The Rome Marathon...

Rome, Italy

October 10-12, 2007
N41°53.384
E012°29.562

Rome is a stunning city jam-packed with buildings dating back 2000 years. We spent three days shuffling between the Galleria Borghese, St. Peter’s Basilica, The Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Capitoline Hill, The Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, The Colosseum, Palatine Hill, The Forum, Circus Maximus, and of course the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. I think we can all officially say we’re a little burnt out on the museums and are full of new found knowledge at each and every site.

I won’t even try to describe Rome through our eyes. All of us, Marc, Pat, Dad and me, are completely in awe of the history and architecture of the city. The city planners have done a tremendous job integrating new buildings in with the historical landmarks; sometimes even building right on top of the ancient ruins. Every corner you turn, it seems there’s another set of ruins, ancient building, crypt, column, church or something incredible to see. It’s truly a city of ancient history

St. Peter’s Basilica, for example, is an amazing architectural feat. The plans for putting the basilica together were complicated, but we can’t fathom the project plan for the interior design. Over dinner we pondered who decided where to place the various Bernini and Giacomo della Porta sculptures and art, which are each masterpieces by themselves. These beautiful works of art are simply glossed over as people gaze down the 187 meter long place of worship before their eyes stop on the huge canopy. The canopy, whose bronze was stolen (sorry borrowed or donated) from the Pantheon, is the obvious centerpiece of the church. If one can pull their eyes away from the statues, canopy and marble pillars towards the ground, they are rewarded with beautiful mosaics intricately designed and the gorgeous patterns of the Italian marble, obviously, part of the overall plan. After you look down, you must look up, where the ceiling is covered in patterns with gold leaf and massive mosaics of multi-colored marble complete the beauty of the ceiling. The church can accommodate 60,000 people and the square outside holds even more—the most was 3 million after Pope John Paul II’s death.

Today was the zenith of everything great for Catholics and pretty special for those who aren’t practicing Catholics. The Vatican Museum, which is actually a conglomeration of several museums, leads visitors on a clear pathway through several ancient artifacts including Egyptian art, famous sculptures dating back to BC and culminating with the Sistine Chapel.

The moment we walked into the Sistine Chapel and looked up at the fresco ceiling else we saw vanished from our memory. We focused on the fine details of Michelangelo’s world famous masterpiece. We all separated and took, everything our own time to enjoy each piece of art, trying to figure out the story being told with paint, and what was running through the artist’s minds at the time. The house of worship definitely had a magical feel to it almost as if you could feel the presence of every Pope throughout history in the one special room—what a group that would be.

Marc and I (both with disciplines in Project Management) stood in awe at nearly every site we visited. Forget about the physical complexities and money required to complete projects of this scale… How the heck did they project manage these enormous endeavors? Just the logistics of coordinating the procurement of materials, obtaining adequate man power and resources, organizing and timing the installation of massive columns and slabs of marble, all the way down to the selection of colors and intricate artwork are simply mind-blowing. They didn’t have MS Project, or any fancy work-flow management software. They didn’t have computers, or email to accelerate the communication and coordination with all the people working on the project! Just think about the organizational chart for these projects! Michelangelo was amazing, but I would like to sit down and have a beer with the Lead Program Manager responsible for overseeing a job like St. Peter’s. In fact, I would buy the guy a few beers just to pick his brain.

Rome is without doubt a must see city for everyone who enjoys art, great architecture, Italian food and wine. The Vatican, a country within a country, is a gem for people of all denominations with a love for beauty. Right now Rome ranks up there as one of the best cities in the world to see—we will see how the list shakes out when we return home.

Blood Lust...

Rome, Italy

October 9, 2007
N41°53.384
E012°29.562

The anxious crowd of 70,000 scurries through one of the eighty entrances and finds their assigned seats; peasants find their cheap seats nearly 300 feet above the action, women in their special section away from the commoners, the wealthy citizens in the mezzanine, and knights in the lowest section, just meters from the action. The main podium in the center of the arena is reserved for VIPs such as emperors and senators with its own private entrance.

Gladiators walk into the arena, the size of an American football field covered in sand, unsure of what beast they will face and most likely be the victims of today. Beneath them is a labyrinth where animals and other entertainment wait, usually regretfully, for their turn to go on stage.

The gladiators (usually prisoners of war or slaves) anxiously dig their feet into the sand that effectively soaks up the blood from a previous battle. They nervously scan the arena, not sure where the threat will come from, but knowing it will be just minutes before they are fighting for their lives.

