Roaming around Rome

We had a little difficulty finding a berth in Rome, but finally found space in the port close to the airport. Once again, the Italians threw us lines and helped us get situated. It turns out Luigi who manages the port became our best buddy, helping us find grocery stores, taking us to the laundry and making reservations for us at a nearby restaurant. It was all pretty incredible since he didn’t speak a lick of English. We are all getting pretty good at charades. Rebecca’s Spanish is helping a little as well. She seems to understand most things and is picking up the variances of Italian enough to get basic ideas across.

What can I say about Rome. It is a huge city with traffic everywhere. Even the sidewalks are not safe. It’s history is sprinkled throughout the streets. You begin to think nothing of a 2000 year old marble column lying around. The old Roman forum and city center is still there, in various stages of decay. There was certainly nothing like it anywhere else in the world during that time period. Grand plaza’s with historic fountains surprise you on a regular basis. Churches with works of all of the renassance painters are a regular site. It is hard to take it all in. But it kinda soaks under your skin and you walk away with a feeling of power and greatness that once was alive whose influence is still all around us today.

St. Peters is awe-inspiring. It is so huge. And the art is hanging in every nook and cranny. We climbed 544 steps to the very top of the dome through very narrow passages. It is not for the weak hearted or clastrophic, but the views are a great reward.

I have seen pictures of the Sistine chapel all my life, but I still was not prepared for it’s beauty. The depth and perspective is something that really doesn’t translate to a photograph. It is amazing how Michelangelo got such dimension. The figures look like they are reaching towards you. Not bad for a guy that claimed he was a sculptor not a painter.