So I’m absolutely rushing through these next two posts because I’m in LONDON, ENGLAND and I can’t wait to share all this trip’s adventures! So in no particular order here is a recount of my parents’ stop in Rome last weekend.
Here are a couple pictures from the Colosseum from when the ‘rents were visiting. I was really surprised by the size – the pictures had led me to believe the place was gigantic but when I actually got there it wasn’t nearly as big as I’d had in mind.. like as big as The Swamp. That being said the sheer history that took place there was incredible. It was both horrifying and unbelievable that the games (aka battles) lasted for hundreds of years before they were halted. I am thrilled that as each generation grows we are less and less satisfied with our quality of education/entertainment/politics and feel the need to change it as every new generation comes into power.
Afterward we went to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum and whoa dang. It took me right back to Pompeii. I loved seeing the ruins because it was definitely a flash back to the past. I also loved that during all of these trips I was visiting with my parents! After so long in Rome on my own it was nice to give up the reigns and let the ‘rents pick the time and place. No complaints on that end.
After that my dad took up a modeling career. This is him featured in the top left with a classic cowboy hat, chic shorts, and a pose Tyra Banks would kill for. Ladies and gentleman, I introduce Dave.
In all seriousness we went to a really great museum that I can’t remember the name to. Which is pretty typical. All I know is I was that person who didn’t see the sign to turn off the cameras.. but I kind of can’t even regret it because I captured a shot of the Michaelangelo’s Cristo della Minerva which I really enjoyed.
I think these two pictures deserve their own caption.
Day 2 or something we go out for dinner. I’m excited, right? Parents finally come to town which means I can eat for the first time in weeks. My dear mother who at some point in my life valued the safety of her children had us walk to Travestere. For those of you unfamiliar with the Rome geography, Travestere is its own stinkin’ district. Long story short we walked the wrong way on a highway and almost died. Seriously, no big deal. I promise.
We finally found a restaurant and went straight in. Mind you this was not a place for tourists. The gentleman taking our order really didn’t understand too much of what we were saying. I think okay no big deal, I’ll go for the pizza. Problem is I think maybe I was a little shaken up from the near death experience because I see “pizzicheria” and think YUP that’s pizza for sure. I’ll take the formaggio. I’m so cultured.
30 minutes later, I’m dying of hunger, the wine is gone, and I had made a hike just to get there. Out comes our food and on my plate, 4 pieces of cheese. Yes. I ordered cheese for dinner. The shock was overwhelming but I had no choice but to enjoy it because the manager looked so proud of me that I felt like I was overcoming cultural divides with these 4 pieces of cheese.
So I ate with gusto and that was my story with the cheese.
This is mom, dad and I practicing our serious time in front of the Vatican. This is a sarcophagus we saw in the National Museum of Rome.
I have never done so much in one weekend. One of the better places we visited was the National Museum of Rome. I feel like at some point I’m probably going to become desensitized to all the statues I see (I mean come on, how many different ways can you sculpt an old dude), but for now I’m still on that statue high.
I loved visiting the place and it’s one of those things that if I hadn’t had my parents along I probably wouldn’t have made time for it!
One day we went to two churches. I’m going to be embarrassing and wait to say the names of them until I can text my mother and ask for a reminder.
Either way we saw the really great Bernini sculpture of St. Teresa of Avalon. A lot of the time here I get frustrated with my lack of knowledge of art, religion, or politics of the day. This was an exciting sculpture to see because I had a background understanding of who St. Teresa of Avalon was, I read the Dan Brown book where it mentioned the sculpture, and I had previously read up on what the significance of the sculpture was. It definitely made the viewing process a lot more enjoyable.
The ‘rents and I at the Eatery. Need I say more?
To wrap up the wonderful weekend with my parents we randomly took the metro one evening and my mom decided to pick the San Giovani stop to find us some dinner. After we spot a pizza joint we look across the street and see a massive building. We saw a couple people coming out so we decided to check it out.
I’m so glad we did. It’s called the Basilica of St. John Lateran and we found out after our visit that it’s actually considered to be the highest ranking basilica above all others in the Roman Catholic church. The fact that we casually stumbled into this just goes to show how incredibly unique Rome is turning out to be!
It was a magnificent basilica with every nook and cranny stuffed with some form of art or another. The ceilings were ornate, the walls had niches crammed with statues, and every other foot was a chapel tucked away into a little cubby. It was absolutely stunning and I was so glad to see it!
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Throughout the weekend, every time my parents or I would do something outrageously embarrassing, my dad would hiss “ugly Americans”, just to really solidify our rank as the lowliest amongst all the countries. Every time my mom whipped out the map with expert skill and ease, my dad would whisper “ugly Americans”. If I complained about my dad’s cowboy hat, UA. If I forgot how to ask for the check in Italian, UA. If I pushed a door instead of pulled it, UA. At every point we were committing some serious cultural no-nos but it was humbling to recognize that I really can’t “unamericanize” myself. I can do everything in my power to assimilate to another culture and respect the place I’m in, but at the end of the day I probably laugh a little too loudly, my map probably crinkles a lot when I open it, and I’m sure my excitement over gelato and coke is offensive to someone somewhere.. But that’s okay. So hey, here’s to the rest of my life as a proud, ugly American.
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My weekend was made so much better just with the presence of my parents. I’ve definitely missed my American culture and a lot of us have just adapted here and done our best to “fit in”. Having my parents come made me feel like it was my first time in Rome and I was happy to be able to experience a part of Europe with them. It was pretty great.
Tomorrow I need to put up pictures from last week so I can fast forward to my current trip to London and Dublin! Stay tuned for more of my travel adventures!
Running in Rome 