Again, this is in a series of travel blogs; if you read this, you may want to read the others first. Have already put up travel basics and a few days in Paris.
Religion is possibly the best and the worst of all of humanity's creations. I am sure I could do some Google research and find out when the first noted religion existed, but I am not about to do that. The first caveman that made up a story about why the sun rises and sets was probably a religion. I am sure an all-mighty god of some sort did it. In the beginning, religion was great; it still can be. It gives people a reason for why things happen, and there is mental security in that. It can be all wrong, but it still provides what people need: reason, belief, faith. It also gave meaning and support. When a Viking died, he went to Valhalla to sit with his ancestors, not just rot in the ground. There is a beauty in that. I used Vikings because that really isn't a mainstream belief anymore (except for online weirdos that I am certain could never be Vikings). Still, it seems all religions had the same purpose: to give meaning, support, reason, and community. There is nothing wrong with any of that; it is humans again who fuck it all up. I have prayed to god. I think a lot of people do when they are at their lowest. I mean, I will admit I have done it as a barter, I'll never drink again.... Or an honest prayer that was a barter, but not just to deal with a hangover. I will do this, I will change this, I will stop this.... if you help me, dear lord. Or just asked for help, which I think you're not supposed to pray for help, but actually pray. Anyway, I even found some relief in it, and I am not a religious man. People, and I am gonna say it, mostly men who used organized religion as a weapon. We massacre people in the name of religion. We oppress people in the name of religion. A lot of the bad we do in the world is in the name of religion. I am definitely right-leaning, but I cannot stand the far right that brings religion into politics. One of the things the founding fathers had very right was a division of church and state. I will not separate religions and say one is better or worse. I will say some seem to be more brutal, but almost all of them have been used as excuses to do horrible things. Plus, you are all in a cult. I don't say that with malice. Good for you if you found something you love and believe. There can be 2 billion people in a cult. That doesn't mean it's not a cult; it's just got an excellent marketing department. Even atheists have a religion. You can genuinely believe nothing means anything, that science explains it all, and when we are gone, we just rot away in dirt. That might be true, but it is your religion. It's your belief system. Sure, more of it can be backed up by science than a supposed burning tree, but in the end, it gives you reasons and beliefs. It fills all the holes religion usually does. I could go on and on about religion, but I won't. I will say if you are going into Western Europe, though, you'll see a lot of Catholicism. I am guessing that you realize that if you are going on a tour, though. It was probably in the itinerary when you signed up. Maybe not everyone wanted to go see the Pope, but if you are on a tour of this area and it is hitting a bunch of other catholic places, you may end up seeing the Pope.
So Vatican City has narrow freaking roads. The bus moved slowly down the street; of course, it was busy with the Pope speaking that day. We were parked by a gift store. I googled it, but I could not find it. Small front door, walk-in, and to the right is a dining area. Premade food, and I think they will cook you something if you want. I believe a few people had a bite that day, as that was our lunch break. My wife had water; I don't remember what I had, but it wasn't amazing. Then you can head downstairs and buy TONS of religious stuff, from icon cards to jewelry to books and clothing. I will say anything you can think of is down there. My wife bought her mother a necklace. Something to bring to the Pope's blessing. Everyone was shopping. Again, I imagined it as a store Indiana Jones might walk into, looking for information. It was laid out for tourists, with a nice washroom to use. So with new trinkets in our hands and food in our bellies, we headed to the square.
St Peter's Square was blocked off, with security checkpoints to get in. There was the Swiss Guard in their cute little outfits that belonged in fairy tales. There were also dudes, ripped as action heroes with big guns. We were on purpose a bit early, but the lines were also very long. I was surprised how fast they went. It was a decent search pat down, bags open, but I was surprised by how little it actually was. It may be that I have never been that close to a political speaker or world leader, but for some reason, there could have been more security. Possibly in the States, there would have been. The day, however, was perfect; the sun was shining now, not a cloud in the sky. It was warm enough for a T-shirt but not hot enough to be uncomfortable. That was good. There isn't really a ton of shade in St Peter's Square. Also, the square was packed! It was sectioned off for people to walk, and paths were made through the massive crowds. Masses of humanity squished together. It is like a mosh pit, but a calm and friendly one, so laying out walkways is a smart idea. Of course, we wore nicer clothes, collared shirts, and pants as you do when you get to see the Pope. Now here was the first thing I was wrong about. We ended up hanging out with the couple, with the loud, angry wife. My wife and her got to talking and they did have things in common. Hell, they were even from my hometown, so we were wandering the square with them, waiting for the Pope to speak.
We all loaded onto the bus and went to see the Colosseum. We had given up the chance to go inside, to see the Pope speak instead. Was it great? I'm not sure. I would have really liked to have seen inside. The Pastor in our group had come a day early and gone in. He said it was well worth it. We got to walk around the outside with our guide, Maria. She did a great job for what she could, explaining how things worked and what went on. I can't say much about it because we did not go in. The size of it, keeping in mind when it was built, is wild. As amazed as I was, all the "windows" still made me think of the opening of the muppet show. This is the tease of being on a guided tour. You get that small overview, but not the real meat of things. That is on the bucket list: see inside the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. The literal birthplace of the Roman Empire. She pointed out the Arch of Constantine and the entrance for gladiators. It was a perfect day for tours, even in the warm afternoon, it wasn't too hot, and the sun was coming down from a clear blue sky. I figure it was an hour, maybe a little more, we spent at this site, then the bus took us back to the hotel.
Most people went down to the bar for a quick drink. I put on some pitstick, another shot of cologne, and we went down as well. I would have hopped in the pool, but it is considered too cold in Rome in the low 20s for swimming. To me, this is the perfect swimming temp!!! Then it was to load the bus and head back into the city.
When we returned to the city, we saw the ruins of an old "condo." Seriously, there were the bottom floors where richer, more important Romans lived, and three or four floors up there were the poor and servants. Back in the day, it was the opposite. The poor got the penthouses because it required more steps, and the rich enjoyed living on ground level. There are so many cool sites you can look at and take pictures of, but do not go in. Actually walking in on this would have been awesome! Then we went to Piazza Del Campidoglio. Never heard of it? Neither had I. You walk up a ton of steps to a plaza to a massive statue of Marcus Aurelius. Quick notes on Marcus: he was the final Caesar during the Pax Romana, or the golden age of the empire. You might remember him from Gladiator, and yes, that is partly true. He died in a war, and his son, Commodus, became Caesar. Commodus was an ass and was killed by a gladiator, but not quite the same as the movie showed it. So Marcus was a big deal. Now he has been co-opted by idiots, and his quotes are used by "trads" who really don't understand the Roman Empire but pretend they do. That is getting off topic here, just if you are going to try and quote something, at least understand it. The plaza is big and open, and there are three buildings surrounding it, which I believe are museums. We did not have time to go in them, but of course, we snapped pictures in front. Then Scott, the tour guide, said Eyes down if you want to try something truly neat. So most of us did, watched the ground and walked around to the back side of the buildings. He said Eyes up and it was worth it. You get one hell of a view of the Roman Forum. This is another place I am going to have to come back to!! I believe you can walk it. We sadly did not have a chance, but we were set back a bit, so we got great panoramic pictures, but not the up close and personal view that would have been awesome! I understand why they leave these sites in poor condition, but restoring some would be amazing. Even if it isn't exact or made of the same material, to walk in the forum, as it was when Cesar walked in it. When Rome truly was the centre of the world. It was a fantastic view, and yes, when we go back, it is a place I would like to see much closer. I imagine that, from what is still standing, it is one of the better views of what a Roman city would be like. This was the heart of one of the most essential empires in the history of humanity. So again, a tour is great for an overview, but sometimes it may be better to go alone, or that's my guess. Maybe I can do it someday. After that, we loaded on the bus and had a small drive around Rome, seeing a couple more points of interest, but not really anything of note, and then we were dropped off a few blocks from our supper destination.
The bus couldn't reach the small area where our supper was, but it was a nice enough evening for a walk. Magna Quanto Te Pare. Which I believe is close to the Regola neighbourhood, or the foodie area if you look online. This place was great. We got the "patio," which wasn't a patio but more of some tables down an alley roped off, with tents overhead. From that description, it kind of sounds lame, but they do a great job, and it is a great patio. We didn't really get to go inside, I guess to use the washroom, but inside looked exactly like what you would think a stereotypical restaurant in Italy would. I don't want to say a villa, but I think it is supposed to look like a villa inside. Probably because we were a big group, we had terrific service. Wine was included, and I don't think the glasses ever got empty before someone filled them. They had live music or a guy playing guitar and someone else singing. They were actually good, and if you filmed them, they played it up for the camera. In the end, we could buy a zip drive of them, and we did. I think this was also our first experience with Lemoncello. They brought it out as shots, and it was worth it. What they did was a platter of food, but it was brought out course by course. So you get your appies, pastas, get salady stuff, get to try a bit of it all, and all of it was good!! Was it the wine, was it the fact that the night before dinner wasn't great, or was it actually great?? I think it all played into a great meal. I have to admit it, again, something I assume was utterly wrong. Our table was the Pastor, his wife, and the mother and son who had kept to themselves. The Pastor got everyone talking. He had the gift of gab, which got us talking to the mother and son. As a side note, every tour should have a guy like the Pastor. Super friendly, super chatty. In general, sometimes I find loud people obnoxious. He was loud! Yet he was a great presence. He opened the group up to talking, even more than the guide or anything, and started group visiting. Honestly, every tour would be better with a guy like him. As for the mother and son having dinner with us, they became my favorite people on the tour. Super friendly, polite people, I think the son, J, and I had very similar minds. I would look at him various times on the trip, and it seemed like he knew exactly what I was thinking. I was 42, I am guessing he was 21, and I was very different from the way I was at that age. He was going to school for neuroscience, as regular medicine or science wasn't enough, and he wasn't really the biggest drinker. You could tell when he had a couple, and I know that night they did. The mom was so nice and so polite. Even when people weren't looking for tips or anything, she showed appreciation. Very generous people. Never once heard a negative thing from either of them. Maybe it was because people were more settled in, but the supper was so much better than the first night. People were actually visiting and laughing. They brought us out limoncello, a digestif shot that is pretty much lemon liquor. The Pastor hammered his in, and they brought another one for him, thinking they missed him. I'll get back to that. Then we all did it together. I would say it was the best dinner we had on the trip. The mood was great, and everyone seemed happy. We all walked back to the bus afterward, and night had fallen. Looking back, I wish we had spent more time in the cities at night. It is a different vibe. Unlike downtown Edmonton, I don't feel like I am about to be stabbed; it feels young and fun. Like when I was twenty and wandering Whyte Ave looking for an adventure, but again not worried. Much cleaner. We saw the Durex machine, which I laughed at and took a picture of. There was a vending machine in the outer wall of a pharmacy, but it was all sex supplies. Condoms, lube, and a few toys. I guess you can go out in Italy, find a hook-up, and hit a machine without ever needing to go in a store. Interesting idea that….. I wonder if crazy conservatives wrung their hands when that machine went in, or was it more intelligent, and people supported safe and fun sex?
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