Ancient ruins are hard to... ruin; seeing these grand sights in person and standing in the very places where world history events went down is special. At the same time, present-day Rome where these treasures are located (the walkable center of town) has NOTHING to do with all that history. The phrase I've been using to describe it is "a tourist circus." Of course, it's Rome and everyone wants to see -- I get that. But you can't blame me for HAT-ING IT! Imagine a perfectly grilled and seasoned steak.... And now imagine drowning it in ketchup and mayonnaise and mustard and God knows what else! Que pena! And it's not like, "Man, I wish Rome could be more authentic for my three-day visit!" It's that the whole situation is depressing; in the center, you're either a tourist or someone selling useless shit to tourists, or peddling overpriced pizza, hot dogs and ice cream because Impulse Buy is Vacation's middle name! OR, -- better still! -- you're going from person to person trying to sell flowers. FLOWERS. Then, you know what beats flowers? Dressing up like a Roman soldier and asking people to take a picture with you and then charging them a euro for it! Ha. No, this is more of a sadness for the spirit of Rome. This disappointment is for Julius Caesar and Brutus and the whole lot of them who believed in a Roman Empire so great that it could run the whole damn WORLD; who would brutally murder their neighbors for power and wealth! And maybe that makes them complete assholes and they totally deserve this! But I shed a tear for them, wherever they are (probz. imperialist hell), and for every sacred, significant thing on this earth that's inevitably doomed by globalization and the all-mighty DOLLAR! Haha. But really, Rome was beautiful. :)
Rome was also our first hostel experience of the trip, and it was excellent. The hostel gets green checks in all main categories: location, lockers, atmosphere, people, cleanliness, STYLE! We also met some great people with whom we have since stayed in touch and even seen again! I say, meeting and getting to know fellow travelers abroad is clutch. Listening & learning. And pub crawling? ;)
We also visited Vatican City. The Sistine Chapel was as amazing as you'd imagine it to be and the Vatican museum was nice. And early in the day, we even ran into the pope in the square during his weekly public address! It was woefully unspectacular, but interesting to be there during such turbulent times with the Church. I won't go there ("oh, COME ON - nobody wants THAT!"). But I will direct you to Maureen Dowd's recent columns in the NY Times that have been like daggers to the main arteries of the dragon! She's a FORCE and her recent stuff about the Church drama has been fantastic & fearless.
Next up: Florence!
xoxo jbahz
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