When in Rome....

Yes...I have had that title on my mind....for awhile.....and I'm stoked to finally whoop it out. Sidenote: If you haven't seen "Anchorman" with Will Ferrell, it has a very funny part concerning his use of "when in Rome...."......you must check it out.

Ok.....last blog was in Greece. Let's pick up from there. We slept on the overnight ferry from our island (Paros) back to the mainland (admittedly with the help of some local wine). In our attempt to get to Patras (the necessary port city to make it to Italy), we made our first train mistake. We were supposed to ride the intercity metro from Athens to Corinth...then take a train from Corinth to Patras. We realized that our intercity metro was going the wrong way....of course...jump off....get back on in the other direction, right? Well....wrong. We got off only to watch our metro switch directions.....turning back towards our intended destination of Corinth! We were saved by an amazingly graceful and helpful train attendant who worked for about 30 minutes to get us hooked up with another intercity metro and train combo.....

My suspicions of the ferry to Italy being expensive were confirmed. We finally practically begged a guy at one of the offices for the cheapest ticket.....we were typically quoted about 50 euro....we ended up with a special student discount down to like 33! We have had such great people helping us out along our journey. On the ferry, we met two nice Canadian girls (Shannon and Beth)....two travelers who actually deserve to have Canadian flags on their backpacks. We enjoyed each other's company with dinner, some card games...and the sheer enjoyment of having some fluent english-speakers with which to hold conversation. The ferry was high class...very nice...and not very busy. David and I burrowed out places among some chairs in a lounge (you couldn't even tell we were hiding out there with our sleep pads and sleeping bags). It was nice and comfy. The girls stayed in the room full of airplane-like seats...they got invaded by a large group of kids at our stop at Igomonitsa.....although, we were lucky enough to remain alone and softly slumbering in our own personal lounge.

We arrived in Bari, Italy in the morning. On our way to the train station, we were greated by a great Italian guy a little older than us....named Fabio. He saw us checking our map and offered to help out....then walked us around for the next two hours! It really has been astounding how nice ordinary folks....or those working in train stations and all....have been. I have a new sense of hospitality after being the lucky recipient of some great help along my journey. We reserved our train to Rome and dined with the ladies at an authentic Italian restaurant of Fabio's recommendation. It was the traditional Italian lunch....starter of olives, cheese, and a slice of smoked ham......2nd course of rice and mussels dish (a Bari dish).....3rd course of random fried sea creatures (squid, calamari, etc).....4th course of watermelon......5th course of a delicious little pastry......6th course of strong coffee (like espresso).....all served with house wine and a bottle of water. We knew we had beat our budget for that day in one meal...but, it didn't end terribly.....15 euro per....about 20 dollars or so.....and....an authentic Italian meal.

We left on our train for Rome. Shannon and Beth stayed in Bari awaiting their ferry to Croatia. We got to listen to some Italian on the train.....I would say it is the most beautiful language I have heard thus far...very lyrical.....enjoyable to the ear......I can understand some from similarities to Spanish......very little...but....still a beautiful language.

We arrived in Rome at 9:30 (train was 1 hr. late). First item of business was to book the overnight for tonight to France. We expected to take the Rome to Paris...which we found out was full for the next like 4 nights...and expensive, since the only option was sleepers...but, the nice ticket guy told us we could take the overnight to Nice, France...then go from there. Your typical ticket taker would say...."full...next". This guy.....another big help.

We headed out for a place to sleep at like 11:00.....in way over our heads without realizing it....Rome is the ultimate big city...especially on a Friday night. After many failed attempts....and some more begging....we ended up with the most expensive of our nights (20 euro each...still not terrible), and Dave slept on the floor of the kitchen. The guy had one bed left....we offered to sleep on the floor...he took us up on it...if we'd buy the bed for 25...the floor for 15....so, we split the difference.....went for it....and I owe Dave a good night's sleep in the future. In the morning, we enjoyed showers before hitting the city. Rome is chock full of sights. Even the minor sights are.....major...and huge....and plentiful. We worked our way down our list of must-sees...ending with some things we had never heard of. An all-day metro pass for 4 euro got us around all day.

First stop....the Vatican...specifically St. Peter's. The wait (queue) wasn't too bad...only about 25 minutes or so. You pass the square where the Pope makes addresses on your way in.....then...you enter the gigantic Basilica. We have seen a load of splendid churches on our journey. You may be able to fit more than 3 or 5 of them inside of St. Peter's. Michaelangelo's Pieta welcomes you quickly (although it is now behind glass.....an axe-wielding crazy went at it a couple years ago). From there, you can wander for days looking at all of the detail. It doesn't seem as ornate as other churches we've seen.....but....it is....it's just that everything is so large. Take your typical thoughts of a european cathedral.....expand that a few times....neat for sure...and free....but....

....where they get you is by combining the Sistine Chapel with the Vatican Museum. The Vatican Museum costs 8 euro for students...but...you have to buy that admission to see the Sistine Chapel....but...a must-see. I won't try to describe this. It isn't beyond words.....but....it is just a room with everything painted in great detail. We read that despite popular thought that Michaelangelo painted laying down on scaffolding.....recent scholars believe he stood...craning his neck....and messing up his body enough to start his life's demise.

We caught a quick tourist-trap...a movie about Rome's history...with moving seats like you'd see at Disney. The moving seats added nothing.....but.....the movie was fairly interesting.

This is where a typical post about a big city might end......a few sights....not Rome. We moved on to the Coliseum.....a 50,000 seat mammoth.....again....huge....pretty sweet...silly to try to explain it too much. We strolled around for a bit....and avoided the guys dressed like gladiators who charge you 5 euro for a pick with them standing in front of the Coliseum.

We checked out the Spanish steps before coming here to inform all of you of our current exploits....which have obviously been many since our last post. It stinks to have to glaze over so many days quickly....but.....'tis the nature of our current dash through Italy.

Rome is also pricey....we have spent about triple our budget today...the one great buy was gelato (2 euro). It lived up to all of the hype....we enjoyed three scoops on a stroll to the metro.....mesmerized by its goodness (it's like ice cream.....creamier.....totally awesome). Our lunch was some classic Italian pizza (less doughy than American pizza...always better toppings...tomatos...feta...olives...mmmmmm) and some pasta.

From here, we will catch the overnight to Nice, France......train to Lyon.....and get a bus hopefully....taxi maybe...to Taize. We will be there with the brothers from Sunday to Sunday...before taking our last week to get back to Ireland. I would doubt internet while at Taize....so....assume I'll be back on next Sunday or so...but, I'll let you know if it is earlier. We have had a busy couple of days of travel....I am looking forward to being in one place for a whole week! Much love to all.....appreciate all that you have.....and spread love wherever you go.