Tell me something: do these blogging police really exist? 'Cause if they do, I can think of a few people (*cough* Audrey, Chris, Stephen, Lara and Shawna *cough*) that could use a few tickets ;-) This is what happens when you put stuff off though. You get carried away with what's going on and the to-post list piles up. I'll try to cover everything and break it up into two posts: this one about my last week in Rome and another (hopefully today) about my past week here in Yeosu, Korea.
Dad's arrival
My Dad's flight was due in at noon, so I got up at a reasonable hour and headed over to the airport by way of their stupid-crowded train. 11€ takes you to the little town of Fuimancino (foo-man-choo?) which is host to Rome's international airport. He was a bit beat up from the flight so we didn't do much sightseeing that day, just got some food and a brief walk around town. It was just nice to have him around really.
The Coliseum and Friends
The touring started the following day. My Father the morning person, was kind enough to not wake me 'till it was almost time for the hotel to stop serving breakfast (thanks Dad!) and after that we made our way to the Coliseum. When it comes to the Roman ruins, most tours in Rome don't include an interior tour of the Coliseum, so today we would do one of those, then do the rest of the ruins the next day.
As appears to be the case for most of my European tours, the value for your money is often hit & miss. Our tour guide knew his stuff (though some of what he said contradicted what we heard from the the following day's guide: were Christians executed in the Coliseum or not?), but the audio devices we used to hear him pretty much sucked. I ignored what the guy was saying for most of it and just looked around... damn.
Structurally, the Coliseum isn't really all that impressive... unless of course you take into account that it was built like 3000 years ago... by hand. It was at this point that I realised how badly the Christians fucked us all with the Dark Ages. The Romans understood how to use concrete, and reinforce their structures with iron scaffolding, techniques we use even today. Hell, they even filled the base of the Coliseum with water to enact navel battles back then! Really, really, impressive.
We filled the rest of the day with visits to some of the smaller well-known Roman landmarks: the Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps, and Piazza Popolo. There's pictures in my imager of what we saw there, but in short, it's pretty :-)
The Roman Ruins and Other Christian Sites
The next day we did our big tour of the Roman ruins. For those who don't know, Rome is basically built on top of previous incarnations of itself over the centuries. All around the city, people have dug up ruins accidentally while attempting to lay a foundation for a new building and so you'll find excavation sites in many places. However, the majority of the "good stuff" can be found in the South East corner where you'll find the remnants of the Roman Forum and the very place where Julius Cesar was cremated.
Standing there, amongst the big marble pillars and crumbling temples, I realised something when I saw what was left of Cesar's final resting place: we don't matter. It doesn't matter how rich you are, how smart you are, or how powerful you are, give the world a few hundred years and no one will care about who you were. Even for the exceptions like Cesar, Cleopatra, Napoleon etc., in the end, your ashen bones are just another place for fat tourists to sit while they talk about where they're going to eat next... Kinda humbling isn't it?
We rounded out the day with a trip through The Pantheon Piazza Venezia and Piazza Navona and finally onto The Vatican. Dad looked thoroughly impressed (though tired) but it was at that point that I had to break it to him: barring some smaller, less impressive sights, he'd just seen Rome.
Armed with this information, we decided on a trip to Pompeii for the following day.
Napoli & Pompeii
In order to get to Pompeii, you have to take a train to Napoli (Naples) and from there, a commuter rail to Pompeii. Napoli is a horrible place. Dirty, scary and really not worth visiting. On top of that, the commuter train to Pompeii was stupidly crowded, noisy, and about 40min long. If you're into ruins though, it's probably worth the trip.
For those who don't know the story, Pompeii was a little town based at the foot of Mount Vesuvius in pre-Christian times. (Sorry, I don't do dates very well). Anyway, the volcano erupted and killed pretty much everyone, but managed to preserve the town. In fact, the ash fell so fast that the people caught in the blast had their terrified faces embossed in the hardened ash for centuries. Then, some guy dug it all up in the 70s and made plaster castings of it all. Now, you can see the horrified looks and even folded clothing of people in their last moments... oh, and you can see what's left of the town too.
If you dig ruins though, its pretty neat. I have pictures in my imager if you're interested.
Firenze (Again)
It was at this point that both my Father and I were beginning to get frustrated with the food available to us. Trust me when I tell you that Romans just can't cook. They suck at it. I guess they figure that they don't have to worry 'cause all the dumb tourists go there anyway, so why bother working on their cooking skills?
I had, on occasion, talked about the fabulous food I'd had in Firenze (Florence) and how willing I'd be to go there if my Dad was willing to split the fare. He went for it, so the following day we hopped yet another train out to my favourite part of Italy. I got to play tour guide again, which I rather like and we went for a really nice lunch at a local pasta place after which I made a pain in the ass of myself trying to convince my father to climb the Duomo with me.
A word to those considering something similar with their elders (I wonder how my Dad feels about that word?): Seriously consider the implications of goading your loved ones into a physically taxing situation -- especially if said person is not in the best physical condition. The climb to the top of Firenze's Duomo is roughly 460steps, straight up, through narrow, stone corridors. There is no elevator and therefore no easy way to evacuate people in case something bad happens. There were a few occasions where both my father and I were afraid he was going to drop dead. It's a scary thought, especially when I had to come to terms with the fact that I was the one convincing him to come up there in the first place.
He didn't die though, and he tells me that he's glad he went 'cause the view was amazing. If you go to Firenze and are up for the conditions mentioned above, I very much suggest you make the journey.
We finished up our time in the city visiting the city central square (where David originally stood), doing a little tourist shopping, and munching on the Best Pizza Ever. Dad loves Firenze now. As far as I'm concerned, it's the only place worth staying in Italy.
Last Days in Rome
With one day left in his Rome trip, Dad and I took it easy. We walked around town a bit, tried to do some shopping and I took him to Travestre, a town within the city of Rome, home to little coffee shops and small, family-run restaurants. Surely, we'd be able to find something worth eating here? Sadly, we struck out again. Some more walking down by the Tiber was had and then we headed back home to get Dad to sleep early. He had a flight at 7am which meant he was looking at a 4am wake up call. Ouch
Dad woke up and said goodbye, graciously allowing me to sleep the rest of the night away, and I was left with one more day in the city. I happily ignored most of the daylight hours, letting my body recover from the warp-speed travel of the previous few days. It was at about 3pm though that I reminded myself that I wasn't likely to be in Rome ever again and that I should get out there and see what it was like one last time... and so I headed back to the place that drew me out this way in the first place: the Vatican.
I'd almost resigned myself to skipping the Basilica San Pedro (the big church in the Vatican) because I didn't want a repeat performance of the Vatican Museum fiasco. My feet couldn't take it. But no. I was in Rome, and damnit, it's just 2hours of my life to see something like Michaelangelo's Pieta. And so, I got in line.
It took about 30min. Unlike most queues I'd seen on this trip, the length was misleading in a good way
The pictures I took of the Basilica are toward the end of my Rome pack, but in no way can they reflect what I saw there. The Basilica is amazing. Infuriating, since one has to come to terms with the fact that such a beautiful palace was built on the backs of the poor and the conquered, but beautiful none the less. I'm so glad I went.
And that marks the end of my Europe trip. The next stop would be Korea, the following day.
