As soon as we walked into the Visitor’s Center, we were greeted with the thing we most wanted to experience: air conditioning! Such a blessed relief from the rising heat outside! But after we grabbed a quick bite in the cafeteria and started on our tour, we noticed it getting gradually... warmer. Because when we got to the main part of the museum, the doors were wide open.
Our first stop was the Egyptian section, which was both fascinating and sweltering. They had two actual mummies and a ton of Egyptian artifacts. I’ll try not to go on and on about the heat, but we’re really hoping that the museums in Florence have AC. And that we skipped through some sections because they were just too hot and crowded (tour groups).
Our next major section, and probably my favorite, was an enormous collection of marble statues. The first collection were marble copies of Greek originals. I’m always amazed at how the sculptors are able to smooth the marble and not have a single chisel mark.
Eventually we made it into another hall full of Roman originals. This was definitely my favorite. On so many, the garments looked light and flowing. If the sculpture were to turn just a bit, you’d expect the material to flow with them. I’m also impressed by all the tiny details. And wonder how they were actually carved from stone.
From there we went to the tapestry gallery (where we had to quote Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). Very impressive, but hard to appreciate because it was so crowded. We had to keep moving along with the flow of tour groups. I realizedthat yesterday, we were the tour group, but we spent most of our time away from the general public. Which was the whole point of our tour.
My other favorite room was the Map Gallery, and not just because it was cool and had a good breeze. One of the earlier Popes had commissioned a series of maps of the entirety of Italy. The maps were awesome and reminded me of Tolkein’s maps in Lord of the Rings.
After passing through an incredible room dedicated to the Virgin Mary, we moved on to the Borgia apartments. Was hoping that these were like the Napoleon apartments in the Louvre, but nope. They’d long been stripped of their history and just used as galleries. Though we did get to see a rare Van Gogh and a couple of Dali paintings.
Next up was the Sistine Chapel, the high point of a visit to the Museum. It was extremely crowded, with a steady flow of people coming in, not all of them obeying the rule to be quiet. It was difficult to stand in one spot to take it all in, but let me say it was absolutely breathtaking. They won’t let you take photos inside, so I snapped a photo of a photo on our way out. We were really glad we’d seen the show the other night, but were completely unprepared for how dimensional the real thing was. Due to Michelangelo’s use of shading, it looked like the figures were stepping out of the ceiling. Just incredible.
After a brief respite in the cafeteria, we left the museums and went around the block to see St. Peter’s Bassilica. We were immediately taken aback by the courtyard, which was easily the largest we’d seen in Rome. But that was nothing compared to the Bassilica itself.
All three of us were just astonished at the enormity of it all. It seems bigger than both Notre Dame and Westminster Abbey, but I wonder if that’s because the other two are more divided, whereas St. Peter’s is more open.
There was a mass going on while we were there,which made me wonder how our minister would like to have tourists wandering through during the service. They kept that section roped off and well-guarded, which made sense. We also saw that they’re more strict about the dress code than the Pantheon. We saw several women with large scarves wrapped around their shoulders and waists. Which was why none of us wore shorts today.
Our incident at dinner last night had been nibbling at my conscience. Yes, the woman was aggressive, but I could have given her something (assuming that’s what she wanted). So I made sure to offer handouts to a few of the people begging outside of St. Peter’s. I wonder sometimes if they’re truly in need, but that’s not for me to decide.
Finally, it was time to make the trek to Trastevere and dinner. It’s one of the oldest (and more popular) sections in Rome. It had been on our schedule for Sunday, but we’d obviously nixed those plans. We’d also wanted to visit the Mouth of Truth (made famous in Roman Holiday), but it was already closed. We made it to dinner a little early, so we took a few minutes to explore while we waited for them to open.
Dinner was Marsha’s top request, so I had to shuffle some things around to book it (they’re closed on Sundays during the summer). The restaurant is Roma Sparita, and they’re famous for their cacio e pepe, which they serve in a bowl made of cheese. They’re even more famous for being featured in an episode of No Reservations (2:26 in) back in 2010, in which Anthony Bourdain declared the dish so good, he refused to name the restaurant. Ever since, people have been flocking there (hint: people figured it out) to eat it. Which was just what he feared.
And yes, it was excellent. Our waiter, who was fantastic, also talked us into appetizers of prosciutto and fresh mozzarella, and fried zucchini blossoms, which we’ve seen on Food Network a lot. The former was excellent, the latter was interesting. We can now say that we’ve eaten it. I’ve seen some reviews that say they’re not always friendly to tourists, but that was not our case at all. As I said, our waiter was fantastic! Best service we’ve had in Rome. The one thing I thought was odd was when they brought my dish (Amatriciana) out first and left Marsha and Madison waiting. But then they brought out like eight dishes of cacio e pepe at once and distributed them to various tables.
What was endlessly fascinating, though, was the hostess. We were seated outside right at the entrance, so we got to watch her the whole time. And we could never figure out her system. People would walk up and if they didn’t have a reservation, she’d shake her head and flip through her notepad. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” Some she’d turn away, saying they were booked until 10. But for others, she’d relent and say, “You can sit over there.” She turned away an English couple who couldn’t be out after 10 (when their hostel locked the doors), but then seated the next couple that walked up. It was like watching a skit on SNL.
Update: After reading some reviews on Yelp and mulling this over, I've stumbled upon a theory that makes sense. I wish my memory was better so that I could verify, but I think this is correct. Whether or not walk-ups got a table depended on how they were dressed. I do remember one couple that got a table was well-dressed. And the British couple above were wearing shorts and backpacks. Thankfully, we had a reservation, but I'm still glad we'd dressed up that day for our visit to the Vatican.
Update: After reading some reviews on Yelp and mulling this over, I've stumbled upon a theory that makes sense. I wish my memory was better so that I could verify, but I think this is correct. Whether or not walk-ups got a table depended on how they were dressed. I do remember one couple that got a table was well-dressed. And the British couple above were wearing shorts and backpacks. Thankfully, we had a reservation, but I'm still glad we'd dressed up that day for our visit to the Vatican.
Afterwards, we took a final stroll through our favorite Piazza (Navona), where we stopped for some gelato (our first for the trip). Then we made the long, uphill trek (Rome is very hilly) back to the hotel. Passed by Trevi Fountain one last time, too, which was still just as crowded.
Tomorrow we take the train (the first of several this trip) to Florence, which means at least two hours of AC! Sad to say goodbye to Rome, though. We all agreed, it ranks right up there with Paris in terms of beautiful cities. I could definitely come back for an extended trip in the future. Just when it’s cooler.
My final impressions: you can get by in Rome just fine not speaking a word of Italian. Everyone defaults to English for the tourists. And we absolutely love the water fountains! Don’t know how we would have survived without them!
Ciao!
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