leader with the rest of these Japanese people following like a row of ducks following their mother. As our tours were conducted entirely in Japanese, I wasn't able to follow all of it; they went a bit faster than I could follow completely, and when viewing art and statues, there's a bit of terminology that native speakers would recognize that you just don't learn studying casual and business Japanese. But, I'm getting better, slowly. One good thing about having a guide walk us through the museum was that they could point out some of the more historically famous/important stuff. Downside was I couldn't always stop to look at something that I found interesting regardless of the history behind it.
One night we went to a jazz club after dinner. I'm not a complete stranger to Jazz, though I don't listen to it much. I even took a Jazz studies class back in my University days- one of those liberal arts credit requirements. So while I'm hardly one to speak on it's merits, being far from an expert, I like to think I'm at least a small step above being a complete ignoramus. Still, they were halfway through their first set before I stopped wondering when they were going to finish warming up and actually play some songs. I know there's some improv involved, but shouldn't they all at least be playing the same song? It felt like they were all fairly skillful musicians, they just weren't playing together well, trying to shine their own spotlight all the time.
I mentioned above that most of our time was scheduled by the group tours and such, though there was a bit of free time. While in Rome, I had a bit of downtime and thought I should do something more than just take a nap at the hotel (jet lag and all, I believe it was an 11 hour or so time difference, so tiredness is understandable), and had to wonder "Well, I'm here. What would the Romans do?"
Also, while walking around Rome, there is statuary everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. While I wasn't afraid they would start moving or anything, I couldn't help but hear a little voice in the back of my brain saying "Don't blink". Thank you Dr. Who.
Last time I was in Florence, I'd had my pocket picked. Luckily, I'd only had about $20 worth on me. This time around, no such problems. I also didn't see any of the pickpockets at work around heavy tourist areas like the Coliseum in Rome, where I had watched them at work a little bit last time. They must have cracked down on that a bit.
I really liked a statue of Perseus slaying Medusa that I saw in Florence. When I was 9 or so, I found a book of Greek mythology in the school library, and the stories of Perseus were among my favorites (though Theseus and the Minotaur was my absolute favorite). I remember checking that book out several times and re-reading it over and over. I did have to wonder one thing about the statue, though. I mean I realize where it comes from (representing an ideal, an understanding of anatomy, sometimes used to stress a place or position in society, etc) due to some art history I've read, and I'm not hung up on this aspect of it, but... why was the statue of Perseus nude but for a helmet, sword belt, and winged shoes? Did he get up that morning and run through his checklist: "Medusa slaying day. Strap on my sword, put on my helmet, grab my winged sandals and my mirrored shield, take off my pants..." Of course, I'm being a bit silly here. He probably would've been wearing a tunic, not pants. Personally, I figure you're heading out to slay some beasts, you want a bit of armor.
Slight digression, but it leads back in... I have a dog. My dog sheds, so regardless of running my clothes through the washing machine, shaking them out, brushing them down, and such, my clothes have quite a bit of dog hair on them. I thought I'd brushed down my clothes fairly well before packing them, but I noticed my T-shirts and sweatshirt still had quite a bit of dog hair on them when I took them out of the suitcase. Which means that at some point, some of that hair fell off or got brushed off while I was walking around in Italy. It's quite likely that my dog has now shed in the Sistine Chapel, when I sat down on one of the benches lining the walls. I had actually been able to see part of the Sistine Chapel last time I was in Rome, but it was in the process of going through restoration, so about half of it had been covered, so it was nice to be able to see the whole thing, regardless of my dog shedding there from half the world away. Or the guards who kept reminding the crowds of people there to view it to be silent every few minutes. At least they weren't patrolling for dog hair.
Speaking of the dog, anyone who says animals don't have feelings has never dropped a dog off at the pet hotel. We've done this a couple of times now, so she knew I would be walking out without her when the staff took hold of her leash. I should've brought a video camera; the look on her face and her body language could be used as dictionary definitions for sadness. I should also videotape the next time I pick her up from there again. As far as I know, my next trip won't be until February, when I'm likely to be going to NY for work again.
