There and Back Again: Rome, Part I

March 21st, 2014
Rome

Taking a break from my narrative to share something I've been thinking about lately. God has given me a passion for travel, culture, languages… Anything different from where I grew up. For a long time, I couldn't reconcile those desires with my love of the farm and my desire to serve at the camp. Being here, though, and hearing from the missionaries who live here has shown me that I don't have to separate these desires… I can very easily live overseas for a short period of time, whether it's simply to live or study abroad, and use that time to form relationships and be salt and light. The apathy and hypocrisy I feel in the States (especially the South) sickens me, and going into a world where people openly deny God is almost a relief. I feel like I'm talking to a real person instead of a facade built up out of tradition and moral obligation.

So… Anyways. Back to Rome.

We flew in late the next morning, and had our first experience with Roman traffic… INSANE. We stopped in at our hotel, a lovely place with a garden and a very nice man who mistakenly referred to us as 'angels' (repeatedly). And here's the introvert coming out in me… I get my own room! We have five girls in two joint rooms, and I was given the little room to the side… Private balcony and everything. Our balconies are covered in purple wisteria… I got to watch the bees floating around and buzzing in and out this morning. Yesterday, we did a walking tour of Rome; saw the Palace of St. Michael, the Trevi Fountain, and many, many monuments. Dinner was at a little place across the street from the hotel: butter penne, salad, some thinly sliced meat we found out later was veal (the ethics of eating calves-which I have had experience raising- aside, the meat was tasteless, with a texture similar to wet Styrofoam), and lemon granita. Our table of girls ate like boys- I'm so proud of us. We ordered a margherita pizza and ate the whole thing… Just the four of us.

We were sitting across from the kitchen while we ate, watching the cooks work through a glass wall. Halfway through the meal, they decided to remove their shirts and pants… In the middle of the kitchen. Why the clothes they were wearing weren't good enough, I don't know, but we got quite a kick out of it. Hairy Italian men folding their pants next to a counter top full of pizzas. I shall say no more.

Sleep, rise to another day in Rome. I eat a croissant glazed with some kind of fruit syrup and a sliver of apricot tart… Eat it on the balcony, then head downstairs and do it all again. Did I mention the long, hard walking tour the previous day? I had to keep my strength up. Fight with the coffee machine- end up with a cup of something so strong, I'm wondering if it's alcoholic. Head to the Colosseum for a few hours with Anna, a very nice, very knowledgeable local. We walked through the Roman Forum and saw the ruins of the temples of Vesta, Castor and Pollux, and various other small deities (read: nobles with enough money to buy immortality). We also saw the pyre where Caesar was cremated; Anna confessed she once stole one of the letters left on his final resting place just to see what someone would have to say to a centuries-dead dictator. It read-

"Thanks for the salad."

It was strange, walking through the ruins. My feet were crossing over the same stones Caesar and Constantine and Nero crossed. I could see the ruts between the stones where buggies rattled through. It's hard to imagine such a bustling, living place when you're surrounded by heaps of rock and mounds of grassy soil. Some of the stuff I saw predated Christ… It blows my mind.

We took a nice, leisurely lunch outside of a cafe, where I had pasta with pesto. Then, it was off to the Vatican, led again by Anna.
Wow. I confess I knew nothing about the place, but Anna quickly remedied that. The entire area is actually a separate, walled-off state, the smallest in the world. It has been the home of the Popes for centuries, and their various art collections are displayed throughout the buildings. Sculptures, tapestries, maps… But the ceilings were the most impressive. Lavish beyond description, with optical, 3D illusions and stunning colors…They distracted from the actual displays.
Michelangelo's masterpiece, the Sistine Chapel, was next. Anna gave us a history lesson beforehand, including a rather amusing tale in which the great artist took offense at one cardinal's complaints that his depictions of nudes were pornographic. In retaliation, Michelangelo painted the man in hell, with a snake biting him 'where the sun doesn't shine', as Anna put it.

We headed to St. Peter's Basilica next, the biggest church in the world. I had to give up on pictures because nothing could ever do it justice… The massive statues, the high domes, the gold and white painted on the walls… Michelangelo's statue of Mary cradling the dead Savior (Pieta) was magnificent. Christ's dead form is perfectly sculpted, depicted as just as lifeless as the marble He was carved out of. And the sculptor was only TWENTY-THREE… what?!

We had some free time to walk around after that, then dinner- more pasta- then back to the hotel. I refuse to acknowledge that tomorrow is my last day in this ancient city.

Abigail

I was too lazy to put these in any particular order… My apologies.