This is the worst hotel I've ever stayed in. Last night after I talked to you people were screaming in the hallway. The noisy people were back at 5:30 this morning. I ignored them until 7:30 when I finally got up and got moving. I had a busy day planned. I got distracted messaging people on facebook, but I was finally able to get dressed and pack my bag. The weather report said that there was a 20% chance of rain but when I looked outside it was sunny and bright. I packed my umbrella and took my coat anyway. I went downstairs for breakfast to find that I had to take a voucher to the park across the street. I was also told that my room would be changed from number ten to number four so that I could have a private shower.
I took my voucher across the street and picked out a stale pastry from a box while the woman behind the counter made my expresso. I quickly had breakfast and then walked to the tram. I took the tram to the metro and got off at the Ottaviano stop. I saw one sign that pointed the way to the Vatican Museum, but I got slightly lost and kept walking around the wall. I finally found the corner where the line started. There was a man telling me that I could skip the line and told me where to buy a ticket. He said that he would even walk me there. Before we got to the shop he told me that for only 46 euros I could get a guided tour and be able to skip the line. I told him that I didn't want a guided tour. I asked if it was cheaper just to stand in the line and he said yes.
I stood in the line with everyone else while people hocked cheap goods. People kept coming by advertising that if we joined them we could skip the line. Slowly people got picked off out of the line by the swindlers. I stood in line for god only knows how long until I got to the front. I got through security and found the ticket agents upstairs. I got in for eight euros because I'm an EU student under 26. Score for me.
I'm not going to tell you every step I took inside the Vatican Museum, but I'll give you the highlights. When I finally got to the beginning of the museums, I saw a sign for the post office. I paid five euros for two postcards and stamps so that I could write to mom and myself. Next up I went entered into the museum. First off, it's super crowded. There are tour groups everywhere and you can't even stop for one second before you get trampled. The museum starts off with really mundane white marble sculptures of animals and naked people before it gets to the good stuff. The rest of the museum is filled with beautiful mosaics and extremely ornate ceilings. There is so much happening on the ceilings that you could never see it all. It was amazing. There are signs throughout the museum saying that the Sistine chapel is straight ahead. It's all lies. You have to go through tons of other rooms before you get to the Sistine Chapel.
I wound up in a room with a painting that looked familiar. Then all of a sudden I realized what it was. I was standing just inches from the School of Athens!! I couldn't believe it. It was the highlight of my time in Rome. I took numerous pictures and then just stood there staring at it for awhile. I finally moved on to see other things. The best part of the museum was that the tour groups didn't go into every room. There were rooms with great sculpture and canvas pieces that were completely empty. I even got to stand inches from a Van Gogh! The real highlight of the museum for me was seeing the modern art. There was a whole room dedicated to Matisse, and there were several other small rooms with every painter imaginable including Orozco, Rivera, and Chagall. The modern art rooms were completely empty. I was in heaven.
The School of Athens. Wow.
I finally got to the Sistine Chapel. They don't allow pictures or talking in the room, and tt was filled with people. I stood in the center of the room and kept twirling around to see everything. Honestly it wasn't my favorite part of the museum, but now I've seen the famous frescos. I can die a complete artistic snob now.
After the Sistine Chapel most of the tour groups headed for the door. This gave me the perfect viewing space to see more ornate ceilings and displays of small antiquities in large armoires. I was so happy by the time I left the museum that I totally forgot the hell that Rome is.
I didn't see all of the museum, but I had seen all that I had come to see. I was getting kinda hungry by that time so I went across the street to a restaurant I had seen that offered a student discount. I went up to look at the menu and the man at the door slipped a coupon into my hand and told me not to tell anyone. I think that all of Rome is a scam. I sat down and ordered a margarita pizza. Not the best I've ever had, but it was so huge that I felt sick by the time I finished it.
Next up was seeing St. Peter's Basilica. I stopped on the way there to buy a keychain for Michaela because I promised her that I'd buy her something. After the purchase I finally found my way to St. Peter's. I took pictures of the outside but didn't go in because the line was huge. When I got home tonight I was chatting with Lauren and she told me to look at her pictures from inside the basilica. It's beautiful, and I've decided to go back tomorrow to go inside.
The outside of St. Peter's Basilica. Hopefully there will be pictures of the inside tomorrow.
I saw a sign that said something about Raphael so I decided to follow them. Of course it's Italy so the signs just pointed in a square that led to nothing. I decided that it would be safer to not get lost in Vatican City so I went back to the metro. It was still early so I thought that I'd go find the Pantheon.
I got on the metro and went to the closest stop to the Pantheon. The stop is nowhere near the Pantheon, but it looked easy enough. Boy was I wrong. I found the bus stop that was supposed to go to the Pantheon but I wasn't sure if I was heading in the right direction. I asked a man who didn't speak English, but I understood enough of what he said to follow his instructions. I went up the huge hill and made a right at the roundabout just like he told me to. I was walking for what seemed like forever so I asked a woman. Her English was good, and she told me to go to the column that was in the near distance and then ask a policeman. I knew that it wasn't going to be good from there.
I went to the column and saw a lot of ornate buildings and lots of police milling about. I asked a policeman where to find the Pantheon, and he told me to go down the stairs and start walking straight. Sounded easy enough. I should have known better. Only after I left the steps did I realize that they must have been the famous Spanish Steps. Great.
I walked down the hill and went down many narrow streets lined with shops. I started to see signs that said Pantheon straight ahead. I walked until I got to a large, circular structure. It was just bare brick, but I figured it had to be something important. I took a few pictures and then kept walking. I shortly ran out of signs saying where the Pantheon was and I got worried. I saw a policeman up ahead and asked him where it was. He pointed straight ahead, and there it was.
The Pantheon was less thrilling than I imagined. I'ved had to study it a million times and it always sounded so fascinating. I was really excited to see it. The outside looks decrepit just like the rest of Rome and the pediment is completely empty. I didn't realize that the inside had been turned into a church. I walked around and took pictures of all the sculptures before leaving.
Now that I look at it, the Pantheon is pretty amazing.
I saw a peddlar outside stating that he sold stamps and had a mailbox. I was suspicious so I walked to a more official looking stand and asked for stamps. The woman seemed very upset, but I paid the four euros for stamps and then picked out postcards. I paid for the postcards and then stood at the stand to write quick notes on them before dropping them into her mailbox. I still feel very sketched out about the whole thing.
I was very tired by this point and dehydrated. I somehow managed to find my way back up the hill and got to the Spanish Steps. Men in military uniforms had put up barricades around the plaza so I couldn't cross. I had to walk around. I scurried along back to the metro and then got myself on the tram. While I was on the tram it began to rain. Thankfully it stopped before I got off.
I came back to the hotel and collapsed. Tomorrow I'm going back to the basilica, to the Ara Pacis, and the baths of Caracalla. Wish me luck.
No comments:
Post a Comment