On our first evening in Rome, we had the option to go to an Opera dinner, which about half of the people on the trip went for. I was among those who passed on this. Opera has never held much appeal for me. Though I might like the sets or the costumes, the spectacle of a full opera, and I enjoy some of the music, it's a style of singing that doesn't appeal to me. I prefer The Rabbit of Seville or What's Opera, Doc to real opera. Instead, the 12 or so of us who opted out of the Opera dinner went to a pasta restaurant our tour guide knew of, which turned out to be my favorite restaurant of the tour. Afterward, we went on an informal walking tour of Rome which was a lot more open with free form discussion of what we were seeing with very informal question and answer type stuff rather than the typical Japanese guided tour. One of the buildings she pointed out as having been built nearly 2000 years ago just didn't seem right to me. Looking at the defenses built into the walls and the style of turrets of the Castel Sant Angelo, I thought it had to have been built later, or at the very least added on to later (the 1400s or later), which upon reading the signs outside the Castel the next morning (I'd not seen them the night before) turns out to be the case. This night tour also turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the trip.
Okay, enough typing for now. Photos from the trip (I don't take that many photos, lately. I really should start taking more) can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/green-saber/sets/72157627978140801/. The statue of Perseus, mentioned above, is there. I also kind of like one someone shot of me in front of the Coliseum. It's the Superman shirt that makes it cool.
I looked back at my journal (old notebook journal, not this here newfangled livejournal thing) for the time I was in Italy back then. There was a comment to the effect that I'd like to come back someday when things would be open, and to have enough money to stay in something better than the cheap youth hostels and backpacker places I'd been in, and to be able to eat in better restaurants than just the cheap standing room only stalls. This time around, I was staying at much better places than I'd be able to on my own, and most of our meals were arranged ahead of time and in restaurants I'd likely not feel able to afford. This time around, most of the days were fairly heavily scheduled with tours as well, so free time was limited. I did get to see some of the places that had been closed the last time I was there, however.
Being the only westerner on a Japanese tour group created some interesting moments. A few times, getting on various buses or entering restaurants, museums, and such, the people working there had to verify that yes, I was part of this group. I also got a few odd looks from other tourists, seeing this one white person following along the tour leader with the rest of these Japanese people following like a row of ducks following their mother. As our tours were conducted entirely in Japanese, I wasn't able to follow all of it; they went a bit faster than I could follow completely, and when viewing art and statues, there's a bit of terminology that native speakers would recognize that you just don't learn studying casual and business Japanese. But, I'm getting better, slowly. One good thing about having a guide walk us through the museum was that they could point out some of the more historically famous/important stuff. Downside was I couldn't always stop to look at something that I found interesting regardless of the history behind it.
One night we went to a jazz club after dinner. I'm not a complete stranger to Jazz, though I don't listen to it much. I even took a Jazz studies class back in my University days- one of those liberal arts credit requirements. So while I'm hardly one to speak on it's merits, being far from an expert, I like to think I'm at least a small step above being a complete ignoramus. Still, they were halfway through their first set before I stopped wondering when they were going to finish warming up and actually play some songs. I know there's some improv involved, but shouldn't they all at least be playing the same song? It felt like they were all fairly skillful musicians, they just weren't playing together well, trying to shine their own spotlight all the time.
I mentioned above that most of our time was scheduled by the group tours and such, though there was a bit of free time. While in Rome, I had a bit of downtime and thought I should do something more than just take a nap at the hotel (jet lag and all, I believe it was an 11 hour or so time difference, so tiredness is understandable), and had to wonder "Well, I'm here. What would the Romans do?"
Also, while walking around Rome, there is statuary everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. While I wasn't afraid they would start moving or anything, I couldn't help but hear a little voice in the back of my brain saying "Don't blink". Thank you Dr. Who.
