Well my friend's trip was coming to an end so we decided to go to Rome for a quick weekend.
Rome has always been a fascinating city to me...particularly the Sistine Chapel where Michaelangelo painted those magnificent works of art. In fact, at home I have a copy of the one where god touches man and if you look closely at that painting you will see the Michaelangelo considered the consciousness of man through god by enclosing him in what resembles the human brain. He was an insightful and brilliant painter. Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed in this chapel..although people were flashing pics all over the place and for me I chose to respect the request of whoever runs monitors that room. Without a flash the pictures are dark and for a euro you can purchase a post card which for some is a far better image than their own cameras. So to begin we took the fast train from Florence and it only took 1 1/2 hours for the low cost of 88 euros return. We stayed at a modest hotel called Hotel Medici where the concierge and his beautiful smile made our stay a welcomed one. Some advice to those who happen to visit Rome...please remember that the restaurants that overlook the ruins...or at least the one we went to are very very expensive and the food is terrible. Actually I could not eat my lunch as the chicken almost lodged itself in my throat. For a small amount of food....the bill came to 72 euros...that is like almost a hundred bucks. Lesson one learned. Lesson two....do not think that information you receive on the internet is correct....it is in some cases not the case. I was directed to go to the metro subway stop called San Giovanni to go the Vatican Museum. Well guess what...the Vatican isn't there. You need to go five more stops to Ottaviano where young people greet you on the street corner soliciting tours. Since our tour time had already passed we opted to book a tour for another 25 euros each. The unfortunate part of that was our time schedule for the Saturday was tight as our train was leaving at 4 and our tour started close to one. The tour guide was cute but of course he talked and talked and talked in the same spot for too long...I wanted to see the museum as I had already heard the history before. What was supposed to be a 10 minute bathroom and shop at the gift store break turned into 35 minutes and natives were getting restless....at least this native was. So after the tapestry corridor I said to my friend...let's hand the headsets back and head for the Sistine Chapel or we won't have time to see it the way this tour guide is progressing with his memorized historical encyclopedia. We missed seeing the St. Peter's Cathedral but I had been there before and the church we landed at near the San Giovanni subway line was just as beautiful but on a smaller scale. So that was our adventure in Rome. It is a beautiful city with a lot of history and magnificent statues. Enjoy the photos. If ever you have an opportunity....it is worth the visit. Ciao mi amici.
oranges in Rome...
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