We're back home

Hope to post pictures soon. Blogging just took too much time.

Lisa

A few thoughts

We loved Rome. The very cold and rainy weather turned out to be a blessing. Waiting in long lines (which is talked about at great length in every guide book) was non-existant.

Again, we loved Rome, until we got to Florence! We fell in love with int the moment we saw the patches of snow - apparently from a couple days ago. Florence is colder and wetter than Rome and the people so far are fabulous.

We took a self guided walking tour of the artisan area, where leather goods, jewelry, yarn, art are made right in the shops. We spent a few hours talking to some of the artists.

More about this later as we have to get down for our breakfast before it goes away.

The Art of Rome -- or as much as would fit in a day

So, our plan for the day was to be sure to see the Pieta, which had been closed off during yesterday's mass.  Also, to visit the Sistine chapel. One of our guide books said the most reasonable way to get into the Sistine chapel was at the end of a tour through the Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani).

So, after sleeping in (yeah!!!) and a reasonable continental breakfast, it was off to the Basilica to see the Pieta.  I was especially eager to see this, as it was the first work of visual art that had ever moved me.  I'd been to the east coast in 1964 or so for the World's Fair, and was emotionally, and perhaps even spiritually, blown away by its beauty, sensitivity, feeling.

But after waiting in the Basilica line for a bit, we decided this could wait, and that we should see the Musei early, and we could save the Basilica for later.

On our walk along the outside of the Vatican walls (Lisa: "Wow; people who think it's hard to get into our church headquarters ought to see this!"), pretty woman (seemingly sincerely) offered us tickets to a guided tour that would help us "jump the queue."  But it was a winter-time Friday, so there weren't any queues at all.

The Vatican Museums house huge amounts of art and relics accumulated by the popes over time.  They're housed in former offices and residences of the popes, so some of the art, especially walls painted by Raphael, is displayed in the setting for which it was created.

I especially loved the "Musical Angels" (or "Angelic Musicians," I can't remember which).  I'd seen posters of these, but had no idea they were housed here.  They're so pretty, the colors so vibrant.  More interestingly, each seems to have its own reasons for playing.  One caught up in the beauty of the music, another praising God, another tailoring her tune for the benefit of her hearers below.  [This one was my favorite.]

There was a stunning painting of the transfiguration of Christ in which the drama of the heavenly visitors (Moses and Elijah) and the cowed apostles is tied to a scene below of the healing of a possessed boy.

Not sure why a portrait of a penitent Jerome appealed to us, but it did.  I honor his life of service in learning enough Hebrew and Greek to create so accurate and durable a translation of the Bible.  I'm perplexed at his apparent remorse in the painting, tho' I don't know the story.

"Super magic" adventure in Rome (third post; read one below first)

Leaving the St. Peter's Basilica Info Office gift shop just off St. Peter's square (got some nice post cards), we sort of wandered around a minute wondering whether to try to get into the church for a glimpse, when a 50-something Italian woman approached us with a couple big yellow tickets and in quite broken English asked whether we wanted to go in for a speech of some kind.

She didn't seem like a scammer, but how good could some random street offer be?

I read the card:

Celebrazione dei Vesperi
presieduta dal Santa Padre
Benedetto XVI
Giovedi 17 Dicembre 2009
Basilica Vaticana - ore 17,30

Near as I could tell this was a ticket to hear the Pope at a special Verspers service (lots of music) two hours thence.

She said her two friends couldn't make it, and the tickets were free to her as a faculty member of one of the Roman universities.

Couldn't pass this one up.

We'd wondered what the long line we'd seen on the other side of St. Peter's square was for, and now we knew.



Our hostess was a charming/perplexing combination of a very sweet and intelligent professor of "Plant Systematics" and a pushy, rule-ignoring Roman.  She looked at the impossibly long line and decided we needed to be near the front of it.  So she just pretended that we knew someone else who'd been holding our places, and we were in.


It was amazing.  We had our own guide/interpreter.  And before too long we were passing the metal detectors and walking in through the main doors of the biggest, fanciest church in the world, walking past guards, both decorative and scary, past bigger-than-life statues of various saints, past the student section, being seated in the fourth row right in front of the altar (mounted by "God's four-poster bed"), reserved for university faculty and guests, and attending an actual papal service.



As far as the service goes, it was all Latin and Italian to us, but it was quite a moving experience, so privileged to be there with "Maretta," seated next to the choir and orchestra, singing along with the congregation, watching the Pope enter (just after a lot of African drumming and singing), etc.



The basilica is usually dimly lit, to save power according to Maretta, but the lights were all turned on for much of the service, and it was pretty glorious.  Bernini's "Dove Window" was especially amazing.  (The pieta was hidden behind some draped scaffolding or something.  We were told we could see it tomorrow at 7am.  Better finish this now!)


So, amazing magic on our first outing in Rome.  Maretta said "God chose you," and that we were now family, however far away.

The view from our balcony

So we arrived at the "Casa Franci Bed & Breakfast," which turns out to be a few rooms in a banal modern apartment, but the hosts seem very nice, and they got the WiFi working, so we can blog, read weather on iPhone, etc.

And, what a great view from our balcony!!!

We've got a straight shot up the street to St. Peter's Basilica.

After our nap, we walked up to the Basilica, imagining only that we'd buy a Roma Pass at the Info office, but what we got was . . .  (be sure to read our next post for what will probably turn out to be the high point of our trip, already on just the first day!)

Fine flight with one nice discovery

You'll be amazed to hear that our overscheduled heros were ready for their 5:30am limo to the airport for our 7:30 SFO-Newark-Rome flight.

Kim had just written checks for several bills, but not yet mailed them.  Once inside SFO, and past security, he learned that "after 9/11 all the post boxes were moved outside the airport."  We chatted with a random woman waiting for our flight.  She turned out to be a big traveller, and she recommended the "Paris Sewers" tour.  Sounded pretty cool.  "So, is Newark your final destination?"  Yes.  She readily agreed to mail my bills (all to NoCal addresses) from Newark.  Cool woman: avid traveller, like to stay in hostels, somewhat disheveled, etc.

Otherwise pretty uneventful trip.  But made good use of the time, finally getting a chance to read our Rome guide books. (Lisa: Lonely Planet; Kim: Rick Steves).

Arrived in Rome with plans to take train to Termini and taxi from there to hotel, but allowed ourselves to be talked into taking a shuttle "direct to our door."  But we were taken to two other hotels first, getting a bit of an orientation tour from our driver, which we counted as all to the good.  Exhausted travelers took at least a two hour nap before heading out for exploration.