Rome Away From Home

 

We began our adventure by packing up our house and making it ready for Marnie and Nick, who will be staying at our place while we are gone. Margaret was kind enough to let us stay at her house for a couple nights while we tied up loose ends.

Saturday morning we set forth from Nevada City. Our first destination? Pat's Boarding Place for Cats. Odessa, despite loving to curl up in suitcases, hates travel. From the moment she got into the 4Runner, meows per minute (mpm) were running at a solid 30-45. 

We had barely gotten south of Grass Valley when she wet herself all over Axel's lap, necessitating a scramble on the shoulder of the highway. Axel changed his clothes between car doors while strategic decisions were made about the future of said clothes (they stayed in the 4Runner - that should be fun when we return in two months).

After that, Odessa was sentenced to the carrier for the duration of the journey. But she had other ideas. About 15 minutes and 350 meows later she re-emerged from her carrier having managed to unzip it herself. By the time we got to Pat's we were frazzled and smelled of pee. Odessa had also pooped in the carrier. Did we mention Odessa is, like, the most ironically named cat in the universe?

File photo of suspect.

After we got Odessa dropped off we took a sigh of relief. We look forward to the regular updates Pat's place will give us. We will miss her, but as you can see, travel is just not her thing. 

After Pat's we drove to the Sacramento Valley train station. We parked the car for the duration and became full nomads, bringing just what we could carry or drag. The first place we dragged our gear to was the Amtrak Capitol Corridor train to Richmond. From there we connected, via BART, to Montgomery Street in downtown San Francisco. We walked to the Omni hotel where I had a free night. It was free because of a fire escape mishap that I had back in Denver at one of their other locations. Long story, but let's just say I had to run down 16 flights of stairs and kick a door down, all in my pajamas.

The Omni San Francisco was very nice, as was San Francisco itself. It was balmy and clear, a perfect day, and it did not get foggy until sunset. The boys rented scooters and roasted around the piers, the Embarcadero, and Lombard Street. I did some shopping. We reconvened at a restaurant in Chinatown where we had a yummy squab, green beans with eggplant, and garlic noodles. Also dim sum to start and for dessert.

Axel rides the scooter down Lombard Street.

The squab.

The walk back from dinner as the fog rolled in.

The next day we boarded an Air Portugal flight to Lisbon. The flight was a bit delayed and we had to  dash through the Lisbon airport to make sure we made our connection on to Rome. The customs line was enormous and we had to beg our way out of that line to shorter line. Then I begged our way out of the short line to an even shorter line. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to us, Jon's bicycle box was not begging out of any lines and was being left behind in Lisbon.

We got to Rome having been awake about 30 hours. All the bags made it except the bike, of course, so we had to file forms before we could leave. The driver I had hired in advance, Andrea, was super nice and he waited for us while we went through all the lost baggage bureaucracy. 

When we finally arrived at Andrea's van two things happened: One, we realized none of our international data plans on our phones were working (Google Fi fail) and two, Andrea's van would not start. Meanwhile, Sylvia, our AirBnB host was waiting for us and asking when we would arrive. I explained the situation and she was also very kind and waited for us. I had to hotspot to Andrea's phone to even make these communications.

Jon and Axel helped Andrea by pushing his van out so it could be jumped, but none of the jumps were working. Finally, after about 45 minutes, I decided we could not keep Sylvia waiting any longer. We wished Andrea good luck and went to find another taxi, which was made simpler by the fact that we had no large bicycle box to carry.

Jon and Axel push while Andrea steers.

Jon helps Andrea with the jumper cables.

By the time we got to the apartment we were so tired that Jon fell right to sleep. Axel and I wandered out for some food and found amazing tomato-y rice balls from a pizza place. Then we promptly crashed out as well. We all woke up bright and well-rested at 8am Rome time- perfecto! I spent an hour with Google Fi support in which they had to "file a ticket with engineering". I cannot decide which side of that equation is better to be on, because usually I am on the engineering side.

