Good Yom Tov Pontiff

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The above photos are 1.fountain near the Spanish Steps; 2. Spanish Steps; and 3. Trevi Fountain

The last 2 days have been a marathon of sight seeing in Rome. On Sunday, we left our hotel at 10 am and traveled by subway to the Spanish steps. The steps are in a high end of the city located near some expensive shops. The Spanish steps are located near the Spanish embassy. The #2 photo above is a fountain located at the foot of the steps.

The Roman sun is intense and hot. In hopes of avoiding a sun burn on my nose and forehead I bought a traditional white Italian hat and have been wearing it for 2 days. It's lighter than a baseball cap and I all need is an ascot and mustache to look like an Italian out of an old 1940s movie.

After the Spanish steps we walked to the Trevi Fountain. It is a large, loud fountain you can hear a block a while even with all the crowds. We followed the tradition of throwing a few coins over our heads for good luck.

After the Trevi Fountain we walked about a mile to a pizzeria recommended by our hotel. It was not a tourist trap. We each has a pie. Mine was sausage, onion, and cheese. Michelle's was artichoke and egg. As strange as that might sound, it was delicious. Upon further inspection, it seems here in Italy that a pizza does not need to have lots of sauce or cheese. The crust needs to be thin and cooked in a wood fire oven. Maybe our next house will have a pizza oven :) The pizza here by far beats anything in Atlanta!

After finishing off our lunch with delicious tiramisu, we came across the piazza novana. It was very large and in ancient times was used for chariot racing and naval reenactments. Yes...the Roman emporers would fill the piazza with water to reenact a naval battle.

After about 4 hours of all this site seeing we were wiped out. Officially the temperatures are in the low 80s but don't believe that for a second! After a 3 hour rest in our hotel room we had a delicious pasta dinner near the coloseum. After dinner Michelle took several photos of the coloseum lit up at night. They look great! We made it back to our room around 11 p.m.

On Monday we headed to the Vatican. We were there for about 4 hours. we were warned about the lines but they were not too bad. There were a lot of tourists but no standing endlessly in line.

Our first stop at the Vatican was St. Peter's Basilica. If I were Christian I would have trembled upon entering. But since I am Jewish, I am quite impressed. One of the previous popes from the early 20th Century is on display like Lenin, he doesn't look real. The basilica has amazing sculptures, paintings and is lined with gold around every corner. It sits off of St. Peter's Square where the Pope's followers gather for outdoor prayer and he speaks to them from the window of the Basilica.

After the Basilica, we toured the Vatican Museum. It was too crowded for my taste and I was not thrilled paying 28 Euro. But the art collection while mostly with a Jesus theme is still stunning. We saw a tapestry of the Last Supper. It was the largest tapestry I have ever seen. It sits in a dark room to keep from fading.

The Sistine Chapel is at the end of the museum and it is a hike to get there. Visitors enter many large and small rooms with artwork before arriving in the Sistine Chapel. Some of the best art work on the way to the Sistine was the modern religious artwork because it showed Christianity from several perspectives not just the classic Italian versions of Jesus's birth and crucifixion.

Finally the Sistine Chapel. Oh yeah, there are capuccino and soda vending machines just before you enter. The Chapel is amazing. You can easily see a link between Michaelangelo's David and his paintings on the ceiling. His trademark seems to be human muscle structure. In the center of the ceiling is the famous painting of God touching Adam. It is spectacular. All across the ceiling are paintings of different scenes from the Bible such as the flood and Eve taking the apple. You have turn around in several different directions and look up in order to see the paintings right side up.

Imagine Michaelangelo painting all these on his back! I don't know how he did only using candelight. The Sistine does not have a lot of nature light so he must have used candles.

My one negative comment about the Vatican is the crowds. There were just too many people in the Sistine Chapel, we were all squeezed in there. After 4 hours at the Vatican, we were tired and hungry and decided on pizza for lunch. After picking up a couple more souvenirs we went back to the hotel.

Lucky us we managed to ride the subway during rush hour. The Roman subways are cheap and easy to ride. 1 Euro each way. But during rush hour it's everyone for themselves. We saw a 4 foot nun push her way onto the train car ahead of us, no kidding.

Rome, like any large city, is crowded and noisy but the people are friendly. We have met a lot of Americans and Canadians. Our hotel is 2 blocks from the main train station and is a good location for getting around town. While pick pockets are common, we haven't had any problems and generally feel safe here. You just need to use common sense. Everywhere you go you see people looking at maps trying to navigate the city.

Tomorrow morning we are leaving for Bologna for one night and hopefully cooler temperatures. We've been told that an afternoon should be enough to see the touristy sites.

Ciao.