Day 21, June 20th
It has been some time since I’ve journaled, and I’ve got many pictures to add. Over the past few days, I’ve been in Rome just walking around, going to the archaeological sites and museums. My favorite visit here was St. Peter’s Basilica, in Vatican City. Though it may seem like a standard church, and I’d been once before when I was younger, I wanted to experience it at a time when I can actually appreciate the history and art. I booked a tour that included the basilica itself, the “grottoes” or tombs underground, and a dome climb that offers some of the best views in Rome. It was a relatively high climb with around 500 steps, since it is the tallest dome in the world, at almost 450 feet in height. Learning the methods of construction and design used my Michelangelo to design this dome was incredible, and climbing it allowed me to see more detail into how it was done.
Looking at Michelangelo’s ‘Pietà’ was also incredible, as there is just so many different interesting aspects to consider. This was one of his first works in Rome, a statue of the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus. He carved it from a solid block of marble, spending months just deciding on the kind of stone he wanted to use. Additionally, it is one of the only signed works of Michelangelo. This was done in a flash of jealousy and ego, when he heard visitors misattributing the statue to another artist at the time. He came to the church at night and chiseled his name onto a sash across the Virgin Mary’s body, but later deeply regretted defiling his holy work for his own credit, and never committed such an act again. The statue was altered again, much more damagingly, when a mentally unstable geologist jumped over the railing and attacked the Pietà with a hammer, damaging the head and arms of the Virgin Mary. This was fixed and redone so that the damage is imperceptible now, but this incident caused the Vatican to increase security by putting up a large glass wall in front, making it much harder to get a good look at the statue. But they can’t be faulted for wanting to protect such historical works, and even being able to see it from afar was enough to marvel at its beauty.
The entire church was incredibly designed, and actually has no paintings anywhere, because they would’ve been a fire hazard as candles would’ve been required to paint everywhere in the huge church. Therefore, as unbelievable as it may be, each 2 dimensional image you see is a mosaic of smaller stones, painstakingly made to look like true paintings. It was mind boggling to think about the time and effort it must have taken to blend and shape so many different stones so that from afar, the image looks as smooth and crisp as a painting. It was also very interesting to go into the catacombs and see the tombs of past Popes, and even the bones of St. Peter, the first Pope himself. Overall, the visit was well worth it, and I’m glad I came back to relearn and experience these sites again because I just wasn’t able to enjoy them this way the first time.
One of the biggest differences I’ve felt being in Rome is the food. I have much more of a variety in cuisine than Siena or even Florence. In my time here I got a good amount of new food experiences. I had Indian food on my first night which was average by normal measure, but fantastic for what one can seemingly expect in Italy. And after having craved it for so long, it added a lot to the experience. I also tried a Poke bowl place, but that was really not good at all. I don’t know what I expected, but it was really just white rice, plain soft tofu, a couple of vegetables, cream cheese and sriracha. Another day, I tried Cacio e pepe pasta, which is a very simple pasta made with pecorino cheese and black pepper. It was tasty for a few bites but became way too rich and creamy, and the black pepper simply didn’t make up for that to balance it out. I also learned that avocado toast here is more of a sandwich, with unripe, chewier avocado slices, with some tomato and a poached egg on top. This may not be consistent everywhere, but it was true for this cafe and some others I have seen. A couple of days ago, I was able to try another Michelin star restaurant, though I didn’t know it had a star until I got there. The restaurant, Mater Terrae, or another Earth, is a fully vegetarian/vegan restaurant that was actually made in partnership with Chef Pietro Leeman, the head chef of Joia. This was the restaurant in Milan with the incredible tasting menu, and so when I saw this I had high hopes for the lunch. I ordered a sort of eggplant Parmesan, which the waiter recommended, but was let down by the average dish. It was really simple, but that wasn’t the issue. It just seemed like a dish I could find anywhere for a few bucks, and not worth the price tag it came with. I was actually considering doing the tasting menu before deciding I’d try a dish first and come back if it was worth it, and I am so very glad I decided to do that. It was a fun experience and the ambience and service were fantastic, but the main attractor for me is always food and I was disappointed to see Mater Terrae not check that box as well. One of my favorite meals thus far was just last night. I got to have some solid Tex-mex at a local restaurant, with a nice Pepsi which seems very difficult to find here. Honestly I haven’t been drinking much soda at all, but I thought this meal called for nice cold soft drink, and was pleasantly surprised at the first sweet sip of Pepsi rather than Coke, which seems to be the norm. The food itself was great, and the restaurant decorated festively. It was also funny to see how the restaurant seemed to attract all the American tourists who must’ve missed their tacos and burritos, because every single person in there spoke with an American accent. Besides the waiters, I might as well have been sitting in a Tijuana Flats. The gelato here is still fantastic as always, though I don’t eat it very much.
I’m here for 4 more days, and in that time I’ll just be walking around and exploring Rome more. One of the cool things about the city is that they have recently rentable scooters everywhere, like you see in American cities. Companies like Bird and Lime have bikes and scooters everywhere, so it is very easy to travel even longer distances without having to worry about hour long walks each way. It’s also just a blast riding around on the scooters, with the warm sun on your face and the light breeze going through your hair. It has also gotten me quite used to the traffic patterns here, and I think I could easily drive with an actual vehicle as well if I decided to rent an actual scooter or car at some point in the future. Also, I saw Rome’s version of the pigeon lady from Home Alone, and that was pretty cool. She didn’t just feed them, they came and sat on her arms and shoulders like pets and she’d pet them and talk to them. It was a very interesting sight to say the least.
This Friday, I will be flying out to Athens, where I’ll be for one week minimum. I am very excited to get into the Ancient Greek sites I’ve always read about, and can’t wait to finally get there and start looking around.
Click here to visit the Rome Gallery.
-Vismay
