La Dolce Vita

By Christina

We pulled into Rome and unloaded our car in the easiest transaction we have had since our departure. It was like buying a pack of gum at the corner store – we pulled in, took out our bags, the man glanced at the car, and we left. Despite the convenience of the car (we know it enabled us to see lots of things we otherwise would have missed), we are glad to be free of the responsibility and the hassle.

After a taxi ride into town, we arrived at our apartment (it is within walking distance of the Colosseum and, much to Grayson’s delight, we drove right by the Colosseum on our way there). We love the apartment. It’s not that it is big or fancy, it’s just that it has everything we need and is well laid out. The best thing to the adults is the fact that it has a washer and dryer (most French and Italian folks do not have dryers). Oh, and it has internet access! (We’ve uploaded a lot of photos in the last few days.) The best thing to the kids is the rickety old elevator that you take to get to the 5^th floor where we are staying. It only fits 5 people and you need to close both sets of outer doors before it will move. The kids like to race the elevator to the ground floor and so far, they have been faster than us every time!

At Grayson’s request, we spent the first afternoon at the Colosseum and visiting nearby Roman ruins. The kids were riveted by the guide’s description of gladiators, emperors and wild animals in the arena. Truthfully, I was a bit appalled by the horrific descriptions: rubbing female animal scent on an unarmed slave and turning him loose in a rink with five starving male lions; an emperor smashing the heads (literally) of 100 slaves with a club (the feet of the men were tied so they couldn’t run away and each was given a sponge to defend himself). We also checked out the Circus Maximus, site of chariot races, and walked by the nearby Roman Forum, imagining what things must have looked like 2000 years ago.

Tuesday started with a tribute to Halloween. Since we knew we would not be making it to the catacombs, and because Abby loves skulls and stuff relating to dead people, we went to the cemetery beneath the Church of Santa Maria della Concezione. But, this is no ordinary cemetery. Between 1528 and 1870 the Capuchin monks used the bones of 4000 of their departed brothers to create patterns all over the walls and ceilings. There are stacks of skulls everywhere, and even the light fixtures are made out of vertebrae. Especially cool (in a sick sort of way) are the full bodied monk skeletons still in their brown robes leaning in recesses of the skull stacks. I tried to take a picture of this very disturbing scene, but it was hard to get it focused without a flash (see attached). We all highly recommend a stop at this cemetery for anyone visiting Rome.

The rest of the day was about walking. We took in all the usual Rome spots: Spanish steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and the Bocca della Verita (none of us lost our hand!). After that, we needed to get home for school work, as Abby is just learning multiplication of two and three digit numbers, and needless to say, she is not exactly jazzed about the subject.

Yesterday was all about the Big Guy (what I call him, but known as the Holy Father around here). First thing in the morning, we attended the pope’s “audience” in St. Peter’s Square. Sure, it was cool to see the pope zipping around in the pope mobile, but the people watching was even better. You would have thought we were at a rock concert with all the cheering and carrying on. It was cool to see the flags from the various religious groups visiting for the day, and watching people’s reactions as the pope drove by (this was easy to do because there were huge screens set up everywhere broadcasting the pope’s every move).

After hooking up with our guide and another family from Monterey, we raced to the Vatican museums for our tour. And what a tour it was. Our guide was great and did a fantastic job of providing just the right amount of detailed descriptions of some of the treasures there (there are 90,000, so we only saw a small portion!). Of particular interest to me, were the pieces that Michelangelo studied and influenced his work. The Raphael rooms were also lovely and were helpful in understanding the history of Rome and the influence of the Church. But, of course, the highlight of the day was the glorious Sistine Chapel. Our guide spent a lot of time detailing the work and explaining important aspects of it, so we really felt like we understood what we were looking at. It is truly inspiring. Dan especially likes the way art, history, and religion came together in discussing most of the works we saw.

Our final stop of the day was St. Peter’s Basilica. I had been anxiously awaiting seeing the Pieta, and it did not disappoint. Even though it is now protected by glass (because of the crazy man who took a hammer to it in the 70s), it is still so beautiful. The grandeur and magnitude of St. Peter’s really does take one’s breath away – everything is so huge, ornate, and beautiful. We were especially amazed to learn that there are no paintings – all the art that looks like paintings, is actually mosaics done with tiny pieces of stone. Truly awesome.

Last night we had dinner with Diane Schumacher, a teacher from Miramonte High School (in Orinda) who is living and teaching in Rome for a year or two. It was great to hear her impressions of the Italians, Rome, politics, living abroad, etc., while we dined on our final Italian meal. Diane has taught in schools all over Europe and has a very cool perspective on teaching. Hopefully, the kids will get a chance to have her as a teacher in the years to come.

Alas, it is our last day in Rome and in Italy. Tonight we catch a plane to Athens. We will spend this afternoon hanging out in the Plaza Navona, taking in the sights, smells, and atmosphere of these Italians that we have grown to love. I know all of us will be back some day! (In fact, we tossed coins into Trevi Fountain to ensure it.)