Vatican

Scott and I like to get up early and go out.  On Wednesday morning, I went for a walk to the Spanish Steps and admired the view while Scott made a pastry run.  I can't get enough of the worn terra cotta hues on Italian buildings.

We met Genevieve and Hubert at the Vatican at 9:30 and waited in the security line to get in.  St. Peters is completely awe-inspiring, to say the least.  The sheer scale of it is more than I can wrap my head around.  We were in no rush, and wandered in and out of every corner.

One of my favorite corners.  The skeleton with the hourglass chills me, even if I can't remember the story of the sculpture.

My dad took this same picture of my mom when they were on their honeymoon in 1970, so we had to recreate it.

I love staring at Michelangelo's sculptures.  The Pieta was behind glass because of vandalism.  What a shame.  In my opinion, Michelangelo was a good painter, but a genius sculptor.  I feel like I'm having a spiritual moment when I look at the Pieta or the Moses.

 After the slpendor of St. Peters, we went to the Vatican museums.  Halls and halls of priceless art and decor.  It's too much to take in!  The main attraction is the Sistine Chapel, where no photos are allowed.  I was lucky enough to see it before renovation, then during renovation, and now after.  It was a shocking transformation, but it's a blessing for all of us to be able to see what Michelangelo intended with the bright colors.  We stayed as long as we could in the Sistine Chapel, until we weren't able to take in any more splendor.

 Then we went to the Vatican gardens to rest our eyes from the art, and to eat our stowed pastries.  It was warm and sunny!

Mapping out the next adventure.  We took leave of our dear friends, Genevieve and Hubert, and walked to Trastevere.  But first, we had to experience the second lost phone of the trip.  Right here, Emily's phone disappeared.  Again, nobody had been close enough to pickpocket her as the girls sat on the bench soaking in the sun.  I approached a guard, who siad his colleage had found the phone.  We went on a treasure hunt through the halls of the Vatican museums to the lost and found where a jocular guard teased Emily a bit before handing over her phone.  The guard and his friend were planning a trip to Brazil, which reminded me that terrorism seemed further away while we were in Rome than it did at home.  It was relaxing to get away from all the hand wringing and news speculation.  I asked Genevieve if she was worried, and she gave me an emphatic no.  She was resolute in declaring that we have to live our lives without fear.  I agree, but it takes some doing.  We have to decide not to be afraid, and then act on our courage.

That said, there was a funny moment at the Trevi Fountain.  Scott had walked away and gone into a church.  When we later followed him, I mentioned that being in such a touristy spot made me a bit on edge.  He said, "I know, I thought the same thing.  That's why I left.....you there."  We laughed as it dawned on Scott that he had essentially abandoned me and the girls, going away from the crowd but leaving us.  We still laugh about that one.

Trajan lived in this neighborhood, Trastavere, a couple of years ago.  It's the oldest part of Rome, and touted as the "Soho of Rome."  Indeed, it did have a medeival-cum-hipster vibe.  We loved it there.  Our lunch was delightful, except for Golda's poor choice of entree, but even her Chef Boyardee pasta was an opportunity for laughter.  Live and learn!  Never order something with just plain tomato sauce in Italy.

I had the saltimboca, which looks gross but really did jump in my mouth, as advertised in the name.  It was delicious.

We walked to Santa Maria di Trastevere and found this grumpy-looking Jesus.  I think he was just mad at his hairstylist.

I'm not an expert on art history, and Rome can be a jumble of styles.  This church, clearly not Byzantine on the outside, was plastered floor to ceiling with Byzantine mosaic.  That's what you get when things take centuries to build, and different popes have different style ideas.  Not that we visited any ugly cathedrals, but this was one of the prettiest.

A stroll through the Jewish ghetto brought us to this pastry shop on Thanksgiving eve.  We also walked into a church called Santa Maria di Pescatore, or something, right in time for a very new-age Eucharist.  There were censers and incense and alter boys and the whole thing, but also a procession of people in jeans, accompanied by a little band singing a catchy little Vacation Bible School ditty.  We were fascinated, but ducked out before the wafers and wine came around.

We wanted to see the Colosseum lit up at night, which wasn't super impressive compared to, like, the Eiffel Tower. Because we have to always compare everything to Paris.  :)  The girls ran all the way around the Colosseum, then we all took the metro home.  The Rome metro isn't nearly as extensive as - wait for it - Paris, probably because nobody wan'ts to discover any more priceless ruins while excavating for a new subway line, but it's convenient if you don't want to walk for an hour at 10 pm, and it's an adventure.