Roma!

After navigating the Italian train system, the metro system, and finally the busy streets of Naples, I have arrived safe and sound at the hostel I will be staying in the next two nights- Hostel of the Sun. It's pretty awesome, and not because of the €1 beer.




I'm excited to be here, but let me tell you about Rome.  Wow, what an awesome city.  I have always loved and been so partial to San Francisco for so many reasons, beginning with the sheer beauty of the landscape.  But Rome, it feels almost like cheapening it to try and explain my experience there.  Walking around the city at night feels charged.  It one of the most alive places I have been.  Bars, restaurants and people pour out onto the streets at all hours, and it was always easy to find cheap pizza, focaccia, paninis, and vino.

We hit all the major attractions, beginning when we first arrived with Vatican City.

It's lit up at night, and simply spellbinding.  This got me extremely excited for the tour the next day

It was pretty wild to actually be there.  I kept having to remind myself that this was the Vatican, this was the Vatican. It sounds silly, but it was so overwhelming it was easy to get mentally lost in each feature, from the Sistine Chapel and Michaelangelo, to the Pope and his Prada slippers, to the preserved bodies of the past-on Popes in St Peters Basilica.  

I have to admit though, while seeing the Vatican was mind boggling and humbling in its absolute uniqueness and antiquity, I also couldn't help but think how much money went into these Catholic relics.  The Vatican is in possession of the largest private art collection in the world, and most of its assets are absolutely priceless. I appreciate the restorations and preservations they're doing, as it has to be a Herculean task.  But forget about the Sistine Chapel and even the Basilica, the rest of its holdings are unfathomable on their own.  As one of the greatest seats of power in the world, I couldn't help but think of the hypocrisy of it all.  How much of the world could they feed with their wealth.  How much clean water or antibiotics could have been spread throughout the world instead of gold plating every visible surface?  The Vatican also has a long history of pillaging ancient roman sites for building materials.   Where do you think all of that marble came from?  The Coliseum had two outer shells that are no longer there, mainly due to destruction and "recycling of materials" by the Vatican for its building projects.  Sure, the Coliseum has an incredibly storied history, and there is much more to that one.  And Im sure if it wasn't the church, it would have been someone or something else.  But the church is still the symbol of peace, justice, love, and compassion, but is also one of the wealthiest powers in the world.  Just an interesting thought, I guess.  Impressive, to be sure.

After our visit to Vatican City, Nick And I took the underground into the heart of Rome to check out some of the other sites.

That would be the Pantheon.

Built in 126 AD (crazy) it was a house of worship for the Roman gods.  Amazing that these places are still standing.  The Catholic Church, though, turned it into a Catholic place of worship, not standing for that pagan -ish.  Seems to be a trend in Rome.

I bet you know what that is!  And if you don't, you should probably buy a computer or a TV, since you obviously don't have one.  That was my first experience of the Coliseum.  And then the next day (yesterday) we got to go inside. 

 

This was my favorite tour so far.  The coliseum was fascinating, but I think what I found so interesting was its history after being a place of combat.  The coliseum was abandoned after Rome fell from power, mainly because the emperor no longer was able to sponsor the games.  So sections were sold as private residences, the center tunnels (shown above) were filled in with dirt, and it became a community garden.  The coliseum, before the Papacy set their eyes on it for building material, had some of the most exotic and rare plant species in the world. Seems strange, right?  Not really when you think about it.  When the games were still a regular city event, animals were in imported from all over the Eastern Hemisphere- Africa, Asia, the rest of Europe- to execute prisoners and combat gladiators.  Yeah, they tied prisoners to a pole and set the lions on them, as over 60,000 people watched.  Well, these animals left behind skat, and in their skat were seeds from all these exotic places.  Once the environment was turned fertile with the community garden, the plants began to grow.  I like that story much better than the lion story, although I guess we can't pick and chose our histories. 

Next was the Roman Forum, the center of the government and daily life for Romans.  It's extremely impressive how much of this is still intact, even with city wide pillaging that took place and two world wars.  

 

After three days in Rome, I can't wait to get back.  It's a city more alive and vivacious than most.  I must admit, though, that I am relived to be back on the coast with the Mediterranean stretching out in front of the hostel.  Tomorrow I think I'm going to catch a train to Sorrento, and tonight I'm going on a *free* walking tour, lead by the hostel staff.  I'm happy as a clam.

Ciao!