Last day in Roma... Off to Siena... June 5, 2010

This morning I woke up at about 8:45 feeling very lethargic. Saying goodbye to my friends, to Roma, was not going to be easy. I put myself together, and took one more outing in the city. In doing so, I finally bought an Italian phone because I needed to stay in touch con mi Papa e tutto mi amicos. At 11:30 I bid arrevaderci to my beautiful hotel only to get invited for un caffé by Massimo, the hotel manager. “Grazie Massimo, pero mi amicos (then I switch to English) are coming to pick me up. To my surprise, he graciously invited them too. As Emy and Adri pulled up, he met them at the car, extended the invitation, and told the doorman and Carlo, to have the car parked until we were done.

We sat in the beautiful lounge to enjoy iced caffé (today is VERY hot in Roma) and a variety of biscotti. I never in my life experienced such incredible hospitality… Massimo, Carlo, Andrea, everyone at the hotel, in Roma, embraced yours truly with the most open of arms.

When we finished, I gave my lovely “family” hugs and kisses as they loaded my 18 ton suitcases in Emy’s car. And we were off… Emy and Adri gave me un libro on the “Ricostruzione” of Roma. Naturally, a children’s book, so funny, so amazing, SOOOOO Emy! See, he is a real life Peter Pan so the book was perfect.

Before the station we made a quick stop at Emy’s friend, Bebe’s, clothing boutique. I tried on a few things... Didn't buy, although I am still dreaming about the top I tried on. I told Bebe, I was only at the first place of my "tour" and at the end, I would see how much I had spent, and if allowed, I would call him and have him mail it to me! He agreed and was more than happy to oblige. Eventually the time came and the inevitable happened… We said bye to Bebe and made our way to the Roma train station.

I quickly grew anxious because the thought of saying goodbye to these two people hurt my heart. Never in my dreams would have thought I could feel so close to two people in such a short time. But I did, "du (no due en Roma) persone incredibili!

The train station was a zoo, which I guess was fitting since Emy said the train I was taking was like a "cattle truck"... As if I was not anxious enough, he painted an unbearable image of my first experience on the train or TRENO. I had absolutely no idea what to do when I got there. It was total chaos, no information booth or direction just a looming clock ticking as the time dwindled down… we stood in what we thought was the right line and did all we could, wait. Only Adri could make such a horrible situation better by opening the Lindt chocolate bar I had given her. It was like she knew what to do in such a time of need… like she could read my mind. Stellar move Adriana, brava.

After a little over a half of an hour, we got to the front of the line and the information we needed, and for a moment, I felt a great sense of release. If Adri had not been with me to talk to the man at the ticket counter and Emy to lug my bags, I would have been crying in the corner, mugged or dead. I closed my eyes made a mental picture of this "what if" and immediately started sweating. Of course they insisted on walking me all the way to the train, right down to loading my bags to my seats, I love them! They got me settled, and at that instant the tears started to flow... I had an overwhelming sense of emptiness as we said our final goodbye. I waved from the window until they were out of sight. When I sat back down, I cried for 15 minutes, thinking what a mistake I had made leaving...

As I sit on the train journaling from my BlackBerry, I am still sad, I am still teary-eyed but my adventure moves on, and although I know I will meet plenty of people, I will have true friends in Emy and Adri. And as I have learned (Miss Borden), true friends are just that, no matter where in the world we are, we will always be close and have each other.

I close my eyes for a bit and try to relax. The train ride is not too long but I had to change trains, which was not my favorite thing to do for obvious reasons. However, Siena is not a “hub”, therefore there are limited direct trains. I make the switch and when I arrive at the Siena station, I began walking to my hotel, after about a minute, I hail a cab. I have NO idea what I was thinking when I believed I could lug my bags to a place I had never been with no problem. Yes, if I had packed like a normal traveler, maybe… but since I packed enough for a small village; it was not going to happen. More so, it was all uphill, I am truly crazy I thought to myself as I chuckled in the back seat of the cab during out 5 minute drive to Hotel Minvera.

I checked in and was hustled to my room, and when I got there I immediately started to cry. Maybe it was because I was totally spoiled in Rome with people, places and friends (now family), or maybe because now… I was truly alone. My comfort zone was gone, no Emy, Adri or warm hotel staff… Carlo! Just Rita, the owner of the hotel (I think), who looks like the Italian Tina Fey (sort of). She is a bit sassy and short, not overly warm but not rude. She calls for the bellhop who reminded me of Emilio, the butler in Mr. Deeds. The one who is “very very sneaky”… because that was exactly how this guy was… he was ALWAYS there… out of nowhere, he would just appear… he was very very sneaky. He was harmless, but just in case, I would take pictures of my things when I left the room. So if he came in when I was gone to, oh I don’t know… try on my underwear, I would know! Of course, everything was always like I left it and I was being completely paranoid… he just really liked me!