With no data, we all used the AirBnB WiFi to download the Rome map to our phones and set forth toward the Roman Forum. Jon had purchased a multi pass good for the Forum, Colosseum, and one other place that we will go to tomorrow. The forum is right across from our AirBnB at Piazza Grillo so we walked there.

The boys, standing in front of our door, ready to do tourist things.

On the way, feeling peckish, we stopped for sandwiches. We ate the sandwiches as we crossed the street and, in the middle of the crosswalk, someone yells, "watch out" and, as Axel tells the story: "I heard them say watch out, then I felt a strong wind on my neck, something brushed my shoulder, and then I watched as a fat bird lifted my sandwich right out of the foil and flew away."

From my perspective, I felt the bird brush by me but it skipped my prosciutto mozzarella and went for Axel's brie and roasted zucchini instead. A flying creature carrying an entire sandwich is an impressive sight. We had been told to watch out for pickpockets, but Axel was straight up mugged. I offered Axel my sandwich but he said he was no longer hungry, so on we went, into the Roman Forum.

Axel, file photo from later in the day, still wondering what happened to his sandwich.

My takeaway on the forum: Remus and Romulus were some dudes who pillaged a few women from a neighboring tribe and set up camp in the area where the forum stands. Eventually folks from the village they robbed came to hang out. Thus set forth the growth of Rome as an empire which first stole from and subjected near and far flung peoples, but then persuaded them to join the company.

A string of emperors and expansion followed, some emperors living out their afterlife as newly minted deities. Temples were established in their name. Above all, the home fires at the forum had to be kept burning. The task of tending that fire eventually fell on the vestal virgins - six of them at any given time - they spent age 8-38 tending the fire. If they managed to stay virgins that long, they would be given a dowry and allowed to marry, making way for a successor.

Me hanging out in the front yard at the vestal virgins' house. 

Only one of their statues still have a head- not sure if this survival rate tracks with the survival rate of the actual virgins. Apparently if they became not-virgins during their tenure they were given a candle and a loaf of bread and then sealed inside a crypt to die. I ponder how many of them willingly chose to become "not-virgins". I am guessing not many.

We ventured about, trying to picture all the tourists as toga-clad Romans, and mentally fluffing the ruins back up into gleaming marble and brightly painted trim. I thought a lot about power, control, human nature, and how the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Me dwarfed by Axel and both of us dwarfed by some forum sites.

Jon and some forum art. Christianity eventually filled the power vacuum in these parts and the Catholic varnish is strong over the whole, originally pagan, site. It is still going strong:

Some nuns near the market.

Priest out the bedroom window.

Jon and I on the forum grounds. I was glad that Isabella recommended I get a hat for this trip to Italy. Shade was key to staying cool.

Jon agreed and, after leaving the forum he stopped at a shop and purchased this hat. Then it was off to the Colosseum.

Jon and I in front of the Colosseum,

The Colosseum, for me, was an intersection of old bible stories, SF Giants games, and Keeping Up With the Kardashians. All the elements are there: lions' dens, people rooting for their favorite gladiators, mollified masses distracted from the larger issues at hand.

We saw the intricate chambers under the floor, in which people, animals, and props could be elevated to the floor into elaborate sets and tableaus. Instead of just executing someone, ancient Romans might raise them onto the Colosseum floor with a lion and a fake savannah and let the battle unfold. I could picture it pretty easily, having been to many modern sporting matches as well as having watched reality TV programs.

It was sunny in the Colosseum. We briefly sat in the shade. Here are my two gladiators, battling at internet chess.

Me and the hat, overlooking the Arch of Constantine from the south side of the Colosseum.

After the Colosseum we walked the town and found gelato and graffiti. Graffiti originated in ancient Italy as inscriptions and drawings on sculptures and walls and is going strong today.

Some happy footnotes: the bike was most likely found in Lisbon and took the last flight to Rome tonight. Also, the Google Fi data suddenly began to work, so +1 for those engineers. Grazie mille e arrivederci.