Perhaps the most photographic city in the world. Episode Four! Go HERE.
Pass it along, if you wish
35 Responses to Roma
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I’m thoroughly enjoying this cruise series, James.
Given its subject today, might I recommend a superb essay from Wilfred McClay called The Soul and the City: The House of our Realities.
McClay considers the role of the cities in general, with special reference to Rome. He even brings in the fading ads painted on the sides of old buildings . . . .
As cool as Rome is anytime, I hope you get to go back there(and Firenze, Venice, etc.) in the off-season; I was there one January, and it’s so much less trying–there’s so much more time & space to drink in these amazing places w/o all the bodies.
Your mention of gelato reminded me of my supreme moment of internationalism, early-’80s style: a schoolmate(the well-read son of a Greek orthodox priest, who supplied a wry take on much of the church history highlights one is awash in when in Rome) and I were, one afternoon, two Americans sitting on the Spanish Steps(eating gelato), in Rome, being interviewed by a West German film crew(probably Duetsche Welle). We were a godsend to the reprorter, as we had the bad timing to be American during the Solidarity protests and just after Reagan announced the new MX missiles slated for installation in West Germany(for which we were spat upon several times in 3 countries–& before anyone thinks, “F*** those foreigners”, try to remember that those missiles would have been the nails in most of W Germany’s coffin, if some Soviet hardliner had lost his mind & decided to be Sterling Hayden for real. And they had to live with that in a way we can never truly understand, outside of those military units who knew they were “die-in-place”, if the worst happened–& even they got to go home).
As micro-nations go, San Marino is defintely worth seeing.
This series demonstrates why I hate the very idea of tour groups. Get to an awesome place and, “go go go!” it’s time to go to the next awesome place, without any time to appreciate the first one. Sigh. But it can be fun reading about them. Sam Clemens got a couple of decent books out of traveling with tour groups.
Here in NoVa we’ve discovered why California earthquake codes require the hot water heater to be strapped to the wall. Who knew they could walk away from it, tearing out the plumbing, when the solid earth turned out not to be? Not my place, fortunately, but several neighbors who, this being Virginia, don’t have earthquake insurance…
@Ross, I was in one of those die in place units when I was in Korea in 86. Well, sort of die in place. We had off-post rally points to go to, but lived within artillery range of NK. The official expectation was 50% casualties within 24 hours of the kickoff, and combat ineffective soon after.
Might as well get a lesson in Latin while there:
Potable – from Latin potare to drink,
(Copy/paste likely all fubar’d)
Good heavens. I thought Donatello’s David was fey, but that Fascist monument manages to make him look butch by comparison. That thing is camper than a row of pink tents.
“Rome sniffs at change like a dog sniffs at a carrot.”
Our mini dachshund loves carrots — raw or, especially, hibachi-grilled.
Probably not what you meant, huh?
Ben fatto!
I cannot get my head around a single day being even close to enough time to experience Rome. Oh, for all the time and money it would require. I guess one must take it like a “best of” album: nice, but you just know there is so much more.
James, glad you got a chance to see St. Pete’s. Now you know what we did with all those indilgences that got your Lutheran ancestors’ knickers in a twist.
When we were in Rome we played a game similar to the old “count cows” of on a Road trip. We counted Nuns! But to claim the Nun, the spotter couldn’t very well shout, “Nun” so we shouted “Baseball!” To be able to enjoy the Vatican we declared that within the borders of the city state the game was suspended.
As Bugs Bunny would say:
Be it ever so crumbly
There’s no place like Rome
Nero, he was the emperor
And the palace was his home.
But he liked to play with matches
And for a fire yearned
So he burned Rome to ashes
And fiddled while it burned.
I love the picture at the top of the page. It looks like he has a Sharpie moustache.
I spent an entire afternoon wandering the Forum when I went to Rome. And a whole day at the Vatican museums and St. Peters Square. And a whole day just wandering the streets to look at the colors and churches that appear around nearly every bend. I can’t imagine just one day to do Rome justice.
Well played, sir.
I hope the Pope sometimes just gets the place all to himself.
then he could sing:
Pope, Pope, Pope
Pope of Rome
Pope, Pope
Pope of Rome
As I walk around
St. Peter’s Dome
I know nothing can stop me
Cuz I’m the Pope of Rome
And when I wear
My hat like a cone
No one can hurt me
No!
I tell you
I … oh, oh, oh, I
I’m going to bless YOU
Cuz I’m The
POPE OF ROME
Do micronaughts live in micronations?
Two questions: Did Natalie get sick from drinking from the sink (I hope not–but you can’t tell us something like that and leave us hanging!) and…is there something up with the font on the main page? Am I the only one who sees it as very jaggy and uneven? The travelogue pages are fine, but the main page looks odd.
Don’t visit Rome on Sunday — lots of the tourist bait sites [such as the Coliseum] are closed.
There was a great gelato place around the corner from Trevi, probably gone by now.
My memory of Vatican City [since the Sistine Chapel was closed for a new coat of paint or some such] was bargaining with a street seller for a rosary [I'm not religious, but some relatives were]. After some hard bargaining in lire, I thought I got the better of him, then he switched prices to dollars and I couldn’t do the conversion in my head fast enough. Eh, it was still worth it.
BTW, you can’t throw a brick in Rome without hitting a church.
But did you do as the Romans do? That’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re there.
Also, re throwing coins in the Trevi: isn’t that for the purpose of getting a divorce?
