February 27: Rome Day 3

The Capitoline Museum

Part of the Colossus of Constantine

Had a decent but not great sleep and got up at 6:45 to get ready for church. I have blisters on my sides where my purse hits (go figure) so I had to use bandage tape but it still hurts. Dang. Dressed warmer than usual (tank top, zip-up extra warm longjohns, Northface fleece and scarf) because we'd heard it might be cool and wet. So glad I did. It was very chilly and damp out. Walked to Santa Maria Maggiore nearby for Mass. It's a big church and one of the two really important ones to the city (St. Peter's doesn't count because it's in the Vatican). It was amazingly beautiful even after the wonders of yesterday. It's got several chapels off the main area, where most services are held. I think the one we went to was the Cappella Paolina. It was very sumptuous, with gold everywhere, especially on the altar and decorations. Behind the altar was a wall made of blue lapis lazuli with gold decorations. The ceiling was painted with Biblical scenes and figures and there was a very high painted dome with windows letting in light. There were marble statues of saints and popes all over the place. There were probably about 50 people at Mass, including lots of nuns. I don't know where they all come from, but they appear to be from different orders. The music was by two nuns, one singing and one at a smallish organ. The priest wore a green and gold embroidered garment over a very intricate lace floral robe. He had a very pleasant voice, though of course I had basically no clue what he was saying. After the service, Amanda went to look for a street market to explore, and I went to the Museo Capitolini. I got there right as they opened at 9 which was great because for the first hour and a half I was completely and totally alone. I got to see the pieces of the colossal statue of Constantine, Marforio Fountain, the Equestiran Statue of Marcus Aurelias, the Capitoline Venus, the Discobolos, the statue of the young girl with a dove, the Drunken Faun, the Dying Gaul and of course, the infamous Capitoline She-Wolf, and I got to see most of them without anyone else around! The Dying Gaul was really worth seeing. I'd studied all these famous ones, but that was really powerful. Seeing the She-Wolf was amazing and so surreal. I just love that statue!

The Dying Gaul

The Capitoline Venus

Mosaic of Drinking Doves

View of the Forum from the Capitoline

Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius

Bernini's "Medusa"

Capitoline She-Wolf. Amazing.

Confetti from Carnivale

Amanda and I met at noon at Trajen's Column, or new favorite lunch spot and ate our peanut butter and m&m sandwiches (I can't find chocolate chips here in Europe for some strange reason), then took off for the north of the city to a place on our map that looked kind of interesting, the Piazza del Popolo. We got there just as a Carnivale celebration was ending. It was lots of fun. We could feel the lighter, happier atmosphere, in spite of the rain. There were actors and fire breathers and jesters on stilts and horses and every little kid was dressed in a costume. I saw tons of princesses, a unicorn, a ladybug, lots of super heroes, a cowboy and and Indian and even a fairy dumping glitter confetti on a pink bunny. Then we meandered south  toward the Ara Pacis. Unfortunately, the monument is now enclosed in a horrendously ugly modern building and they charge 8 Euro for entry, which is outrageous so we just walked outside and peeked through windows. We also walked around the nearby Mausoleo de Augosto, which looked interesting on the map but we can't get any real information about what it actually is. Looked to me like a big brick, round fortification of some sort, but they don't seem to be very much into labelling things here.

Someone lost a Pooh Bear balloon

Then we walked across the river to check out the Castel de Sant'Angelo over near the Vatican, but the entrance fee (15 Euro) seemed way too high for what is now another museum, so we just walked around it. By then it was cold and rainy, but we were hungry, so we decided to stop by the Fridgidarium again. Just as the nice English-speaking lady handed me my chocolate-dipped cherry cheesecake/white chocolate nutella split dish, we heard our names being called by our friend Mandy and Leigh, who just so happened to be going to the same tiny gelateria! We had a lovely reunion before splitting up again, and Amanda and I continued to the market at the Piazza Navona, but it started genuinely raining just as we got there so most keepers were closing shop. We headed to the Campo de Fiori, where they were also closing. We figured we may as well just go buy our train tickets for tomorrow at Termini, which should have been a very easy task. Long story short: it wasn't. We got unlucky and got 3 very horrible people at the desk to "help" us 3 separate times after the first guy messed up our tickets "accidentally." I don't even want to repeat the story here, it made me so mad. I have never been so angry. The last lady was just indescribably horrible to us, literally forcing us to pay 45 Euro for tickets that were supposed to cost 17 Euro. Horrible!!! Finally we found a man who would actually help us (and report the bad lady to her manager) and we were able to easily buy the tickets we needed. This was such a bad experience, we were both extremely angry and stressed, but at least it's been our first (and hopefully our only) bad experience thus far in Italy. The good news: I found an iinternational book store with an English language Frommer's guide to Florence (yay!) and a nice American young adult novel to read (also yay!). Then we went to a restaurant that we'd passed earlier near Santa Maria Maggiore, called "Le 2 Colonne Pizzeria." Wow, did that place turn the bad evening upside-right! First, they spoke good English and even had English menus, which was a miracle. We ordered sparkling water, which Amanda wanted me to try but I have to say, yuck. I had a fettuccine pasta in creamy white wine sauce with incredible bacon sausages and basil. It was HEAVENLY. Amanda had some sort of tomato-eggplant pasta dish that was also amazing. It was a lovely little sit-down place and the food was good, plentiful and cheap. Now, bed time. Tomorrow: Florence!