Allow me to reintroduce myself:
I am the one who eavesdrops without recognizing the language of the conversation. I have haggled with Machiavellian street vendors over the price of focaccia. I have ignored pleas for help that may have been genuine, or only attempts at the con. I have smuggled Cadburry eggs across countless borders. I have witnessed pickpockets in action and I wear my wallet in my front pocket. I have caused foot-traffic jams with only my camera. I have butchered the French language.
And I am he who feigns interest in ancient Greek and Roman pottery along the corridors leading to the Sistine Chapel. I have tread on the wings of the Louvre; I have seen the Mona Lisa. I have abstained from flash photography. I have walked the Roman Forum, and imagined being both a slave and a senator. At Versaille, I attempted a panoramic photograph. My body has wrestled international viral strains. I have been identified as American at a hundred yards.
I have navigated the subway systems, so fraught with tedium, of a dozen cities; I have seen the Leviathan. I am part of the problem and a part of the solution. I have been trusted with strangers’ cameras and in turn trusted them with mine. I have hopped the pond and will hop back again…tomorrow, actually.
[*snap*]
Sorry! That just slipped out. I never really know what I’m going to say when I sit down to update this site. Reviewing some of my previous posts, I noticed how gratuitous my entries often are. Many of them contain hardly anything informative about my actual European experiences, focusing instead on my thoughts of the passing moment. So, I apologize if I’ve abused the privilege of having a relatively broad and captive audience. And I hope that the freeform expression has at least led to more interesting prose than would simple lists enumerating the sights I’ve seen.
I saw Carolyn off at the train station yesterday. It’s a strange thing, I think, when you are hurrying with someone who must catch a flight or a train that will carry them away from you. You focus on the task at hand and ignore the dissonance it causes in you. The realization of the parting is disguised in the rush to get everything in order. We made it to the platform only a few minutes before the whistle blew and there was a shortage of seats, so only a brief goodbye was possible. The train windows were the type that do not open, so even that classic parting exchange of words was reduced to an insufficient wave through the fast-fogging glass. Aye me!
And now, let’s play ROME IN A DAY!: (That is, an abbreviated account of our experiences in Rome and Vatican City.)
St. Peter’s Cathedral & Square lived up to its reputation. The square (a circle, actually) was vast and photogenic. The Cathedral was indeed huge – it even has marks on the floor of the nave to indicated where the next largest cathedrals in the world would fit inside it. Though I have found the artwork and representations in many Catholic churches to be gaudy and unnecessarily graphic – thereby inspiring emotion in a rather underhanded way – I found the interior of St. Peter’s quite beautiful and tasteful. Climbing to the top of the basilica was the highlight of the experience for me. The climb really was not too bad and an amazing 360° view of the city awaited us in the cupola. I will post pictures of the confining passageways that lead to the top of the basilica – not a trip for the claustrophobic! They did have an elevator but youthful pride prevailed, even over my religiously observed laziness. Carolyn and I each mailed a number of post cards from a giftshop atop the cathedral’s nave, about halfway down on the descent from the cupola. So, if you get a postcard stamped with Pope Jean Paul II’s face then you know exactly where it left my hands and fell into the Vatican postal system. (Actually, I did send a few more from the Sistine Chapel, so nevermind.)
I think it’s fascinating that Vatican City (aka the Holy See) is considered its own sovereign nation -- the smallest in the world! It has its own postal system and police force, and the Vatican maintains 106 permanent diplomatic missions around the world. I looked up the requisites of Statehood and got back 8 distinct requirements. Feel free to skip over this part if it is not of interest to you - I can't help myself. (Source: www.About.com; appropriated and edited without permission.):
1. Has space or territory that has internationally recognized boundaries (boundary disputes are OK).
2. Has people who live there on an ongoing basis.
Yes, the Vatican City is home to approximately 920 full-time residents who maintain passports from their home country and diplomatic passports from the Vatican. Thus, it is as though the entire country is composed of diplomats. In addition to the over 900 residents, approximately 3000 people work at the Vatican City and commute into the country from the greater Rome metropolitan area.
3. Has economic activity and an organized economy. A country regulates foreign and domestic trade and issues money.
The Vatican relies on the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, fees from admissions to museums, and the sale of publications as governmental revenue. The Vatican City issues its own coins. There is not much foreign trade but there is significant foreign investment by the Catholic Church.
4. Has the power of social engineering, such as education.
5. Has a transportation system for moving goods and people.
There are no highways, railroads, or airports. The Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. It only has streets within the city, which is 70% of the size of the Mall in Washington D.C. As a landlocked country surrounded by Rome, the country relies on the Italian infrastructure for access to the Vatican City.
6. Has a government that provides public services and police power.
7. Has sovereignty. No other State should have power over the country's territory.
8. Has external recognition. A country has been "voted into the club" by other countries.
It is the Holy See which maintains international relations; the term "Holy See" refers to the composite of the authority, jurisdiction, and sovereignty vested in the Pope and his advisers to direct the worldwide Roman Catholic Church. Created in 1929 to provide a territorial identity for the Holy See in Rome, the State of the Vatican City is a recognized national territory under international law.
See what I mean about gratuitous content in these posts? Despotic writer that I am! Back to the story.
Carolyn and I made it to most of the obligatory stops on one’s first trip to Rome. Besides St. Peter’s, we took in the Italian National Museum (tons of ancient sculpture, pottery, & mosaic), the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. We strolled by the Italian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier memorial and the Spanish Steps. And we each tossed a coin over our shoulders into Trevi Fountain the act of which, according to the legend, guarantees our return to Rome one day.
My favorite Roman sights by far were concentrated in the Ancient City neighborhood. We walked through the Colosseum and marveled at the incredible feat of architecture it represents. (We got to bypass a very long line because of advice from Rick Steves, the travel ninja, that suggested we buy a certain inclusive pass that allows entrance into various major tourist attractions - credit to Carolyn for discovering that gem.) It was a beautiful day outside and we took a long walk through the Palatine Hill areas, letting the ruins strewn across the grounds inspire our imaginations.
I do need to sign off at this point. I’ve managed to rack up a significant tab at this internet café and there are a few more things to do and calls to make of before I can leave Rome. I’ll see many of you very soon! It is with this knowledge that I console myself as I prepare to leave Europe and call an end to this incredible experience.
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