Anyway… the room had no frills and was a little “older”. But I tell myself it is a “classic”. In reality, I am being an ass, it had everything I needed; it was very clean, spacious and extremely close to everything. I think this was where I became culture shocked and all I could do was cry, cry and cry… my first official breakdown of my life in Italia. I will be honest; it took everything inside of me to not take the first train out of there and back to Rome, to a week ago…

I cry for about 20 minutes in my room and go into the bathroom, splash water on my face, realize crying does nothing for my attractiveness, and decide to get out, explore and calm down. So I get dressed up and I take myself to dinner; I go downstairs and ask Tina where she would recommend. Even though she had a few options I decided to not go with any of them. Why? Because when I asked her where to go and told her I wanted a place with NO tourists, apparently I wasn’t clear. She did not absorb the question; it was like she answered before giving it any thought, or as if she knew what I was going to ask before I finished asking. Her hasty response led me to believe the following things: 1) she sends every guest of the hotel to these places; or 2) these are the closest restaurants to the hotel. In any event, I chose to go with my own find and if it sucked at least I would not resent Tina.

I went to a little restaurant that seemed local and very quaint. I sit alone, still crying, but desperately trying to stop because the last thing I want to do is ruin someone else’s dinner with my tears. More so, I think I had snot dripping out of my nose, which I found out does NOT make good for working up one’s appetite. I try to relax and when I do, I think it may have been too late. I quickly notice the couple next to me leave without dessert, I can’t help but wonder if my whaling was what caused them to get gelato on the go. Anyway I pulled it together long enough to order pasta with smoked salmon, the one and only time I ate salmon on the trip, and I know why… I had only a few bites, drank wine for dinner, and just moved on. Just as I was finishing up, I met a couple soon-to-be married and they were… interesting… a mail-order bride arrangement, internet love. Regardless, they were very nice and enjoyable to talk to, which was a nice distraction from my thoughts.

When I bid them farewell I decided to walk the streets a bit and eventually found my way back to the Bates Motel… I kid; it was more than adequate and very clean, just bare.

I washed up and drifted to sleep, I hope you all had a great day.

Baci,
Me

Day Six... Roma...

My final day in Rome and I am very sad. I know I have a lot to see and many plans made, but something about Roma feels “right”… I am at peace here (even in the chaos) Yes, my friends have made it unbelievable and much more enjoyable… but it goes beyond that. I love the rich culture, the city vibe and surprisingly the really warm people. I never in a million years thought I would fall in love with Rome, I wasn’t even that thrilled about going there. Boy am I eating my words, thoughts and assumptions; as I am now exploring every option that would allow me to stay here just a few more days. My time here has been nothing short of incredible and that is a GROSS understatement. No blog posts, pictures or even words can describe how amazing I feel here. It is purely the feelings I have…

I wake up later than normal again today because I am still not over whatever I “have”… but mind over matter and I promise myself I will beat it. I am sure it is a result of going non-stop since I arrived. Days filled with activities and nights filled with late dinners, great sights, and my sweet friends. I think Siena will provide me with much needed R & R but I still prefer my Rome and of course, my friends.

I allowed myself to lag a little longer today because I already hit all the “major” sites, so I was able to take my time getting out of my hotel. On the agenda today was Galleria Borghese. Carlo arranged the appointment and was impressed he did not have to give me directions. This area is much more than a Villa or Gallery, it is a beautiful park with several aspects… this is the place I had fallen in love with to run because the scenery is wonderful. As a result, I knew it well.

A BRIEF HISTORY LESSON ON GALLERIA BORGHESE:

The original sculptures and paintings in the Borghese Gallery date back to Cardinal Scipione's collection, the son of Ortensia Borghese - Paolo V's sister - and of Francesco Caffarelli, though subsequent events over the next three centuries entailing both losses and acquisition have left their mark.

Cardinal Scipion was drawn to any works of ancient, Renaissance and contemporary art which might re-evoke a new golden age. He was not particularly interested in medieval art, but passionately sought to acquire antique sculpture. But Cardinal Scipione was so ambitious that he promoted the creation of new sculptures and especially marble groups to rival antique works.

The statue of Pauline Bonaparte, executed by Canova between 1805 and 1808, has been in the villa since 1838. In 1807, Camillo Borghese sold Napoleon 154 statues, 160 busts, 170 bas-reliefs, 30 columns and various vases, which constitue the Borghese Collection in the Louvre. But already by the 1830s these gaps seem to have been filled by new finds from recent excavations and works recuperated from the cellars and various other Borghese residences.

Cardinal Scipione's collection of paintings was remarkable and was poetically described as early as 1613 by Scipione Francucci. In 1607, the Pope gave the Cardinal 107 paintings which had been confiscated from the painter Giuseppe Cesari, called the Cavalier d'Arpino. In the following year, Raphael's Deposition was secretely removed from the Baglioni Chapel in the church of S.Francesco in Perugia and transported to Rome. It was given to the Cardinal Scipione through a papal motu proprio.

In 1682, part of Olimpia Aldobrandini's inheritance entered the Borghese collection; it included works from the collections of Cardinal Salviati and Lucrezia d'Este.

In 1827 Prince Camillo bought Correggios' celebrated Danäe in Paris.

Okay there is your history lesson for the day… anyway, the gallery itself was INCREDIBLE. I think it was my favorite gallery so far because in one word, it is stunning. It is an old villa turned once owned by the famous Borghese family (see above and of course Google is always at your disposal). The painted walls, the architecture, and the BEAUTIFUL sculptures are beyond words. I learned each piece originally had a very precise placement for display based on what the artist/sculptor and owner intentions were. I never knew there was such a convoluted thought process involved with art. Nowadays we think if a picture, plant, or sculpture looks good in a particular area, we simply place it there, for no other reason than it looks good. Very little, if at all, do we have such reasoning for placement of our art.

You are allowed only two hours in the gallery, although I could have used three. I will never be able to name all the pieces or know their complete relevancies, however, just being in there and looking at all of the art and rooms, was unbelievable. This is one place everyone should see for themselves. Bellisima.

After the Galleria I go to the café in the park to meet Daniele… we have caffé and walk around, it was lovely… the only questionable part was when we went on the hunt to get an Italian cell phone for me. I literally dragged him around town, on foot, because of course I insisted we did not need to drive, for an hour and a half. The thing is, he was on a business call for a majority of our walk, so I am blindly leading him around and he is just following. I keep telling him I KNOW there is a Vodafone store nearby, but it was always “the next block”… Finally, when he got off the phone he realized what was going on and jokingly says, “I should have never followed you and we should have taken the car.” I responded, “well if you were not on the phone, maybe this could have been avoided.” We laughed and finally found a few places, in which he came in VERY handy and was a HUGE help… I would NEVER had known what to say or how to get what I was looking for. I probably would have left paying like 200 Euro for a phone without and minutes.

We never got a phone, but had fun trying… we walked back to the car and I bid Daniele farewell; however, not before learning a chocolate I gave him the night before had melted in his pocket and he didn’t discover it until his i-phone was covered in it. I felt pretty bad that my nice gesture went awry, but could not help laughing a bit… and now I will never be forgotten.

I go back to the hotel and just sit for a bit, as I tried to take it all in… literally, everything, Roma, as a whole… what I have done and seen, the AMAZING people I have met… everything. I think of ways to cancel my trip, stay in Roma, and continue this feeling. But as they say… they show must go on.

Just then I hop in the shower to get ready for my last evening with Emy and Adri. We go to a great restaurant… although different than the one they were going to take me to because apparently I was dressed too nice. I said “NONSENSE”… after all, I always dress in what I want, and I felt fine… but Emy and Adri were not having it.

We went to a great spot near Adri’s home and the food is great, too much of course, but buonisimo. Luca comes to say goodbye to me, which was so nice, he couldn’t stay long… but his effort was exactly what made him great. At dinner Adri hands me a small gift and handwritten letter, which melted my heart. Tutto en Italiano and one of the nicest gifts I have ever been given. It was not the actual gift, which were beautiful earrings Adri picked out for me… it was the time spent on this letter that accompanied them… Very touching.

After dinner we met “Alto” Luca for a drink, which ended up being going to a friend’s house for a bit. Everyone was very nice, although they did not speak much English; I give them credit for trying and nevertheless making me feel very welcomed. We did not stay long since I had to pack and let’s be honest, I am not the late nighter I used to be (luckily, neither is Adri).

When we arrive at my hotel I give mi amores BIG hugs and retreat to my room. I try to pack, finding it hard to do so; I REALLY don’t want to leave. I pull myself together and pack so I have very little to do in the morning. And be able to spend my final hours carefree to enjoyable.

I try and sleep… I hope you do too.

Buonanotte,
Me