Don't Be A Doric



Columns, columns, columns.  The Romans loved them.  Made of marble, travertine, or their own invention of concrete.  The temples to gods, Caesers, and even vestal virgins are still easy to find because of their remaining columns.  Columns from one building we saw were made of marble in Egypt then ferried all the way to Rome.  It's hard to describe the constancy of  images of the Roman Empire.  They pop up everywhere you turn whether you are looking for them or not.  I suppose modern Romans get used to the visual reminders of their history as they live their lives among the ruins (sounds like a novel).  We've visited the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Coloseum, and many lesser known sites.  Except for the crowds, we don't tire of seeing the rubble!  There are chunks of statues and buildings gathered in bunches like puzzle pieces.  It's hard to picture what the excavation was like.  Some of these tall columns were just peeking out of the ground and now they stand 50 feet tall.  We've learned more from our Rick Steves podcasts than we ever  

Syncing our i-pods at the Coloseum

learned in high school.  Well, I just think that we are finally interested in learning about history, I'm sure our frustrated teachers covered the subject.  Apparently we aren't the only ones interested in history.  The city is full of tourists from every country, but we especially hear English being spoken.  The Coloseum was packed, but then it was designed to hold 80,000 spectators.  We studied up on the Coloseum before our visit by watching "Gladiator" last night.  All that awful bloody stuff really happened.  So glad we didn't adopt that practice from the Romans.  Before I forget the Vestal Virgins -- they were chosen at the age of 10 to serve for 30 years keeping the torches lit in the Temple of Vesta.  They were esteemed, had their own mini-palace, and box seats at the Coloseum.  If they remained pure after serving their time they were free to leave and marry.  The catch?  If it was discovered they were no longer a virgin they were given a loaf of bread and jug of wine and burried them alive.  I couldn't help but view  all these temples and statues to gods that ended up crumbled and ruined through the aspect of Christianity.  Only one God is eternal.

We headed over the bridge to the other side of the Tiber to Trastevere.  The day turned out to be cool with some rain -- the one day I decided to wear shorts and a light-weight top.  I was not happy.  However, we walked right into a flea market like an outdoor Trader's World.  I found a short trenchcoat kind of thing and wore it the rest of the day.  Unfortunately, I looked like a flasher because when I was all buttoned up you couldn't tell if I had clothes on.  We had a great dinner in a piazza, lingering for at least an hour.   



Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel

 The day before we used our on-line tickets to visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel.  Because we had the helpful hint to get the tickets on-line, we were able to skip a line of maybe one thousand people.  Yeah!  We didn't expect the Vatican Museums to be so extensive.  There were artifacts for all over the world dating back as far as 2100 BC (probably looted after Roman victories), statues, art and even a couple of mummies.  It was all so accessible to visitors.  There was an entire room with frescoes by Raphael, We saw Botticelli's angels.  The Sistine Chapel was as beautiful as you would expect it to be.   We saw Michelangelo's incredible ceiling and huge, scary painting of "The Judgement." and "The Last Super" by Roselli (I always thought it was by Michelangelo)..  The only drawback was the crowds.  We were too tired to visit St. Peter's Basilica so we decided to save that for another day.

Busy and crowded and noisy is one aspect of Rome.  Little cars and motorcycles or scooters zoom by on every street, even the streets that don't seem to have enought room for them.  "Hey, I'm walking here!"  There are store after store, many catering to tourists.  Roach coach type food stands surround every big site and they all serve the same crummy food.  I did find a colorful fruit wagon for the few who wanted something healthy.  It wasn't busy. 

I've chuckled at the Monks (?) passing by wearing jeans under their Monk clothes and using blackberries.  I've watched in awe the women who walk the uneven cobblestone streets in heels.  I've scoffed at the hunched over old lady gypsy beggars, completely covered in ragged clothes so that you can't see their faces.  I'm sure there are young men under the costume.  I've appreciated the kindness of the Italian people.  I've used a bidet.

There, I said it.  I just had to give the one in our apartment a try.  It sits next to the toilet looking very foreign.  I looked up the instructions on Wikihow and followed them to the letter.  I ended up with water on my clothes.  I think it's time they abandon this system for flushable wet wipes.

And I never thought I'd be longing for the shower we will have in our tiny cabin on the cruise ship.  This shower is tiny with no shelf on which to place your soap or shampoo.  When you bend down to pick up one of those items your butt bumps the glass door open and water fills the room.  Since there is no way I can shave my legs in there -- I invented another use for the bidet.  Don't get grossed out.  I put my foot on the (just cleaned) rim and use the faucet to lather up and shave.  Worked rather well.  I think I'll add that to Wikihow.

Maryl

  

What isn't wrong with this picture?

 

What's wrong with this picture?