Our first stop today was the Coliseum. We took the Metro to get there, and as the travel guide suggested, we bought a Roma Pass for a whooping 38.50 euros each. The Roma Pass card promised entry to two major attractions in 72 hours, public transportation for three consecutive days and the best part of all, no lines. This last part was enough to convince me. The problem was that it also convinced every single other tourist so when we got to the Coliseum, the line for the Roma Pass cardholders was longer than the line to buy the regular 12 euro ticket entrance. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. This turned out to be the worst decision ever.
After 30 minutes, we finally made it into the coliseum. Yesterday, was a very pleasant day in Rome because it was cloudy and there was a breeze. Today, the sun was out in full force and there was no air. So the coliseum was like an oven. But like good little tourists, we went all around, read all the signs that explained where every rock came from and what every entrance represented.
We took plenty of pictures and by 11 am we headed towards the Roman Forum, even though where I really wanted to go to was back to the air conditioned hotel to take a shower. Why am I so spoiled? The Roman Forum was covered by the Roma Pass, but I found out that it was also included in the 12 euro Coliseum ticket. 😡
Our next stop on my agenda for the day was Capitoline Hill and the Capitoline Museum. We skipped it altogether. It was just past noon and we were as tired as we had been last night. We found a caffe in Piazza Venezia and took a break for lunch and a very cold birre.
With renewed energies, we headed towards Piazza Gesu. This was one of my favorite churches when we came for the first time. Rafi had just graduated from Belen, Alex had just started and Ftr Fernandez-Travieso, one of the Jesuit priests, was with us. He gave us a private tour both of the main church and the little chapel and house next door where St. Ignitious of Loyola lived. We even celebrated mass in the little chapel. It makes a huge difference when you come by yourself. This time we had no VIP (very important priest) with us to give us a private tour and in addition, the main church was closed. I was very sad because I really wanted to see it again. I just had to be content with a picture outdoors.
But we continued our walk and the next church we found was open. My hubby asked me, "do you want to go in?" Honestly, I didn't want to. I was disappointed that I couldn't visit the one I wanted to visit and this looked like a little ugly church from the door. I had not even taken the time to step back and really look at it. Besides, I had never heard of Church of St. Andrea del Valle. I just told him, "whatever you want," figuring he would say let's keep going since he had already told me at the beginning of this trip that he was not planning to spend all his time visiting churches. To my surprise, he said, "let's go in." We walked in and "wow, wow, wow!!!" I was completely taken aback. This church was amazing. It shouldn't surprise me. This is not the first time this happens to me. Most churches in Italy are full of treasures, no matter how small. And this one just blew my mind. Maybe it was not as grandiose as Gesu Church, but it came pretty close. I knelt and said a prayer of gratitude, because when one door is closed, many times a better one opens.
When we walked out, we crossed the street to really take a good look at the church. The little black door, which was all I had noticed, was nothing in comparison to the whole building which was amazing. It made me think that sometimes we concentrate on the little problems and we forget to look at the whole picture. What seems ugly and insignificant may be the door to something amazing, bigger and beautiful.
After such an amazing discovery, my spirits were lifted and we retraced the same steps we had taken yesterday because my private photographer wanted to take pictures with the good camera. So once again we went to Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and Fontana di Trevi, with a small detour so I could have my daily dose of gelato. This time we went to Gioletti's, which is supposed to be Rome's oldest and most delicious Gelateria. I think they all claim to be the most delicious and honestly, I haven't had bad gelato in Italy. But this one was pretty fancy and quite yummy.
We then grabbed a taxi and headed back to the hotel. They recommended a restaurant just a few blocks away, Il Fellini, and that's where we had dinner after freshening up and removing two layers of Roman dust from our bodies.
St. Andrea del Valle pray for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment