It always seems to work out that I'm at least one city behind in posting updates. I'd love to rectify that situation, but I'm leaving for Cinque Terre tomorrow morning, I'm still writing about Rome, and haven't even thought about Florence yet! As a result, here is the condensed version of the next three days in Rome.
Wandering around a city on your own is always more interesting than going with someone who knows where they are. Map in hand, I ventured out from Kelsey's apartment and made my way to the National Museum for some sculptures, frescoes and old money. The best thing to see there was (a replica?) the Discus Thrower; I love the curving body and the way he is holding the discus fully extended and ready to let go. The rest of the day I found my way to Santa Maria del Angeli, which is built out of ruin, to the Spanish Steps (arriving at the top and got to walk down - what a treat!), the Piazza del Poppolo and then back to Trastevere for dinner out. Oh, and there was a stop or two for gelato...
Monday is the day museums are closed in Rome, so I visited the outdoor, always open ruins of the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palentine Hill. This was a HOT day (as they all seem to be in Italy), and I was in the sun for hours. Thank goodness for sunscreen and water! Rick Steves is my hero for providing podcast tours of these places, which gave me insight into what I was looking at for free, since my knowledge of Roman history is a bit lacking. I loved that the Colosseum had 80+ "elevators" to lift scenery and animals to the arena floor during fights.
The Villa Borghese and Museum were the main activity on my last day in Rome. They only give you two hours in the museum, which wasn't long enough!
There were tons of Bernini sculptures - I loved Apollo and Daphne - check out a picture online since photos were prohibited inside. The five or so Carivaggios were impressive as expected since he is such a master of dramatic lighting and realistic expressions. A few more churches in the afternoon with frescoes, amazing mosaics (see right), and sculptures - yay for free entry - before heading "home."
The coolest part about Rome, if you forget for a moment about all of the art and history, is the cold water available at every fountain. If it wasn't available and potable I think I would have died of heat exhaustion, either that or I would have eaten even more gelato than I did!
Dear Steph, Rec'd your postcard from Italy today, thanks for the memories. The Italians usually go to the Alps in the summer, as they don't all have A/C. It was in the 70s when I was in Italy in April and they were bundled up with their winter coats and scarves! Hope you get to see Pompeii? Looking forward to your interesting adventures. Love,Aunt Sherry
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