The crowd begins to get restless and a gradual roar fills the air of the coliseum. Finally, a trap door snaps open and an exotic wild animal rushes into the arena looking to destroy anything in its path… the Gladiators. The frenzied roar of the lions and tigers, the growl of a bear (oh, my), or mighty grunts of elephants and rhinos are muffled by the fanatical screams of the Roman spectators that fill the arena. It’s time for blood to be spilt! Yes, we are in the great Coliseum of Rome!

As we stood in the middle of the great Roman Coliseum today, we tried to picture the excitement of the crowd as the battles occurred. At times the Coliseum would be filled with spectators 24 hours a day, witnessing the bludgeoning of animals and humans. The inauguration of the awesome building lasted for 100 days and over 5,000 animals were slaughtered.

In addition to the blood shed that probably still haunts the site today; we discussed the incredible architectural feat of building the immense structure. It was built over 2,000 years ago of brick, stone and marble and only took eight years to complete. Unfortunately, after the fall of the Roman Empire the site was rarely used, pretty much abandoned, and then most of the valuable marble and stone was poached by Michelangelo or other artists contracted by the church, for use in the Vatican.

The current day Romans continue to renovate this great structure, rightfully so, since it is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was definitely impressive, but this is just a mere glimpse of the great city of Rome!

Do As The Romans...

Rome, Italy

October 8, 2007
N41°53.384
E012°29.562

The express train to Rome made our travel day very easy, lasting less than two hours. We then navigated the Rome bus system to near perfection, dropping us off at a stop a mere kilometer from our home, where we’ll stay for the next seven days. Pat and Randy secured an apartment in a cute neighborhood walking distance from the Coliseum and close to hip and trendy restaurants—this means a kitchen, fridge and our own schedule.

Immediately, we headed out to get provisions for our new apartment at the local markets. We stocked up on breakfast cereal, yogurt and a few snackies to get us through the days in Rome. Since Romans observe siesta where the majority of neighborhood shops and markets close between 1:30 and 4:00 in the afternoon, with restaurants closing somewhere between 3:00 and 4:00 meals are sometimes difficult. Especially, when our days are jammed packed with sightseeing, thus having a good supply of grub at home can be very important.

Pleased with our purchases we headed back to our apartment, relaxed, had a home cooked meal and opened a bottle of local wine. When in Rome, right? Well, we will find out more tomorrow as we explore the city, and visit amazing sights such as the Coliseum and Palatine Hill.

Gelato Duel...

Florence, Italy

October 7, 2007
N43°46.653
E011°15.603

Since we made a logistical error by not pre-booking a timeframe for the Uffizi Gallery we had Sunday to wander through the streets of Florence. We were all a little disappointed, but then realized this allowed us to explore other parts of Florence—away from the city center and hoards of travel groups.

Since the weather was crisp and clear we decided to trek to the south side of the Arno River, explore a few parks, and capture a view of the Florence skyline. Perched on top of the Michelangelo Park we looked back across the river at the enormous Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore; a mere tune-up for the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The grounds of Michelangelo Park were hopping with tourists. Several wedding parties, who attempted to pose for pictures, sat patiently with a perma-smile as steady streams of tour groups unknowingly wandered in front of the frustrated photographer’s camera.

As soon as we wandered away from the park we found a quant little neighborhood where locals sat around drinking coffee and enjoying the sun. It was the exact scene I expected to see in Italy on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Instead of grabbing an afternoon espresso we decided to have a gelato duel. There were two gelaterias that came highly recommended to us and figured we had better get an early start if we were going to sample each before our final day in Florence came to an end. We visited Gelateria Vivoli in the afternoon (at the exact time a tour group rolled in) and GROM in the evening instead of dinner.

The ordering process (pay first, receive receipt, order gelato) at Gelateria Vivoli confused many of the tourists; thus, adding to the length of the line and chaos in the crowded shop. Additionally, there wasn’t a posted listing of all of the available flavors, making it difficult to know what you want until you get to the front of the line. I made a hasty selection and wasn’t even sure of one of the flavors I ended up with. Both flavors were still yummy, nice and creamy, but still not my top ice cream/gelato experience.

Around 8:00 PM we hit the streets to scout out GROM, winners of a Slow Food award and boast top quality, fresh, in-season products in all their handmade gelato. The gelateria is tucked in a little corner near Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. I ordered the house specialty, Crema de Grom, and Nougat. The flavors were big, fresh, and vibrant and clearly rivaled the ice cream in Argentina. Marc is still partial to the great ice cream flavors in Argentina and I agree with that point… I love a good Dulce de Leche.

Overall, the experience at GROM was superior, no tourists, fresh ingredients and clearly posted flavors listed on the wall. In fact, they keep all their gelato in sealed metal containers, preventing it from melting and spoiling, and providing a surprise well worth a visit!

Tomorrow… Rome!