Jan 14, Day 4, Indiana Jones-ing it

I woke a little later than yesterday at around 7:30, did some stretching, massaged my feet, and was out the door to find breakfast, buy my train ticket, and do some more sightseeing. The owner of the hotel was a grumpy as usual, and I was happy to get out of there also. Today was the type of chilly damp grey days that I see a lot of in Milan. I bypassed the bakery where I was rudely treated yesterday, and began to ponder why the southerners brag about being so much more hospitable than the northerners, and the northerners go along with it. My experience with the service in Rome has not been the finest I’ve seen in Italy, although it is the furthest south I’ve ventured thus far. I found another bakery on the way to the train station where the service was fine, and the cappuccino was poured well.

I set off in the direction of the colloseo by way of one of the cathedrals I had been meaning to visit. I popped in for the 9:00 service to find less than 50 parishioners in a cathedral with room for several thousand. Rome is full of cathedrals. I wonder if there was a time when it was standing room only in all of them. It’s disappointing that these beautiful structures see more tourists than the real use they were built to serve.

After Mass I marched off towards the colloseo via a different route, and found an excellent view that looks just like the one you see in the postcards. There was even an X on the ground where they probably take the shot. The funny thing was, there weren’t many people roaming around this early in the morning, and only 2 other people had discovered my elevated vantage point. I bypassed the English-speaking tour brokers and gladiator-costumed guards charging for photos in search of a legendary keyhole that they say you can see St. Peter’s basilica perfectly framed though the lock.

Past the pallatino, I saw a wonderful view of the forum from a hill across the fields. My excitement began to bubble as I distanced myself farther and farther away from the typical tourist tracks where I visited some orange groves being kept as part of an abbey. I knew I was getting close. From here one could gaze over the city below and make out the cupola of the Basilica across the river Tevere. I poked my head into the abbey to find a wedding in progress. I went back out, and continued up the hill. In the next orchard I tried to line up a statue so that she looked like she was kissing the top of the dome. It would’ve worked better if I was a little bit taller.

Finally, I found the door! It was great heavy type a couple inches thick with brass trim and a large round keyhole. Sure enough, I could look though it and see a neatly manicured hedges perfectly framing the cupola though the morning fog! I tried to take some pictures, but it seems impossible to get the camera to focus on two things at once. Maybe it’s better that way. I felt the trip was complete now and I could go home happy. I hadn’t seen everything, but a few of genuine experiences away from the tourist trail in the Basilica, overlooking the coliseum, the orchard, and now this was more than I had hoped for.

But in my zealous picture-taking efforts to capture the moment, I failed to notice a van had arrived behind me, and an Italian boy wiggled in front of me hanging onto the door knockers to see thought the keyhole. He announced to his family that he really could see it. It was time for me to continue my journey. I stepped aside, and began to walk back towards the coliseum.

I bought a combination ticket at the forums, and hustled though the ruins in about an hour, so I would also have time to go into the ancient stadium before getting my 1:30 train. It’s amazing to think that this stuff is standing after about 2000 years. Buying the ticket at the forum was a great idea because I was able to bypass a huge line of people, and waltz right in. I found the coliseum more impressive from the inside than I was expecting, but the crowds of tourists were beginning to annoy me, and I was ready to head for the train by a quarter till 1.