Coments

From the diary of Trudy Hoffman
Thursday, 05/20/04

Helene, our tour guide recommended by Karole & John Scott, met us at our hotel at 9:00 am. We had a typical Italian hotel breakfast of bruschetta, cheese, hard bread, and cold cuts the square where Mussolini lived and the balcony where he spoke. Kent gave some money to a poor old street woman. We walked through Ancient Rome including the Forum, Palatine Hill, House and grounds of the Vestal Virgins, etc. We got a history lesson from Helene. We saw the place where Peter and Paul were imprisoned. The House of the Vestal Virgins was the home of women who tended the flame in the temple of Vesta for 30 years. The girls were chosen from patrician families. If they “misplaced” their virginity, they were buried alive so the story goes. We saw where Julius Caesar was burned.

Our next stop was the Colosseum ($8 E each) which was completed in 80 A.D. There were huge lines, but Helene took us right to the front which we really appreciated. The Colosseum is a mere shell of what it once was, but it is still pretty incredible. It could seat 50,000 people, and had rooms under the floor for the wild animals. At one point, they could even flood the middle and have naval battles with small ships. I got my picture taken with a Roman gladiator. He was cute!! I took a ton of pictures. I want to go back home and watch the Gladiator movie again. Helene says they did a good job of making the Colosseum look like it did back in it’s glory days.

After the Colosseum, we took a taxi to the Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. The Pantheon was built in 27 B.C., and is 142 ft wide and 142 ft high, a perfect sphere. The only means of light was the oculus, an opening at the top that is 18 ft in diameter. Raphael’s tomb is in the Pantheon as well as two kings. Raphael’s coffin is actually behind glass. This was our first exposure to all of the people that are buried in the Italian churches. They are in the walls and floors. Church services are still held in the churches even though they are huge tourist venues. The Pantheon has a beautiful dome, marble floors, statues, arches, columns, etc. The floors are incredible with different types of marble, stone, and granite. Our next stop was to find a place for lunch. The Italians stick a fountain in an intersection and call it a piazza. Helene left us for the day with more suggestions for touring. She was really great, and I am so glad we met her.

We had an artichoke pizza and wine for lunch at an outdoor place facing the Pantheon. After lunch, we spent several hours walking around. We went to the Piazza Navona which is a huge open area with fountains and street vendors. The vendors were selling henna tattoos, paintings, statues, jewelry, etc. Next we walked to the Fontana Di Trevi (Trevi Fountain) which was huge and beautiful. It covered the whole front of a building. There is so much marble, and the water comes out in so many places. Kent bought me a slab of fresh coconut from a street vendor. We went through several small Piazzas on the way that all had fountains and statues. They are everywhere, and I love it. After Trevi Fountain, we went back to the Spanish Steps (Piazza Spagna) to see it in the daytime. My night pictures didn’t come out very good. As before, there were a lot of people around.

We went back to our hotel to check on the train schedules to Florence. They directed us to a small travel agency where we bought a train ticket on the high speed Eurostar ($43 E each) for tomorrow. We walked to Piazza Barberini and sat in a sidewalk café next to the Metro Stop, and had drinks and sandwiches. There is a lot of traffic, small cars, and motor scooters in Rome. Helene told us traffic is restricted, and she isn’t allowed to drive in the city. You have to have a blue zone tag, and live in the city. The streets are very narrow, and they drive tiny cars. Some of the cars are called Smart Cars made by the Swatch Watch Co. and Mercedes Benz. The cars are dented and scratched on all sides. Helene said her car is in the body shop every 90 days getting touched up. Helene used to live in the US in the 80’s touring Europeans around NY and DC. She is French and married an Italian. We stopped at an Internet café, and got an hour for $2.10 E. I sent a bunch of e-mails home. Back at the hotel, we relaxed and took a nap. The shops close in the afternoons, and open late, around 8:00 pm. The restaurants do the same, so you don’t eat dinner until 8:00 or 8:30 pm. We had dinner at La Scala on Via di San Isidoro. It was very good, and we had a bottle of Chianti, prochutto (ham), veal, and spaghetti alla carbonara. After dinner, we walked back up to Trevi Fountain and sat on the steps and ate Gelato (Italian Ice Cream like sherbet). I have had three scoops today!! We stopped at a Tabacchi shop today and bought some Cuban cigars. They are all pretty expensive. The Cubans are mild, but dry. They don’t know much about humidors over here. We smoked a Cuban cigar on the way back to the hotel.

Friday, 05/21/04

Helene met us at our hotel again at 9:00 am. We took a taxi to Vatican City which is completely enclosed by a huge wall. On the way we drove by the Piazza Popolo (Plaza of the People). It is pretty and has twin domed churches. The Vatican is a separate state and the Pope is the King from a political standpoint. Vatican City has it’s own hospital, bank, post office, police force, etc. Before we got out of the cab, Helene told Kent he looked crippled. The lines were over two hours long, but Helene took us to the front, spoke to the doorman, and told them Kent had a bad leg. He was very convincing, and we walked right in. I was wondering if a lightening bolt would strike us down. The ticket price was $12 E each. There are 7 million people a year who visit Vatican City, and I can see why. It is pretty incredible, and was one of the best parts of our trip.

We started in the Vatican museums. We saw a lot of marble statues, paintings, tapestries, mummies, huge Roman bathtubs of marble & granite, mosaic pictures, and floors, etc. It was an incredible display of so much stuff. Some of the ceilings were painted to look 3 dimensional even though they were flat. Helene took us through the underground rooms that were apartments for previous Popes. We avoided the crowds and didn’t stand in line for the Sistine Chapel either. Helene gave us a lesson on the Sistine Chapel and it’s history. It took Michelangelo four years (1508-1512) of lying on his back to paint the ceiling of the Chapel. The paintings, nine panels, told great biblical stories from the book of Genesis. We sat on the sides with our heads tilted back and just looked. There was so much detail in every panel. You could easily spend 2-3 days in the Vatican museums.

Our next stop was St. Peter’s Basilica which was actually the third Basilica built on that spot. It showcases some of Italy’s greatest artists including Raphael and Michelangelo. It is very overpowering with many confessionals, alters, entombed Popes (100+), etc. The Baroque alter above the remains of St. Peter is only used by the Pope to preach on. Down below (Vatican grottoes) we walked through the halls of dead Pope tombs. I found one empty spot which we are guessing would be the spot for our current Pope, John Paul II. I didn’t realize that John Paul I died of a heart attack only three weeks into his reign. The average Pope only lives 6.3 years to reign. In the nave on the right is Michelangelo’s sculpture the “Pieta”. It is very pretty and behind glass now. I touched the foot of the Bronze statue of St. Peter which is suppose to grant a wish. The toes of the foot are worn off from so many people touching it.

We exited to St. Peter’s square (Piazza San Pietro) designed by Bernini where all of the columns and Saints (140) surrounding the top of the pillars are. We saw where the Pope speaks on Wednesdays when he is in town and the window where he is seen while on TV. I mailed some post cards from the Vatican post office. I saw a small mosaic picture in one of the gift stores which I liked. It was over $2,000 E. Of course, I didn’t buy it.

We took a taxi back to the Piazza Barberini after saying good-bye to Helene.
When we come back to Rome, I would like to meet her again.