Ok everyone,
So I’ll talk briefly about Roma and then I’ll move on to recent news, like this past weekend in Venice (I couldn’t go to Bologna after all) and what I’m up to this week.
When Emily and I got to Tiber Camping, we found our rooms to be made out of that corrugated tin stuff. Which was fine, except between the roof and the ceiling were a lot of pigeons, and this was during mating season so let’s just say it was a little noisy as we were trying to sleep, unfortunately. Oh well. This was our main complaint about the hostel, which again was less like a hostel and more like a campground.
Our main day in Rome, which was Thursday, was really crazy. We took the above-ground train into the city, which always has a young guy playing the accordion for pocket change. Nice, but hearing the same songs every day on your commute could get old, we figured. Anyway, we took the metro to il Vaticano, first to go into the Basilica San Pietro. It was my third time inside the largest church in the world, but no number of times in there could make me tired of seeing it. It gave me just another time to appreciate the incredible art inside.
We walked a couple blocks from the basilica and found a great place to eat that accepted my meal vouchers – something that Emily got quite good at looking for (it’s a sign in the window of the restaurant). We spent a little over an hour there – I ordered the full meal from them, which included huge dishes of pasta, a salad and veal. But we left before too long because this was really Emily’s day – she was really excited to be in Rome and had a “checklist” of things to see. It worked out well that I had so much experience in Rome so I could play the tour guide sometimes. We’ll talk about that later.
So after lunch we saw the Pantheon, the round temple converted into a Catholic church to honor martyrs. It also is renowned because it holds the tombs of Vittorio Emmanuele II, the first king of united Italy, and Umberto I, the second king. Raffaele is also buried there. And the architecture is fascinating; the dome is so imposing, especially with the hole in the roof.
We tried to go into the Chiesa del Gesu’, where Saint Ignatius is buried, but it was a no-go because it was locked. I was kind of annoyed because I missed this the last time I was in Roma and I really wanted to see it. Oh well. Instead I took Emily to the Chiesa Sant’Ignazio, where the BC Chorale performed while I was there the last time. The artistic design of the frescoes and gold leaf decoration is unforgettable.
Walking past the Monumento a Vittorio Emmanuele II, the one that looks like the wedding cake (but has also been called the typewriter and the teeth), we approached the Colosseo. Actually first I have to say that Emily took my photo in front of the Monumento, which meant a lot to me since we have a photo in our family of my grandfather in front of this monument.
We looked into the Foro Romano, the Roman Forum, and checked out the ruins from all different centuries. As we got to the Colosseo, we saw a guy changing into his gladiator suit to take photos with tourists, that was kind of funny. I mean, he was like putting on this tunic and helmet thing. The Colosseo was actually kind of expensive… it cost like 12 euro, and that was only for the entry, so there were other charges if we wanted information while we were inside. Instead, we just looked through the windows and strolled around the outside while I gave some of the information I know about the Colosseo (a combination of things I’d read, things I remember from when I went inside the Colosseo, and things from 6th grade history). I was actually surprised at how much I could remember. By this time it had started to rain and we didn’t have umbrellas, but it wasn’t really that bad.
Emily really wanted to see the Domus Aurea, the house where Nero lived. I told her that I’d been there five years ago, and I really found it to be interesting. However, I was sure I wouldn’t be able to remember any information about it. After walking through the park next to the Colosseo (which was kind of sketchy) and asking directions from a few people, we found it. Turns out we’d actually been standing on it (it’s underground now since the ground level was lower back then). But actually the Domus Aurea was closed for repairs. So we didn’t get a good look.
The rain let off but we rode the jam-packed metro back to the Fontana di Trevi, where we began searching for a place to eat. We got as far as the Pantheon when Emily spotted again with her eagle eyes a place that accepted my vouchers. So we had a nice meal and then headed back to the Piazza del Popolo to catch the above-ground train to North Rome, where our hostel was.
