Thursday, May 7, 2009

befriending Roma

it's been a sunny 2 days, so Roma looks a lot prettier. it's not like i have anything AGAINST the city, i just didn't like my first impression...

the first half of my day was spent touring the Vatican... i know there are things i'll never finish seeing here - if you were to spend 60 seconds at each artistic piece, it will take you 12 years to complete...

since i wasn't so sure i'd do the Vatican justice on my own, i booked a tour for the Vatican... i haven't ever gone on tours, but this has got to be one of the most interesting tours ever...
the history, the stories, the drama behind all the big paintings and the big artists the contributed to some of the art at the Vatican museum (besides all the stuff pillaged and stolen from other people)...

after the extensive 3 hour tour (I would recommend this tour for ANYONE going to Vatican for the first time) i was tired already, but decided to take on the challenge of 320 steps to walk up (halfway) to the Dome in St Peter's basilica. the view is spectacular. my tour guide had told us the Dome was so high that you can fit the Statue of Liberty beneath it.

afterwards, i tagged along with these 2 women from my tour to have lunch. they were nice enough to let me join them, although the conversation kind of fizzled out after the initial getting-to-know-each-other surface info.
then i decided to make my way to the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain.

i like hanging out and inside these monuments - all the loitering and people watching. i spent 15 minutes on the marble columns outside the Pantheon just relaxing...
then i found a nice place for dinner... and ended up sitting next to another person dining solo.
i struck up a conversation by asking if he spoke english, and then would he like the rest of my wine (the waiter brought me a half bottle... yeah ok, if i had it i wouldn't have made it back to hotel) and we struck up a conversation and we're both Canadians (him from Ottawa) and we had an interesting conversation about italy, italian language, the state of things in Canada, etc etc...

at the end he even made sure he paid for half my wine.
dinner was decently costly - 40 euros for my spaghetti carbonara, osso buco, half an order of wine, pellagrino and pistachio tiramisu.
but the ambiance was great and the food was fantastic. yum

oh yeah, the guy is about 60 years old, retired and his wife is at home in Ottawa.
(in case you thought i struck gold and was meeting random cute young single men at restaurants...)

anyways, hung out by the Trevi fountain at night, it's all lit up and pretty. someone proposed and everyone clapped - i missed the proposal and only heard the clapping. very scenic moment.

now i took myself back home and decided to write all this stuff down before my bed hits the pillow. without proper internet access at my fingertips and no tv to boot, i'm blazing through the books like mad....

1 comment:

  1. I am reading your posts! Dont worry! It's the only way I feel like I have a life! Glad you are enjoying Rome a bit more! Wish I could be there to paint the town red with you!

    Karen

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