Saturday, February 20, 2010
Finally! We got to sleep in a little bit today, that is, until 8:00 am. Today's adventures included visiting the Castel Sant'Angelo and the Pantheon. Giorgio was to pick us up and show us around, and he insisted on us visiting the Spanish Steps as well.
The view from the top of Castel Sant'Angelo was breathtaking. I literally gasped at the sight of the view overlooking the entire city. The angel on top staring down thrusting his sword in his hand as if he were warding off any bad. It was beautiful.
Legend is that this angel is portrayed as the Archangel Michael sheathing his sword as a sign of the end of the plague in 590. The Castel Sant'Angelo has been used as a castle, prision, fortress and now a museum.
We wandered the streets packed with people shopping at high end shops such as Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton - not exactly my scene.. and we arrived at the Spanish Steps. Hundreds of people gathered, meeting their friends for lunch, chatting and sitting on the stairs. Horse drawn carriages sat awaiting young lovers wanting a romantic ride. While we wandered through one of the streets, I hear the faint clip-clop of the horse's shoes on the cobblestones, and as they made their way my direction - with my back facing them. I hear a loud car horn honking, so of course I turned and began laughing histerically when I learned it was the horse drawn carriage that was honking in the street. Oh Italy, you cease to amaze me.
At this point, Jewdee and I are starving, and not in the mood for more Italian food. We were a bit difficult to please today, but thats alright. We stopped several places for sandwiches, but we found the meat and cheese mysterious and unidentifiable, then we learned that they had been sitting there since the morning... So we found a Hard Rock Cafe and ordered burgers to go. Giorgio thinks we are crazy, but we were dying for burgers and cokes!
We jumped on a public bus for a few blocks and went to find the car which was actually a lot easier than I had expected and we drove off to the Pantheon, a Greek word meaning "to honor all gods" where I was excited to find that it was more amazing than I could of expected.
Happily, I wandered through this dome, which I learn is the largest masonry dome in the world. The oculus, which is the large hole at the top of the dome, and almost 8 meters in diameter, provides natural light for the building and occasionally rain and snow fall through it and drain into the holes built into the floor. The structure has been in continuous use throughout its history and even used as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Mary and the Martyrs.
We stop to pick through the books at a local store not far from the Pantheon. I excitedly picked out a set of books portraying the works of Bernini, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael and Caravaggio. Giorgio had to run off quickly, and it being only 4pm, Jewdee and I decided to have him drop us off at the Piazza del Popolo which was close to a bus pickup for our hotel. We wandered the streets and gazed at the high-end shops while we were trying to find trinkets for our families at home. However, we didn't find anything and had a few minutes before our bus was scheduled to arrive so we stopped for an expresso and cafe americano for my aunt. We waited for a good twenty minutes or more after our scheduled pick-up and we were getting picked up at 8 for Giorgio's father's birthday party. So we hurried and jumped on the metro to rush back to our hotel and get ready for the party.
I quickly threw on a pair of black leggings, high heels with a black and white short checkered dress that flowed against my upper thighs when I walked. We took off to the private club and it ended up being more fun than I had expected, considering only two of the guests could speak broken English to us. However, I was able to understand more then I thought I could, and I could make people understand me. We were served wine, bread, prosciutto, and mozzerella to start while we watched the guests of the private club dancing perfectly with their partners across the room. We were offered a second entree of pasta, and I had to refuse, too much pasta lately! But our main entree of margherita pizza came and it was delicious. I find it funny how much better pizza tastes in Italy! I watched as the couples flow easily and laugh thinking how if I were to go out there I would make a mess of everyone! I nibble at my slice of birthday cake and sip my glass of champagne as I imagine myself out there dreamily flowing around the dance floor with my dress clinging to my legs as my imaginated partner spins me into a smooth dip. I sigh... maybe one day I will learn to dance this gracefully...
