Rome in a Day

Sunday was our first full day in the city and we spent it in true tourist fashion: with mouths agape, eyes wide, and with cameras, maps and tour guides in hand. We tread miles upon miles from early morning until, well, the wee hours of the morning. We saw paintings, sculptures, fountains and architecture. Rome simply has so much to offer, it’s difficult to stop yourself from running from one priceless piece of art to the next. Even if you are not one to “appreciate art” it is still difficult to say no to the kind of greed that takes over. It convinces you with smooth rationalization like, “Let’s just see one more thing!” or “Let’s just go one more place! After all, when am I ever going to be here again?” It’s something akin to wanting to spend every possible moment in the sun when vacationing somewhere warm. Or the need to ride every rollercoaster at Disneyland. Or perhaps the compulsion to do just one more run down the mountain before you call it a day. It’s a compulsion that, I think, is very American as we are constantly trying to squeeze every possible drop of fun out of our experiences. The only problem is, do we ever stop to actually enjoy the experience?

In any case, Sunday was as busy as it was fun. We began the day at Vatican City, as previously mentioned, along with half of Rome, as it was the last Sunday of the month: Culture Day (aka – free entrance day). Despite the hoards of people, it was truly something inspiring to see so much Renaissance art with my own eyes. The four-mile tour, of course, culminates with the Sistine Chapel. Suffice it to say, it was nothing like I imagined. It was overwhelming in not only its enormity, but also in its complexity. We spent probably close to 30 minutes just standing and looking at it, but I still felt as if I hadn’t seen it enough. But alas, time (nor our empty tummies) would permit a longer look.

From there we spent the rest of the day doing a combination make-it-up-as-you-go/Rick Steves’ self-guided tour. The result was actually quite fantastic. We walked for hours, and discovered no less than three gelaterias (as in, we stopped and ate there), I haggled for a pair of big, black sunglasses (got him down to 10EU – still not that cheap, but better than 30EU. Micall still thinks I got hosed), and saw the Colessum, the Pantheon, and the Trevi fountain*, to name a few. All in all, not a bad day.

The girls only had one day in Rome, so we saw what we could and felt pretty successful about it (though I was thankful I had more time to come back and slowly explore later). Tomorrow we’re headed for Cinque Terre. I’ve heard from several friends it was by far their favorite place to visit. Needless to say, I’m quite excited.

*While at Trevi fountain, one brave tourist decided to strip down to his skivvies and go for a little dip – hahaha! The polizia quickly caught him as he was trying to pad away and he ended up begging other tourists to help pay for his 160EU fine!! Ouch!