Letters from Italy, Part 1 (written in 2008)

Hello from Rome

Thursday April 24, 2008

Ciao!  I am falling in love with Rome.  At first, I wasn't sure.  The ride from the airport was not pretty.  I love my little B&B near the Vatican...there are 3 keys.  One to the street, one to the hallway, and one to my room. 

I have a little balcony overlooking a somewhat messy courtyard.

And here is a view looking up from the interior courtyard.  My balcony is the one that looks caged in:

The maid and lady who prepares breakfast is Nilda, originally from the Phillippines--she is sweet and she laughs at me all the time.  When I told her of my journey yesterday, she kept saying "alone--you walked alone?"  And she laughed and laughed. 

It is a 5 minute walk to the Vatican.  I went to the Vatican museum on Tuesday and loved it.  The ceilings are striking.

The Sistine chapel was breathtaking.  Sorry--no pictures here.  I am sure they said no flash photography and as much I wish I was a rebel, the CPA in me is a stickler for the rules!  Trust me when I say that no picture could do it justice.

Then I went to bed around 8--was SO exhausted.  Yesterday I explored the coliseum.

This is a view out one of the "windows":  

I am wearing a self-guided tour audio thing around my neck.  I prefer to go at my own pace rather than join a tour.

I then found the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and the Spanish Steps.  

April is the time to go to see the Azalea's in Bloom!

The people watching was fun and the gelato so yummy.  I have been having a big lunch and gelato for dinner.  The metro is right outside my door so I can get anywhere fairly quickly. 

Today I went to a huge beautiful park and then to the Borghese Gallery. 

The Borghese Gallery is a museum that requires a booking days in advance but fortunately, there was a cancellation and I was able to get in.  Afterwards I lunched outside (LOVE the cafes here) and went to a most unusual Capuchin Crypt located underneath the Church of the Immaculate Conception on Via Veneto.  The bones of over 4,000 monks are here and they are arranged to make art.  There are also mummified bodies and graves.  Sounds crazy?  It is but I couldn't resist.  Since I am under withdrawal from Snapped and my other oxygen TV, this gave me a nice morbid "fix."  ha ha (It also had a no photo policy but you can see some pictures if you click on this link).

I am going to St. Peters now and to the National Museum tomorrow. My favorite part so far was the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps.  The shops are amazing but so expensive that I am not even tempted.  The expensive boutiques go on and on.  I saw guess jeans for 195 pounds, about $350! 

And some items are not so tempting regardless of price:

Yesterday I did have one mishap that was quite disappointing.  I went to a kiosk to buy my train ticket to Florence and I got the receipt but did not see where the ticket came out.  I walked away not understanding that I needed to grab the ticket.  When I came back, it was gone.  So I lost about $90 due to my own stupidity.  That was a bummer.  But I have learned my lesson.  And hopefully, I will be more careful.  So far no one has pinched or groped anything and I don't know if that means I have crossed the age threshold or if I have done a good job of avoiding crowded subways and buses.  I choose to believe the latter.

I met 4 Texans yesterday in the train station and may meet them for dinner.  I was going to go to the coliseum with them but I was preoccupied with my ticket mishap. 

Here is something I wrote in the garden by the Borghese museum...

"I am discovering that there is a dimension to solo travel that is unique and wonderful.  Your senses are more aware while you have to be 100% vested in where you are.  You absorb everything around you completely as there is no divided attention to a partner.  It is not bad at all, it is just different.  (like being single)  I am choosing to embrace this solo journey and I am loving it and yielding to it and hopefully allowing it to transform me.  "Stuff" here is too expensive.  The dollar buys very little.  But I think my souvenirs will be most precious--something intangible woven into the fabric of my life.  I feel richer already and it is good."

Love,

Janice