Day 13: Rome Italy

Day 13 (July 12, 2004) Rome, Italy

This was perhaps our longest day of the trip. We were on the road to Rome at 7:00 a.m. so we could beat the traffic and get to the Vatican by 8:15. This meant we had a wake up call at 5:45. We were still late by about 15 minutes. The traffic in Rome is really bad.

We met Marta, our tour guide and proceeded to the museum. We only got to see a small part of the museum, but got a good explanation on the Sistine Chapel. Marta explained Michelangelo's methods of painting and who were on the painting, particularly the Last Judgment. Apparently, a cardinal who criticized Michelangelo's work became the face of the demon that judged the dead.

After the Sistine Chapel, we went down to St. Peter's church and got some more history. We also got to see the Pieta, or Pity, a sculpture by the young Michelangelo. It's a marvelous piece of the dead messiah on the lap of Mary. The sculpture is almost like a triangle.

On the ceiling of the Vatican (Note: the picture is designed to look 3 dimensional, but it's not. It's a Trompe d'oeil).

An enlightend Mike Lamphere with the Pieta in the background

Adam Tarrant and Lori Reynolds at St. Peter's square
Laura Cochrun at the Roman Coliseum

We saw more of the church and then had an hour break to eat lunch and buy things. I took Adam and Lori out to St. Peter's square and showed them where the foci of the ellipse was. If you stepped on it, all the columns on that side (4 deep) appeared as one.

During dinner, I had a talk with Marta and we discussed how differently Americans and Europeans think. We decided that Americans tend to want to see it all on a vacation while Europeans explore spots more fully. After our meal, Gigi took us all to the coliseum by public bus. We went inside and Marta gave us more explanation.

They have stopped having concerts at the Coliseum. Since there were not a lot of seats, the prices were high and only the rich could get tickets. The rest of Rome complained, so they stopped having concerts. The last concert was given by Paul McCartney, who asked for special permission to play there. The mayor agreed only if he played the next night for free for the rest of the crowd. McCartney agreed.

We took a walking tour of the Roman Forum and saw the ruins. Gigi had mentioned that it was difficult to do a subway in Rome because they kept running into ruins. We said good bye to Marta and continued walking to see such sites as the Trevi fountain and Spanish steps. The fountain looked nice, especially with the water working. We shopped and explored for an hour and a half before heading back on the bus. We ate boar with potatoes as well as the usual pasta starter.

Lauren and Monty Jo Simpson at one of the gates to the Roman Forum

Laura Hayden at the Spanish Steps

Ben Patton and BJ Poortenga hanging out at the Spanish Steps

Shortly after supper, 13 of us took off back to Rome to see Rome by night, a tour that Gigi put together. We got to see the Vatican, Coliseum, and other major parts of the downtown. We got off and saw the Trevi fountain by night and walked by the Parliament building. There were people outside demonstrating against the prime minister, according to Gigi.

Joy Smith, Jessica Newell, and Ann Newell at the Nuovo Plaza

Doug and Terrie Abel at the Nuovo Plaza

Gigi at the Nuovo Plaza

We stopped for ice cream at Giolettis, which is best in the land according to our tour guide. We saw the Panthenon at night and headed for the Plaza Nuvona, or New Plaza. It was filled with shoppes and artists who did carcatures as well as portraits. There were also fountains and young people. We stayed for an hour and shopped and looked around. Some of the students also got temporary tattoos, probably to shock their parents. It was interesting.

We got on the bus and headed back home. A lot of people slept, the day tiring. We got back at 1:15 a.m., ready for bed.