tales from travels a far
Well I returned from Rome on new year's day. Let me just say this: my mind knows it is so far from the truth but my heart feels that everything is better in Italy. This was partially the beautiful monuments and quaint streets, but mainly it was the food. The food in Italy is GLORIOUS. I cannot stress how magnificent the hot chocolate is, or how aromatic the wines and olive oils are.
because brendan and his family's flight was earlier I arrived at the airport ten hours early. I think I have been so lucky and blessed. I have met people so generous and so kind to me this season. I suppose yesterday in Buckinghamshire made me feel this more poignantly than I already did. we hugged and kissed each other goodbye, and I wished them a safe flight. His mum advised me to leave my bag at a left luggage facility and go into Rome, which I did. I was a little nervous but I did it; I went adventuring in the city on my own. I stuffed my scarf into my bag so that if any pickpockets tried to steal anything from it, they would only find the scarf near the surface. I placed all my valuables at the bottom of the bag beneath it.
I got the the leonardo express to Rome Termini, and walked along the via cavour down to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. I heard it was a beautiful church, and it was. In fact, I found out that the Pope often uses this basilica, and that it was once the Palace of the Pope after the Avignon papacy ended and the papacy was returned to Rome. It so happened that mass was ongoing when I reached the basilica. I dipped my hand in the pool of holy water by the entrance and sat down for a while. I didn't understand any of it, except for the hallelujah part. I was considering going for confession but the booths weren't very private. and I couldn't tell if the word of the booth said 'English' or 'Francais' from far away. There were other booths that said things like 'Deutsch' and 'Italiano' over them. They catered for quite a few languages if I recall.
After taking a few pictures, I went back to the Via Cavour and followed it down to the Colosseum. I wandered around a lot of the ruins on my way to the colosseum. It was quite surreal being there. The path leading to the entrance had huge flagstones and it really suggested that it was from another great age where things were on more epic scales. I picked my way among the broad flat stones that rose out of the pools of rain water that was left there from the night before. Unfortunately they were not allowing anyone else in by the time I had got there. It was a real shame, especially since they were having some kind of extraordinary awesome opening on new years day. I took some time walking all the way around it, and taking pictures before going back to wander past more ruins.
It was a long day, more on it later.
because brendan and his family's flight was earlier I arrived at the airport ten hours early. I think I have been so lucky and blessed. I have met people so generous and so kind to me this season. I suppose yesterday in Buckinghamshire made me feel this more poignantly than I already did. we hugged and kissed each other goodbye, and I wished them a safe flight. His mum advised me to leave my bag at a left luggage facility and go into Rome, which I did. I was a little nervous but I did it; I went adventuring in the city on my own. I stuffed my scarf into my bag so that if any pickpockets tried to steal anything from it, they would only find the scarf near the surface. I placed all my valuables at the bottom of the bag beneath it.
I got the the leonardo express to Rome Termini, and walked along the via cavour down to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. I heard it was a beautiful church, and it was. In fact, I found out that the Pope often uses this basilica, and that it was once the Palace of the Pope after the Avignon papacy ended and the papacy was returned to Rome. It so happened that mass was ongoing when I reached the basilica. I dipped my hand in the pool of holy water by the entrance and sat down for a while. I didn't understand any of it, except for the hallelujah part. I was considering going for confession but the booths weren't very private. and I couldn't tell if the word of the booth said 'English' or 'Francais' from far away. There were other booths that said things like 'Deutsch' and 'Italiano' over them. They catered for quite a few languages if I recall.
After taking a few pictures, I went back to the Via Cavour and followed it down to the Colosseum. I wandered around a lot of the ruins on my way to the colosseum. It was quite surreal being there. The path leading to the entrance had huge flagstones and it really suggested that it was from another great age where things were on more epic scales. I picked my way among the broad flat stones that rose out of the pools of rain water that was left there from the night before. Unfortunately they were not allowing anyone else in by the time I had got there. It was a real shame, especially since they were having some kind of extraordinary awesome opening on new years day. I took some time walking all the way around it, and taking pictures before going back to wander past more ruins.
It was a long day, more on it later.
posted by Napoleon at
11:47 pm
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