Bella Roma!

Hi Everyone,

It’s been a long time since we’ve made a post. I think we’re getting weary! We hope you are all well and are looking forward to seeing many of you soon.

Going back a few days now...on Sunday, we explored the Amalfi Coast, going by bus (yikes!!!) and returning by boat (ahhh!). To say this is a dramatic region, with towns clinging to the sides of cliffs and lush hills, is a vast understatement. This is a place where Turkish pirates marauded during the Dark Ages – and even as recently as a couple of hundred years ago. That threat shaped the design of the towns and the folklore.

 

We are split about the bus ride from Sorrento to Amalfi Town: I found it terrifying at the time, but ultimately a worthwhile adventure; Frank had difficulty entrusting our lives to the first driver, who passed tour buses on blind corners barely wide enough for 2 small cars. At one point, we met another bus head on and traffic in both directions came to a complete halt as the two drivers got out to survey the situation and negotiate how the problem would be solved. My introverted husband led the busload in a round of applause for the second driver when we arrived safely at our destination.

A highlight was stopping in Positano – we were there early enough that it was very quiet…for a while. It was the town’s feast day, so, unexpectedly, there was a marching band to celebrate. This video was taken about 9:30 am:

While in Positano, I had a warm conversation with a retired man who has lived around the world and says he likes “Canadians and Americans” best!

Amalfi was small, but really touristy AND a cruise ship had just unloaded its human cargo. So, following some vague directions, we walked up and over through teeny pedestrian "streets" to an even tinier town, Atrani, and had lunch there. Yum.

 

The next day, we went to Pompeii. This video, showing a 360 view from the forum, is for Sandy:

Video of Pompeii HERE (later today).

As Robyn says, Pompeii is so evocative: you really get a sense of how regular Romans lived 2,000 years ago. My favourite single moment was seeing a built-in door mat (a mosaic) saying “Beware of Dog” in Latin ("Cave Canem"). The dog has its teeth bared and wears a collar and chain, and it looks just like a guard dog today. Amazing.

We arrived in Rome on Tuesday, and had our first afternoon nap of the trip. Then we walked and walked, for several hours. As in Paris, there are many Roma people begging – usually women, bent over on the street in complete submission, faces hidden, shaking their money cups ever so slightly. This is uncomfortable to admit, but both Frank and I feel strong repulsion. It’s certainly a big difference from the “Canadian” style of begging we are used to, wherein people make eye contact with you and directly ask you for money. Still, why are our hearts so closed towards them? We’re still puzzling on that one; any anthropological analyses would be welcomed. Trish??

Wednesday was our first full day in Rome. I think our tiredness (and low blood sugar) plus the stresses of being in a crowded, unfamiliar city were showing, because it was also the day of our only Real Fight of the trip. Frank says this shows our continued evolution as a couple, since we fought much earlier into our first trip to Europe two years ago :  ) Not to worry: all is repaired.

The coliseum was fascinating but disturbing. It could hold over 50,000 spectators; I just checked, and that’s the same capacity as BC Place. It’s an amazing monument to the Roman Empire’s enlightenment and, equally, to its barbarism. Frank was nauseous when the audio guide mentioned that they would spritz perfume around the stadium to cover the stench of death during gladiator competitions.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the Roman ruins (that are everywhere) is how they were reused and recycled after the fall of the Empire. Roman temples and basilicas (courthouses) became churches. And sometimes, the ruins were built into and around more-modern (relatively-speaking) buildings. The Theatre of Marcellus, built exactly 2,000 years ago, is incorporated into apartments that are currently inhabited:

Yesterday -- Thursday -- was Vatican City day. In the Sistine Chapel, the soothing murmuring of the crowd was punctuated every few minutes by the young guards shushing people full-force, and bellowing “BE SILENT! NO PHOTO!” We swear they were smirking at their own intentional irony.

One of the consolations of middle age is the confidence to know what you like, and the freedom to like what you like, even in the realm of art. Seeing the Sistine Chapel was certainly another “Are we really here?” moment. And, of course, Michelangelo’s intellectual brilliance and technical talent in executing such a huge project can’t be denied. Still, in the busy-ness of the distant ceiling, looking six stories up, it took us a while to spot that most-famous of scenes: God breathing life into Adam. And somehow, the whole scenario wasn’t as moving as we’d thought it would be. (The thundering guards probably didn’t help.) Yet, several paintings in the Vatican Museum were extra-ordinary. We especially liked Caravaggio’s work, with deeply-human, not idealized, faces full of real emotion, dramatic lighting, and complex stories to tell.

Now that’s what I’m talking about. 

One last thing. We can’t resist telling you about the two “D’oh!!” tourist moments we witnessed yesterday. Thankfully, neither gaffe was ours! ?

Story #1: We’re in the Vatican City, gawking at the opulence of St. Peter’s Basilica…the largest and probably most famous Christian church in the world. We hear an English-speaking woman ask her private Italian tour guide…”What’s the name of this church again?” I saw the look in the guide’s eyes as she answered, and it was not pretty. Perhaps the woman should have asked this tech-savvy nun instead:

I want to make a pun involving the phrase "We'll have nun of that" but it's just not quite coming together! I'm tired, okay?? :  )

Story #2: We’re at a charming Jewish-Italian restaurant in the old Ghetto area (thanks for the suggestion, Jan!). The menu carefully explains (in bad but understandable English) that it’s a kosher restaurant, so no dairy is served. There’s a young American couple sitting near us at an outdoor table. The young man comes back after a few minutes away. “Honey, I got cash, AND gelato, the flavor you like”. He plunks two cups of gelato on the restaurant’s table. The waiters tersely explain that he needs to get the ice cream OFF the table; they can’t eat it there. The rest of the diners nearby (including us) squirm in an awkward mixture of contempt and sympathy for the young man and his faux pas. His wife chides him in front of all of us…

So: one last full day in Rome, then a layover in Paris tomorrow, then home. Our last post will be from Vancouver. I wonder what we’ll see and learn today…

Much love, Wendy and Frank