Last time I was in Florence, I'd had my pocket picked. Luckily, I'd only had about $20 worth on me. This time around, no such problems. I also didn't see any of the pickpockets at work around heavy tourist areas like the Coliseum in Rome, where I had watched them at work a little bit last time. They must have cracked down on that a bit.
I really liked a statue of Perseus slaying Medusa that I saw in Florence. When I was 9 or so, I found a book of Greek mythology in the school library, and the stories of Perseus were among my favorites (though Theseus and the Minotaur was my absolute favorite). I remember checking that book out several times and re-reading it over and over. I did have to wonder one thing about the statue, though. I mean I realize where it comes from (representing an ideal, an understanding of anatomy, sometimes used to stress a place or position in society, etc) due to some art history I've read, and I'm not hung up on this aspect of it, but... why was the statue of Perseus nude but for a helmet, sword belt, and winged shoes? Did he get up that morning and run through his checklist: "Medusa slaying day. Strap on my sword, put on my helmet, grab my winged sandals and my mirrored shield, take off my pants..." Of course, I'm being a bit silly here. He probably would've been wearing a tunic, not pants. Personally, I figure you're heading out to slay some beasts, you want a bit of armor.
Slight digression, but it leads back in... I have a dog. My dog sheds, so regardless of running my clothes through the washing machine, shaking them out, brushing them down, and such, my clothes have quite a bit of dog hair on them. I thought I'd brushed down my clothes fairly well before packing them, but I noticed my T-shirts and sweatshirt still had quite a bit of dog hair on them when I took them out of the suitcase. Which means that at some point, some of that hair fell off or got brushed off while I was walking around in Italy. It's quite likely that my dog has now shed in the Sistine Chapel, when I sat down on one of the benches lining the walls. I had actually been able to see part of the Sistine Chapel last time I was in Rome, but it was in the process of going through restoration, so about half of it had been covered, so it was nice to be able to see the whole thing, regardless of my dog shedding there from half the world away. Or the guards who kept reminding the crowds of people there to view it to be silent every few minutes. At least they weren't patrolling for dog hair.
Speaking of the dog, anyone who says animals don't have feelings has never dropped a dog off at the pet hotel. We've done this a couple of times now, so she knew I would be walking out without her when the staff took hold of her leash. I should've brought a video camera; the look on her face and her body language could be used as dictionary definitions for sadness. I should also videotape the next time I pick her up from there again. As far as I know, my next trip won't be until February, when I'm likely to be going to NY for work again.
On our first evening in Rome, we had the option to go to an Opera dinner, which about half of the people on the trip went for. I was among those who passed on this. Opera has never held much appeal for me. Though I might like the sets or the costumes, the spectacle of a full opera, and I enjoy some of the music, it's a style of singing that doesn't appeal to me. I prefer The Rabbit of Seville or What's Opera, Doc to real opera. Instead, the 12 or so of us who opted out of the Opera dinner went to a pasta restaurant our tour guide knew of, which turned out to be my favorite restaurant of the tour. Afterward, we went on an informal walking tour of Rome which was a lot more open with free form discussion of what we were seeing with very informal question and answer type stuff rather than the typical Japanese guided tour. One of the buildings she pointed out as having been built nearly 2000 years ago just didn't seem right to me. Looking at the defenses built into the walls and the style of turrets of the Castel Sant Angelo, I thought it had to have been built later, or at the very least added on to later (the 1400s or later), which upon reading the signs outside the Castel the next morning (I'd not seen them the night before) turns out to be the case. This night tour also turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the trip.
Okay, enough typing for now. Photos from the trip (I don't take that many photos, lately. I really should start taking more) can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/green-saber/sets/72157627978140801/. The statue of Perseus, mentioned above, is there. I also kind of like one someone shot of me in front of the Coliseum. It's the Superman shirt that makes it cool.