MY Roman Holiday

We sailed through the clouds on our decent into Rome from Greece, and after the usual period of blind travel (where the pilot can mess around with all his favorite tricks and blame even a barrel roll on "light" turbulence) we ran straight in to roman rain (which is like Calgary rain, but with Italians trying to sell you broken umbrellas).

In most cities, our routine has been to arrive, to get horribly lost, to return to our start point, and eventually Forest Gump our way to the hostel. In Rome however, we found Gulliver's House (which in Hostel terms means "amazing accomodations, with kitchen, American TV, and Free Internet") in no time at all. Unfortunately the hostel has a lock out between 12 and 4pm for cleaning (which in Hostel terms mean go back out into the roman rain and have fun with the umbrellas sellers).

Although our first day was full of post-card pics with Neil and I soaked by the rain, we were able to visit Trinita dei Monti (wet Spanish Steps), the Piazza del Popolo (large People's square, also wet), Palazzo di Glustizia (very unique, wet architecture) which was next to the Castel Sant' Angelo (fortress of massive, wet proportions) beside the Ponte Sant' Angelo (wonderfully wet bridge lined with sculptures), and Vatican City with out the massive crowds. But the really exciting part of our first day was seeing a real life, energetic "exchange" between a man and a woman... We are talking, colourful Italian argument. Neil and I just stopped and watched as these two people just tore into each other, arms flailing, spit flying, Italian words sounding like music to our tourist ears. It was a highlight. Crazy Italians and their emotional existance.

We later made our way to the Pantheon, and Trevi Fountain before eating Spagehti a la Cardanara at a small pasta house (too Italian for our first day? perhaps).

Rome for us was divided into 3 parts, making the experience less "a few days in Rome" and more an "entire Roman vacation". The Vatican can't be rushed. This is partly because it is physically impossible to do anything but stand in a crowd or line up in Vatican City, but mainly because there is so much to take in. The Vatican museum is more then just the Capella Sistina (as every wall is filled with murals, sculptures watch over each room, and the hallways are covered with intricate ceiling art), but they never let you forget that Michelango's ceiling is the main event. After an hour of moving through the museum and following the Capella Sistina -> signs, we ran right into it. The room was huge. I didn't even care that my neck ached beyond pain killers, the work was spectacular. It took close to an hour just to try and take it all in. (I did get distracted every now and then by the "No Foto, No Camera" followed by the 2 claps that the many security guards would yell. And the covert camera work was hilarious too; suddenly everyone is a spy, trying to snag a few shots of the room. Neil was like a pro, shhhh.)

The Vatican part two was in the afternoon. A significantly shorter 30 minute wait (the museum was closer to 2 hours) took us into St. Peter's Basilica. This was a highlight for Neil and I (even better then the two italians fighting). We got lost in the Cathedral's force of importance. You couldn't help but feel how powerful the Basilica was. We left the Vatican regenerated, and ready to tackle the rest of our Europe Trip.

Part 2 of Rome was set aside for a new day. We beat the crowds and entered the Colloseum like gladiators (actually we entered at the same time as a large group of Asian Tourists, which made it kind of hard to feel like Russel Crowe's Maximus).

This actually brings me to Travel Tip number 7: Queue like Asian Tourist. The most impressive display of "line work" that I have ever seen was in the queue for the Vatican Museum, when a group of 20 plus asian tourists managed to squirm their way passed dozens of people without anyone noticing. Their techniques can't usually be taught (like nijas they use deception, and they work in pairs to distract their targets as they slip by, if they can't implement "sneekiness" then they use their secret weapon, the unbrella, they'll flip open an umbrella in a crowd and clear a 5 foot radius, then they'll fill the gap) so it is best to simply join their group and hope that you can blend in (this was difficult for a 6 foot 3 white boy, with no umbrella).

The Colloseum has seen better days. This isn't to say it's not impressive, in fact we circled the arena several times on multiple floors to take it all in. We mooched off of a number of different tours and feel that we are now (expert isn't the right word, but it's the first word that comes to mind) ready to... watch Gladiator again, and really appreciate it.

The ruins of Rome are like the ruins of Athens, only standing (I'm joking, I'm joking... they appear to be different colours too). It was amazing to see how different the two ancient cities are. Part of the fun of Rome is running into ruins throughout the city. We would be walking along a narrow, cobble stone street, with classic Italian apartments funneling us forward, and suddenly the next turn would reveal the Pantheon. Rome is a great city to get lost in, provided you have the time to wander, and the patients to work with the crowds.

This brings me to another important point; Travel Tip number 31: When in Rome... no seriously, do as the Romans do, especially when it comes to Pedestrians vs Vehicles. The sidewalks are narrow, and sometimes they completely disappear. The roads are several lanes wide with buses, cars, and freakin scouters wizzing by. This isn't a huge problem, but if you ever need to cross a street, don't wait for the small green man to tell you it's safe, team up with an elderly italian woman, or a person pushing a stroller. It sounds bad, but if you want to survive side with a team that won't lose (no one is going to feel good about running over an old lady, and strollers are practically bullet proof when it comes to cars... "american" looking tourist on the other hand are considered bonus to roman drivers).

Part 3 of our Roman tour took place as a "filler". It was everything in between the big sites, it was our Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck routine (I was Gregory Peck... Neil's a big Audrey Hepburn fan). We wandered through the city and created our own Roman Holiday. Travel Tip number 32: if you are uncertain as to how to proceed with a roman vacation, study Roman Holiday on DVD. In fact one of the girls in the hostel had spent the better part of a day searching the city for a copy of the movie. So with a full day left Neil and I joined the Gulliver's House crew and mapped out our last day in Rome with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck (you should watch this movie, even if you aren't going to Rome to eat Gelato on the Spanish Steps... set below).

Rome is a must. It's like a New York, a Paris, an Edmonton (HA!), it has to be experienced at least once in everyones' life. It was back on the train after 3 days of roaming Rome. We head north to Florence, and I have returned to Jack Kerouac for guidence as we return to the Road. I'm digging this traveling stuff, and like Dean and Sal, I can't stay put for too long (3 days is usually enough to get the feel for a place). And just like that we start our 4th week in Europe, having punched each city... right in the face (or at least in their big monuments).