An American In Germany: A "Roman" Anniversary

Back in the States, it's Labor Day weekend. It's also our third anniversary...on September 4th. Edgar took me to Rome for a long weekend. And when you travel with Edgar, it's a "labor" in itself...the man doesn't slow down one minute!

We flew on Ryan Air, which is like a cheap sister to Southwest or AirTran. There's no assigned seating, and you typically fly in and out of remote airports. You also don't fly at lovely hours either. But, the price is right, so off we flew on Ryan Air from Frankfurt (Hahn...about an hour from our house) to Rome-Ciampino (about 45 minutes from downtown Rome).

We arrived in Rome about 8am on Saturday, September 1st. We immediately headed for the USO office so we could hop on a few tours. Luckily, we got there just in time for the Vatican City tour, which just so happened to be right around the corner from the USO office. We waited in line for about 45 minutes (which, believe me, was not long, considering that the line snaked around many blocks, and we were towards the front).

The tour took us through the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's. What an overwhelming experience...and we didn't even see it all!! Our tour guide was pretty good, but she had a heavy Italian accent, so sometimes you just couldn't figure out the word she was saying! But all in all, it was very cool to be at the Vatican, and know that perhaps the Pope was in his living quarters right down the hall!

One of the coolest things I saw at the Vatican was a hallway with numerous pieces of artwork that looked like paintings from afar but were actually tapestries. And on the ceiling, the artwork looked like it was 3D but was actually 1D and painted with a technique to look like it had depth. It's hard to put into words how amazing it looked.

After the Vatican, we headed on another tour of two famous Basilica's and one of the largest catacombs, where they used to bury the dead underground. The first church was the Santa Maria Maggiore. For more information about this church, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_di_Santa_Maria_Maggiore. Here's a picture of the inside:

The second church was the San Giovanni Laterano, which has the inscription outside that it is the most famous church in Rome, and in the world. For more information, see http://rome.arounder.com/san_giovanni_in_laterano/index.html. Here is a picture of the inside:

Opposite the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John Lateran), the Holy Stairs are reputed to be those walked up by Christ, preserved at this former Papal palace. The 28 marble stairs carefully preserved in this handsome building are traditionally the steps walked up by Christ on his way to trial before Pontius Pilate. St. Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, was a pioneering collector of relics, and the staircase is supposedly among her finds, brought to Rome in c.326 AD. Devout pilgrims still mount the steps on their knees, praying. The rate of progress is very slow and looks suitably punishing. Nowadays the stairs are protected by wood, although there are holes cut through above marks which are supposed to be Jesus's blood (you won't be able to see through these unless you do the kneeling).

The catacombs of Di Domitilla were astounding. Four levels deep, this is the oldest of the catacombs. You enter through a sunken 4th-century church. One of the neatest sights was a 2nd century fresco of the Last Supper. We didn't see any bones, but apparently there are some remaining...just not in the part we toured.

We ended the day with a dinner on one of the Piazza's and then strolled over to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. By the way, something I did not know about Rome until I went there....there are public water fountains scattered everywhere, so one bottle of water in the morning was refilled over and over, keeping us hydrated while we walked what seemed like 20 miles a day!

Our second day in Rome started with the Colliseum. What an amazing architectural feat!! With a little imagination, you could visualize 50,000 Romans cheering for the gladiators...or the lions!

Next to the colliseum was the Constantine Arch, which you can see in the background in the picture below. The Arch was erected to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312 AD.

Next we toured through The Forum. The Roman Forum (Forum Romanum) was the political and economical centre of Rome during the Republic. It emerged as such in the 7th century BCE and maintained this position well into the Imperial period, when it was reduced to a monumental area. It was mostly abandoned at the end of the 4th century.

After the Forum, we headed to Palatine, disputed to be one the earliest Roman settlements. For more info, see http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/242_Palatine_Hill.html

We then walked through a number of Piazza's, had dinner and did some light shopping.

Our third day in Rome was basically just a huge long walk, sometimes we saw a sight we had already seen. We went into a number of churches, and everyone was amazing. We did see the Pantheon, which is touted as the best preserved building of ancient Rome. We saw quite a few more fountains. Edgar also took the steps to the top of St. Peter's Dome and had someone take a picture of him standing there. This is a feat in itself, as Edgar is not a fan of heights. If you look hard, maybe you'll see the white knuckles?? Some pictures are below: