Days 38 & 39: when in Rome

October 14, 2023 to October 15, 2023

It was difficult to not write a journal entry yesterday, but I simply didn't have enough material. We walked around the Colosseum, visited the Basilica di Santa Francesca Romana, got stuck in a dead-end gathering a sneak peak of the Forum (the lines were ridiculously long), then back around the Colosseum once more for good measure. Then we checked off the Parthenon and the Fontana di Trevi. The crowds were really quite bad, and considering the amount of time we've spent in Seoul, that's really saying something.

We tried to get off the beaten path a little bit by heading towards the river. We ended up in the Trastevere district, which was okay but still very crowded. Finally we gave up and caught a bus back to the campground.

Today was much more successful. We headed straight to the Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore, which had a short line to get in, and that was only because they x-ray whatever bags you have. It's absolutely worth the visit.

Next was the National Museum, which we practically had to ourselves. It puzzles me that it's not a bigger attraction, considering the trove of treasures contained within.

Finally, we headed to Vatican City for a look around. St. Peter's Basilica hada much longer x-ray line, so we skipped it. Honestly, there's such a thing as relic overload, especially (in our case anyway) religious relics.

I think that we've grown to prefer small towns over big cities. I don't know how one can visit a country for the first time and say something like, "yeah, I'm just going to skip Rome", but I think if we had the courage to do so, we'd have more fun.

There's also the fact that before yesterday, we'd ridden for eight straight days without a break, and on some of those days, we really pushed the limits of our abilities. It can take a lot out of you. Walking up stairs is still painful, and probably will be for the next couple of days.

Thirdly, we had some cloud cover today that helped keep the sun out of our eyes and off our backs. I think tomorrow will be similar. It might even rain!

Anyway, on to the photos.

Pipe organ at the Basilica di Santa Francesca Romana

This was a floor panel that you almost couldn't avoid walking on if you wanted to go down the stairs

Raphael's tomb at the Parthenon. He looks neither teenage nor mutant nor turtle. Ninja, perhaps.

A modern statue of Galileo in the Basilica. Too little, too late, methinks.

A few highlights of the National Museum, which I will only caption when I know something about the artwork:

OK I don't know anything about this but I like the brooch. It is a brooch, right? Plus the fact that the statue's head is missing makes it funny

While we waited for the bus that would take us to the Vatican, no fewer than 20 of these tourist buses stopped by

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