I tried to wipe that Sharpie moustache off the Bleat header, thought it was on my monitor!
I embarrassed to admit this, but of course, I will –
all this beautiful Roman statuary…
And all I can think of are the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who…
Good lord, James, I hope you didn’t blink while you were there!
PFM inside album cover? Loaves of bread? A pop culture reference I actually don’t get.
@Wagner von: thought the Trevi was for love; else, why would the Italians throw coins in there?
Yeah, the PFM reference is a head-scratcher for me too.
They don’t come often as the yutes get older, but those “big grin moments” are probably the best parts of a vacation. You need those to offset the times when ugly attitude makes an appearance..
@ Ross
Because nuclear warfare was/is one of my pedantic push buttons, the US wanted to put Pershing missiles in Europe. MX/Peacekeepers were ICBMs based in the US.
As someone who grew up mere minutes from a giant defense plant, many of my nightmares were that Der Tag was here and that I would be vaporized very soon. So I can empathize with the Euros of the time while also thinking to a certain extent they were kinda whiny about it.
@rick mcginnis: “PFM inside album cover? Loaves of bread?”
Wikipedia: “Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) (translation: Award-winning Marconi Bakery) is an Italian progressive rock band.”
A couple I know took a very similar Med cruise last year. He said the coach excursions were a challenge — go, go, go all the damned time. Look at this! Now look at that! Keep moving! That’s not my idea of good traveling.
Then, to top it off, you have to go back to your roomette in a floating mall? I don’t see the fun in it.
I more or less agree with Al on the rush rush part (the floating hotel/sanctuary doesn’t sound so bad), however, if I was convinced I would not see Europe any other way in the conceivable future, I would go for it.
The perfect is the enemy of the good time
besides, is Europe going anywhere?
@NeonCat: we old North Dakotans come from the world’s 3rd largest nuclear weapons power. probably now the 5th largest. we also had defenses in the Safeguard/Sentinel ABM system. think I lost my cabinet nameplate from the Safeguard computer rooms in a move. drat.
Our nerves are different from yours. we run into danger. as a newsie, I sat next to a gauged transport container for a “special device” on a pickup bed once and decided not to ask about it.
have a good evening
My first job in the Air Force in 1983 was Missile Launch Control Officer. I sat underground and waited to turn the key on 10 Minuteman II ICBMs. I’ve got a lot to say on the subject of nukes, but I’ll spare you all and just say that I don’t have a lot of sympathy for NIMBY Euros.
Early 80s would have been the Ground-Launched Cruise Missile program.
If I ever get to Rome, I’ll be spending a lot more than one day.
@bgbear: “besides, is Europe going anywhere?”
From what I read on the Intertubes, it’s going straight down the toilet.
@DerKase: thanks for your service. newsies learn things after they’re over… sometimes way long past. got a few submariners around the fringes of some of my daily travels, and the stories they hint about… .
@GardenStater: Europeans are doing fine. European economies… ahhh… the question is whether Germany is done bailing the rest of those guys out. way their economy appears this quarter as we have found out in the past week, probably. the Chinese may be able to foreclose on Virginia and/or Texas at the same time they show up in Greece, Spain, and a few other ports of call and ask for the keys and the books.
at which time, their clock starts ticking.
and if you haven’t noticed, there has been a cessation of growth in China as well. curious how that happens, when the sheeple are not buying their trinkets any more.
that drainpipe is going to be clogged and no plumbers on weekends or holidays. and it’s a bank holiday.
Why is there a marble statue of Michael Palin in a Roman park?
Why do people pay huge sums to go to glorious places only to be rushed through?
One day for Florence? One day for Rome? That’s… CRUEL!
Remind me to win Powerball so I can stay longer when I do go to Rome, Florence, etc.
I’m really enjoying all the OMG pictures!! So interesting!
Wiredog:
Glad you’re here to say so, fellow Bleatnik. I had a couple of friends in NATO intel/signals translation who rode out the end of the cold war w/o really thinking about that aspect much, only to have the nasty shock of having their tours extended indefinitely because of Desert Shield/Storm(the first time the possibility of escalation looked really serious since the ’70s–one friend was literally packing for home when he got that order.
NeonCat:
Old age creeps in on(apparently) little NeonCat feet; you’re right, of course. Haven’t thought about the details for 25+yrs, so I’m sure you’ll forgive the error–frankly, it’s the tension in the faces you tend to remember(and the expectorating, of course). “Kinda whiney”? Maybe, but it was just beginning to look, despite most people’s assumptions, like there was going to be a non-radiated end to the whole magilla in our lifetime about then, when we(the US gummint, that is) go & slap a great, big extra target on the place that was bound to end up glowing & smoking in even the most limited exchange(if NATO was right about the reds coming through the Fulda Gap). As a Milwaukee Kraut, I couldn’t help sympathizing w/their reaction–both because of blood ties and the fact that we grew up knowing our factories(AO Smith, Briggs & Stratton, Allis Chalmers, etc.) meant we would be vaporized in the first round after the military targets(maybe sooner, as we had some missiles & a reserve base in town).
@swschrad
Gosh, I’m sorry eight year old me was less sanguine about nuclear apocalypse than North Dakotans. Perhaps if I were born in a place where it was abysmally cold in all months with an R in them I’d welcome the heat of a nuke, too.
@ Ross
No disrespect intended. I was raised by a Cold Warrior in John Birch Society member/Congressman Larry McDonald’s district. We expected to get nuked by the goddless Commies for daring to keep western Europe free.