27 February 2010

Rome, an overview!

Rome is a stunning place. Part of that could have been the sunny 16 degree weather, part of that could have been my loving and sparkling guide Manuela, and maybe part of that is that Rome is just cool. There are Piazzas every where, with large fountains, some times musicians or artists, and almost always stunning colosal sized churches. The archetecture is varied, fairly religious as expected, and always lovely. There is a delightful mix of mythology, theology, and contemporary culture. All in a moments breath you could be eating the most sensual Gelato walking passed a super model with a Louis Vuitton bag, and Armani sunglasses, in the shade of a looming Basilica. As we all learned Rome is a large city and cercumventing it by foot will take its toll in blisters and leg cramps. Manuella skilfully guided me to all the major tourist attractions such as the Fountana Trevi, and the Colloseum. She led me to places with incredible food, tried to answer my constant berrage of questions as best she could, and did her best to help me learn survival Italian.

Like a perfect host I felt like royalty in her home. I was given her bed, home cooked dinners, and free access to hot showers. We spent her entire weekend off work, walking and talking about important life lessons to learn. From love to religion, we debated, challenged eachother, and shared past experiences. There was a fair share of crying, and also of laughing. There are some people in this world that you fit with instantly, best friends, lovers, family, and Manuela is definatley one of them. We danced our way across parlament square to the music of hippees. We lounged in the sun by the lulling sound of the fountain Trevi, and we walked in silent awh through many chruches in Rome. We got delighfully lost in a large and massive botanical gardens, and accidently found the zoo. I saw the Roman colluseem and learned about the demise of the Roman empire. I herd fabels of the Wolf of Rome, and the children who drank its milk. It was everything you would want from a holiday in Rome with a local Italian guide, EXCEPT it was not long enough. Two days to see Rome is a cruel joke and I felt like I was the butt of that Joke.

So when Andrew arrived (Squeee) we took another day and a half to spend more time in the eternal city. However adding our tour of the Musei di Vaticani, and retracing some of my steps to share with Andrew the major attractions, we two felt rushed, and robbed of our time too quickly. Although I was very happy to have Andrew with me, my emotions let out like a burst ballon. I hadnt realised how much I had been missing him untill he had arrived, and that was taking its toll on my energy. I kinda felt like Roma invloved a lot of crying, although perhaps thats why I felt so attached to it as well. The temptation to stay was there, but largly in part to the sunshine, and Manuela's natural glow of effection.

Over all I enjoyed myself but felt throughly exausted.

4 comments:

Aric Clark said...

Glad you enjoyed Rome. So much to see. Did you get in the Sistine chapel? The Pantheon? See the grave of Raphael? The Pieta in St. Peters? Teresa in Ecstasy by Bernini? The Franciscan Ossuarium? Spanish Stairs? Did you see cats living in the ruins? The catacombs? Nero's palace?

Anyway, there's a lot in Rome.

Eddie Louise said...

Manuela sounds lovely! Rome sounds like it met expectations - which is saying something because expectations for Rome are very high!

Stacia said...

Lol..can you tell that your brother loved the place? I'll never forget being prodded out of bed before the sun to make the most of our week there. And you know him, he's NOT a morning person!
I'm glad you saw some great things. I hope someday we can travel together...

Chip Michael said...

I really hope we get to meet Manuela someday. She sounds absolutely delightful.