Pictures:#1: The Gateway to the beach
#2: The cascading town.
#3: Ah... Sperlonga. My favorite Italian beach (so far...)
#4: Sunset on the beach
#4: Sunset on the beach
#5: Holy gelato, batman.
#6: Basilica of Constantine. Pretty quaint, really.
#6: Basilica of Constantine. Pretty quaint, really.
#7: Arch of Titus, commemorating the conquest of Jerusalem (AD 70)
#8: Chilling in the 1' of shade in the Colosseum.
#9: The cats hanging out in the ruins.
#10: Inside the forum, tour guide Richard in hand.
#11: Inside the Colosseum. I'm surprised we got a shot without any other people in it.
July 11th
We had our first official three-day weekend of freedom. So we woke up far too early on Friday
for a day trip to Sperlonga, which is supposed to have the best beaches. After an hour on the train and twenty minutes on a bus, we made it to paradise. It was beautiful. It felt more like Greece or something (not that I've been there). We found a nice private beach (the free public beach was tiny!) and camped out for the day. The water was lovely, and the town was picturesque. There was also this huge cave at the end of the beach, but it was part of a national park, so you had to pay to get in. Also, we found an inexpensive gelato place, that we visited on the way in and way out. The only unfortunate thing about the day was that I got a bit lobstered by the sun (sunblock must have washed off in my many trips in) but I guess it had to happen sooner or later.
On Saturday (early, again), we hit the Roman Forum and Colosseum. Finally. It was a pretty warm morning, so I'm glad we got out there early, but we were all a little tired (and quite a bit hungry) by the end of it. We started at the Forum, where we walked around constantly saying, "Look at that old stuff." Along with my "Mahble Callums." Thankfully, Rick Steves came to our rescue with his Rome tour book, so we walked around reading his plethora of knowledge. Otherwise we would have had no idea what this or that column used to be. It is hard to imagine what it used to look like, but as this was the center of the Roman Empire, it must have been pretty nice.
for a day trip to Sperlonga, which is supposed to have the best beaches. After an hour on the train and twenty minutes on a bus, we made it to paradise. It was beautiful. It felt more like Greece or something (not that I've been there). We found a nice private beach (the free public beach was tiny!) and camped out for the day. The water was lovely, and the town was picturesque. There was also this huge cave at the end of the beach, but it was part of a national park, so you had to pay to get in. Also, we found an inexpensive gelato place, that we visited on the way in and way out. The only unfortunate thing about the day was that I got a bit lobstered by the sun (sunblock must have washed off in my many trips in) but I guess it had to happen sooner or later.
On Saturday (early, again), we hit the Roman Forum and Colosseum. Finally. It was a pretty warm morning, so I'm glad we got out there early, but we were all a little tired (and quite a bit hungry) by the end of it. We started at the Forum, where we walked around constantly saying, "Look at that old stuff." Along with my "Mahble Callums." Thankfully, Rick Steves came to our rescue with his Rome tour book, so we walked around reading his plethora of knowledge. Otherwise we would have had no idea what this or that column used to be. It is hard to imagine what it used to look like, but as this was the center of the Roman Empire, it must have been pretty nice.
As we got closer to the Colosseum, my interest peaked, as well as the number of tourists. I knew it would be packed (it was Saturday, after all) but it was crazy! There were people EVERYWHERE! Especially if it was shady. I think the answer for everyone in this city to "When in Rome..." is "Go to the Colosseum." And yet, I was still so impressed. I didn't get quite the one-on-one experience with the monument that I'm used to, but when it is towering over your head many feet, it is still pretty powerful. And now I can say I've seen it. Check.
After a quick (by Roman standards) but enjoyable lunch, we headed to San Giovanni in Laterano, the original base for the Catholic Church before it moved to the flashier St. Peter's. It was beautiful! It was slightly more subdued than St. Peter's, but still dramatic. They were setting up for some event, with chairs and tv screens all over the place. If I knew more Italian, I might be able to figure out what was going on. Across the street, we went to the "Scala Sancti " or "Holy Stairs" in another church. Supposedly, these stairs were brought from the house of Pontas Pilate by Constantine in 300 AD, and they are the stairs Jesus walked before his death (with the blood spots to prove it). Now they are covered in walnut wood, and you are required to ascend all 28 of them on your knees. (let me tell you, it gets quite painful at the end) At the top is the Holy of Holies, where there are kept sacred documents in an altar. I had no idea this even existed, but a few Catholic girls in Assisi told us about it. I'm learning lots about the Catholic church, though. Who'd have thought?
0 comments:
Post a Comment