Luglio 11, 2008
Days in Italy: 21
Known Bug-bites: 38
Total Gelato Sessions: 21
Collective Fanta Consumed (mL): 12,470mL
After a week of physical training we decide to reward ourselves with a mandatory program field trip to Rome. Thinking ahead, I drop by the local supermarket (did I mention how it's a 20 minute walk to town?) and pick up some snacks, a few cans of Lemon Soda and a Fanta for the road. Backpack stuffed and ready most of us happily walk to the station while a few tired feet have begun the trend of calling a taxi. A fine three hour train ride from Arezzo allots us ample time to fill our heads with visions of giant statues, elaborate frescoes, and yes, more churches -- there are always more churches. As usual, I choose to have my vision unconsciously. We arrive and dig right in to the good stuff; pillars and sky-high domes and fountains galore.
The sights and sites in Rome are great, though with dense tourism it feels a lot more like Las Vegas. English ringing in your ears and an ignorance to the culture takes you too far back home to really understand where exactly you are. I like it more when I'm the only ignoramus, thank you. Nonetheless I thank God for granting me a chance to have the culture right in front of me. The Pantheon, the Colosseum, countless monuments and historic ruins all before my eyes.
The food far surpasses expectation. Well most of it is mediocre overpriced tourist junk, but thanks to careful planning by one Ms. Emily Shorr I'm fortunate enough to eat at Alfredo's, where they invented Alfredo sauce. It's about 30 euro (45 dollars) for a dinky plate...but it's indescribably worth it. It's even indescribably worth having had to eat leftover sandwiches from last night the entire day before this meal.
Blue Ice: #1 Gelateria in my book so far.
God is good; a conclusion I still find, even in my growing distaste for churches here. In my opinion the lavishly gaudy decor- everything from the tapestries and painting consuming every inch of wallspace to countless Virgin Mary statues to the solid gold rays beaming from the head a crucified Jesus, are more of a hindrance and distraction to worship than an aid. After about the ninth or tenth one my eyes started to get sore. But I know God is still good. His beauty is shown not in the spirituality of graven images - a concept I raise a furrowed brow to - but in the creativity of the art, in the complexity of its construction, and the passion of the men who built them.
Some local nuns direct us to Mamertime prison, the place where Peter and Paul were once imprisoned. This got me. I mean, you can throw as many images of the saints and statues of angels in long flowing garments and I can appreciate the artistry, but it does little for me in terms of my relationship with God. I don't feel moved by these things, as hard as I try. But this, man...I actually got to be in the same place Peter and Paul were. I never realized how much I had not acknowledged their existence as something more than a memory or bible passage until I had set foot into a space they once occupied. And of all places, a prison. Nothing more than a couple minutes pass before I notice how hot it is down here. My breaths get deeper and slower. Calling it a cage would make it seem more luxurious than it is. Cages are ventilated. There's no air flow here, only a small barred hole, which just so happens to be the only light source too.
Jana agrees, it's really hard to breathe here.
I don't even know how they went to the bathroom. On top of that, according to Ancient Roman law imprisonment isn't considered punishment. I can only imagine how they must have endured and what would happen to Peter and Paul when they left. The biggest blessing Italy has given me is to be able to make reality of pages in the Bible.
Other than that, I find myself growing more deadened to the rich culture, something I have mixed feelings about. Irirregardless, the attractions are great final touches to a little collection I had been working on.
Days in Italy: 21
Known Bug-bites: 38
Total Gelato Sessions: 21
Collective Fanta Consumed (mL): 12,470mL
After a week of physical training we decide to reward ourselves with a mandatory program field trip to Rome. Thinking ahead, I drop by the local supermarket (did I mention how it's a 20 minute walk to town?) and pick up some snacks, a few cans of Lemon Soda and a Fanta for the road. Backpack stuffed and ready most of us happily walk to the station while a few tired feet have begun the trend of calling a taxi. A fine three hour train ride from Arezzo allots us ample time to fill our heads with visions of giant statues, elaborate frescoes, and yes, more churches -- there are always more churches. As usual, I choose to have my vision unconsciously. We arrive and dig right in to the good stuff; pillars and sky-high domes and fountains galore.
The sights and sites in Rome are great, though with dense tourism it feels a lot more like Las Vegas. English ringing in your ears and an ignorance to the culture takes you too far back home to really understand where exactly you are. I like it more when I'm the only ignoramus, thank you. Nonetheless I thank God for granting me a chance to have the culture right in front of me. The Pantheon, the Colosseum, countless monuments and historic ruins all before my eyes.
The food far surpasses expectation. Well most of it is mediocre overpriced tourist junk, but thanks to careful planning by one Ms. Emily Shorr I'm fortunate enough to eat at Alfredo's, where they invented Alfredo sauce. It's about 30 euro (45 dollars) for a dinky plate...but it's indescribably worth it. It's even indescribably worth having had to eat leftover sandwiches from last night the entire day before this meal.
And the gelato. Oh man, the gelato.
Blue Ice: #1 Gelateria in my book so far.
God is good; a conclusion I still find, even in my growing distaste for churches here. In my opinion the lavishly gaudy decor- everything from the tapestries and painting consuming every inch of wallspace to countless Virgin Mary statues to the solid gold rays beaming from the head a crucified Jesus, are more of a hindrance and distraction to worship than an aid. After about the ninth or tenth one my eyes started to get sore. But I know God is still good. His beauty is shown not in the spirituality of graven images - a concept I raise a furrowed brow to - but in the creativity of the art, in the complexity of its construction, and the passion of the men who built them.
Some local nuns direct us to Mamertime prison, the place where Peter and Paul were once imprisoned. This got me. I mean, you can throw as many images of the saints and statues of angels in long flowing garments and I can appreciate the artistry, but it does little for me in terms of my relationship with God. I don't feel moved by these things, as hard as I try. But this, man...I actually got to be in the same place Peter and Paul were. I never realized how much I had not acknowledged their existence as something more than a memory or bible passage until I had set foot into a space they once occupied. And of all places, a prison. Nothing more than a couple minutes pass before I notice how hot it is down here. My breaths get deeper and slower. Calling it a cage would make it seem more luxurious than it is. Cages are ventilated. There's no air flow here, only a small barred hole, which just so happens to be the only light source too.Jana agrees, it's really hard to breathe here.
I don't even know how they went to the bathroom. On top of that, according to Ancient Roman law imprisonment isn't considered punishment. I can only imagine how they must have endured and what would happen to Peter and Paul when they left. The biggest blessing Italy has given me is to be able to make reality of pages in the Bible.
I still can't believe it. It's even better than meeting a celebrity.
Other than that, I find myself growing more deadened to the rich culture, something I have mixed feelings about. Irirregardless, the attractions are great final touches to a little collection I had been working on.
1 commento:
i still say vivoli in florence is the best gelato in italia!
cheers to europe updates. keep 'em comin', friend!
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