20 gennaio 2018
Everything looked so delicious, and it was all locally grown and really cheap! Giuseppe got a blood orange, the first time I had ever seen one. It really was a blood orange color inside, it was so pretty! While eating breakfast at the apartment we met the other guests staying there, a couple from Argentina. We chatted with them for a little bit, they were really interesting people. He is a sociology PhD student and professor and she is also a graduate student, but I forgot what she's studying...
This focaccia was SO GOOD. It was so salty and oily, sometimes I'd bite into it and get a burst of fresh olive oil. It was made in a fire oven and so it had that, you know, "fire" taste to it. Is there an adjective for that specific taste? I couldn't believe how much focaccia Giuseppe ordered, but we ended up eating all of it because it was just so good.
Our first trip of the day was to the colosseum and the Roman forum. We listened to Rick Steve’s audio guide. Our favorite part was learning about the gladiator fights, obviously.
Our first trip of the day was to the colosseum and the Roman forum. We listened to Rick Steve’s audio guide. Our favorite part was learning about the gladiator fights, obviously.
I've learned that near any tourist attraction, it's impossible to avoid the vendors from Africa who are walking around selling their little trinkets. They get you by asking you what country you are from as you walk by, and then they make some kind of connection with it, like, “REALLY?! that is where my mother lives!” or whatever and then they proceed to tell you they are from Africa and they want to show you something from their culture. As he shakes your hand, he slips a bracelet on your wrist and looks warmly into your eyes and asks if you like his homemade creation. If you hesitate in responding (because you don't know what to say), he takes the opportunity to put another homemade gem in your hand, a little hand-painted elephant figurine this time. The crazy part is that all of this goes down in less than 4 seconds, even if you haven’t stopped walking. You've been sucked into his little world. If you tell him you don’t have any cash, he’ll tell you it’s all free. A gift from his culture to yours, because of that special little connection you share with your home country and his mother. Or whatever. And just when you think maybe you are special and that maybe there is a connection between you two, he pulls out his phone to show you a picture of his baby. He tells you how hard it is to provide for the new child all on his own, and how difficult it's been since its mother left. You shove the bracelet and the elephant back into his hands as your skeptical brain tells you it's all a sham. You run away, ignoring his voice as he calls out to you. But you turn around, just for one last look, and you watch as he starts his routine over again. Slipping bracelets on just about anyone's wrist. And as you're watching this go down, another guy comes up to you and asks you where you from. And the story repeats. The connection, the free trinkets, the hungry child.. And then it hits you- you're not special to these guys, and there is no hungry child. And suddenly your face reddens as the realization sets in that the connection you thought was so special was nothing more than-
okay I've taken this too far! Haha that was a dramatization of the African vendors that lined the city, but anyway, onto the rest of our day.
We ended up buying lunch at a restaurant near the Forum and we watched this free bracelet shenanigans go on from our cushy outdoor table. It was pretty good entertainment, honestly!
We found a nearby basilica and went in. Basilica's might be my favorite part about Europe.- they are free, everywhere, and breathtakingly beautiful.
That ornate ceiling captivated me for minutes. Giuseppe, on the other hand was captivated by the fish pond outside.
The next activity of the day was touring the Capuchin Crypt. Monks between 1500-1800 chose to decorate the underground of their church completely with human bones, in order to show the "swift transition between life and death". They considered this somewhat gruesome form of decoration as a devotion to God, unended by death. My favorite part (not pictured) were the amazing chandeliers hanging above us, completely made of bones.
That evening we kept the creepy spirit alive by going on a "Dark Heart of Rome" tour. It. Was. AWESOME. Our tour guide was fantastic, an American man with a loud, theatrical voice and Severus Snape-like attire. It was a walking tour throughout the city. We visited seemingly normal spots that turned out to have a really dark history. My favorite story was of a woman who had a beauty and skin care shop but secretly sold malignant poisons to women whose husbands beat them. At the time, women weren't allowed to divorce their husbands for any reason so this woman thought she was providing a great service. The poison would kill these husbands without a trace and then these women were free from their horrible situations. Over time though, the criteria for what constituted a bad husband really loosened up, and pretty soon she was selling potions to women whose husbands were merely annoying or ugly. This woman ended up killing thousands of men before getting caught. She was able to live in hiding for a bit before she was discovered and beheaded in the town square.
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We topped off the night with dinner at an authentic pizzaria our tour guide recommended. It was SO good. I ordered a Napolini (basically a margherita but with anchovies) and Giuseppe got something topped with prosciutto.
It was a fun evening, I kind of like how European restaurants work. All of the tables are super close together so that they can cram as many people as possible in there, and it's always such a lively environment. Maybe it's just the Italians, they're a lively bunch. We like 'em.
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