The following morning, after breakfast and checking emails (that was one thing that was good about this place, that there were free computers) we headed back to Rome one last time with about 50 French kids. Emily and I didn’t really do anything “interesting” on Friday morning… we actually just went to the Spanish Steps again, did some people watching (guessing who’s the dad, who’s the older brother, who’s the mom is really fun). We took some photos for some visitors to the city also, that was kind of fun also. But the fun couldn’t last too long unfortunately, because we had to head back to the train station, Roma Termini, since my train left at 12:50. I wanted to help Emily get all her things in order for her flight from L’aeroporto Fiumicino but I was kind of crunched for time so I couldn’t really.
You know, I realize I’m subtly getting attached in a lot of ways to the Veneto region of Italy. It’s little things, like traveling in vaporetto, or the people I know there, like the nice waiters or the woman who gives us extra gelato. I also really missed being able to find Il Gazzettino, the local newspaper of Veneto and specifically Venice. All they have in Roma is La Repubblica, which was ok, but I missed my paper. Another distinct thing is the spritz, the typical drink of Veneto, which can’t be found in any other region.
So I got on the train with a copy of the Roman newspaper. We stopped in Firenze, and two older women got on. They didn’t speak any English that I knew of, but it wasn’t a problem, again. So I spoke to them a little, but I had a lot of trouble understanding their particular accent for some reason. I asked them to speak a little slower, that I’ve been studying Italian for only two years and that I’m American. It’s a little weird when I have to explain “Oh, I’m not Italian” but I like it, at least it makes me feel like my language is getting better. But this particular case was odd because I couldn’t understand perfectly everything they were saying, and it was a little obvious. And then I picked up the newspaper, and this woman asked, “What, you ask me to speak slowly but you read the newspaper?” I said, and actually believe, that it’s easier to read than to converse. But it was just a weird experience.
That’s the end of my spring break trip, really.
I’ve been in Venice for almost a week now, and I just finished the classes for this week. Just really quickly, I’ll number off some cool things I’ve done. I may be able to elaborate later but we’ll see.
1.) Last weekend on Saturday I went to one of our most frequented restaurants… this one’s near the train station. It was delicious, my first meal in Venice since my trip. Not counting the mensa, which should count since it’s so good.
2.) I went into Venice with John and Jen to meet with Rita Piccolo, our BC Program manager. It was really cool, she asked us a lot of questions and we had pretty good answers I think. It was more fun talking to her in an informal setting in Italy than it was dealing with all those visa documents in her office last fall.
3.) Oh… this happened Friday, the day I returned from Roma. I went to the Cinema Giorgione in Venice, which only has two theater rooms, but is an amazing little movie theater. I just went by myself, but I enjoyed the experience all the same. Even though the theater was deserted. I saw Questione di Cuore (Question of the Heart) which is about two guys who have heart attacks, meet in the hospital, and become best friends… until drama happens. I liked it in general. It was in Italian but I understood it, no problem.
4.) There was a movie screening last night here at VIU… this was Waltz with Bashir, an Israeli movie that’s actually animated. It captures (with brutal reality and detail nonetheless) the war in Lebanon during the 80s I believe, and it was cool for one reason because one of VIU’s professors is a character in the film. It seems like a bunch of interviews, dreams and vague recollections. I really liked it and recommend it.
5.) Unfortunately because I went to the screening (which is what most of my friends did) I missed going to a silent rave at the train station. Everyone downloaded this iTunes file, and then would listen to it on their iPods, all synchronized. And yet…silence. I heard about it from the Italian students at VIU. I’m actually getting my best practice in Italian not from Italian class or TV/Newspaper stuff, but from just chatting with the Italians, which I try to do every day.
That’s all! Tomorrow though, two big things. I’m going on the VIU trip to the Porto (port) of Venice to find out how the citizens live in harmony with the surrounding environment, ie water. Then there’s a trip to Vicenza, a city maybe a couple hours away. Not really sure what’s there, but what’s for sure is that I can get a lot of practice for my Italian while I’m there, since a lot of the Italian students go on these trips. Finally, tomorrow night there will be a big party… on our island of San Servolo! Two big stages with a lot of musical artists. I’m looking forward to it.
Ciao,
Andrew
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