16: Rome if you want to

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do," is a common phrase I've heard here in Italy. Actually it's been a shortened phrase in today's fast-and-loose vernacular to "When in Rome," and the rest is implied. I'm not sure what this means, really.
If Romans walk a lot, then I did as they did. If Romans take a lot of pictures of things, then I did as they did, too. When you're in Rome, I think, it's best to do as you'd do.
Things I like about Rome:
1. Everything
2. The metro system
3. The abundance of food places
4. Our hotel5. The way that the city is built

Things I dislike about Rome:
1. It's too big.
The city is a pretty spectacular thing to behold. Driving in you get a sense that this place is pretty cosmopolitan and connected to the rest of the world. There aren't a whole lot of, "oh, that's quaint" thoughts like you'd have when visiting places around Tuscany. In fact, Rome is sprawling. And not just an expanse of the once-empire-capital, the modern city sprouts up around all the ruins. At night, they are lit and there's some sort of Italian magic that works its way through you. So much, in fact, that even though you scoffed and mocked the numerous tourists throwing their coins into the Trevi Fountain during the day, passing by this illuminated wonder at night compels you to just give in.


As we were driving down one of the main streets, someone in the back of the bus gasped. I turned to see a partial view of The Colosseum lit in green at the end of the road.

Before the weekend trip I'd been warned countless times about the various schemes and pickpockets that lurk the streets, but I was surprised and relived to find that there were little to none of these characters about. It was possibly due to the rather blah weather, though. Walking around, and there was a lot of that, I never felt unsafe or targeted. There's a shyness about Rome that I didn't expect; as if the city knows of the various places and things that would make you gasp but doesn't want you to outright see them; you have to find your own "Rome" I think. Sort of a kin to the way that the Trevi Fountain isn't in a main piazza, but rather you navigate through a set of twisting side-streets to get to it (although there are signs that clearly mark the way). I liked Rome, a lot.
This brings me to Vatican City, which is part of Rome but not really...it's confusing to me, ergo not that important. Being a non-religious person I wanted to see the Vatican for the artistic reason; the architecture, the paintings, The Sistine Chapel. There were a lot of people packed into the chapel space, but even then I felt like I had enough room. Most people stare at the Creation of Adam panel, which I stood directly under, straining my neck upwards to see and feeling completely overwhelmed by how close those two fingertips are. But while the Creation of Adam panel brought a swell of tears to my eyes (yeah, I'm a nerd), it was the Cimmerian Sibyl that I stared at for a solid fifteen minutes. She was the part of the ceiling I'd waited to see.

Other sites I saw were The Pantheon, which would have been mind-blowing (considering Donatello's casket is there), but it was raining and cold and dark. The Roman Forum proved to have some really cool ruins. The Colosseum was pretty grand, despite it's shabby shape. The Capuchin Crypt/Bone Church was a really awesome idea, and then we got to it and I'll be honest, I was a little hungover, and looking at bones that are arranged into decorative patterns, with mummified remains propped into positions...it was fun in theory and maybe without the personal context.

We also went to Tivoli, which is carved into the side of a mountain. There is a villa there, Villa D'Este, which used to belong to a very prominent family. And in that villa is a garden that has over 800 natural fountains, springs, waterfalls, etc. Yeah, there's a lot of water in Rome and the surrounding areas. Arguably the best drinking-tap water I've had.