Subject: Italy
Hi everyone! I started this email a few months ago, and never went back to finish it. I think I'll try to do that now! :)
So now that I have my tickets to go to Split Croatia next week, I thought I should probably FINALLY tell you about Italy!
When we arrived at Roma Termini (the train station) Matt was there at the end of the track waiting for us. It was SO good to see him! After spending a few amazing weeks exploring new places in a new language with new people, it was so relieving to see his familiar gentle smile and know that, even though I was in ROME, I was with all my friends now, so I was home. (OK, so ein bisschen HEIMWEH hatte ich! ;) )
Allison and I were all bundled up with heavy coats, blue jeans, and a few shirts- partially because of the weather in Dresden and Berlin, partially bec we didn't want to have to carry more- and Matt was standing there in shorts, a t-shirt, and tivas! ....and it wasn't just because he's a crazyman and wears shorts until Thanksgiving no matter how cold it is- it really WAS that warm there!
Matt led us throught the confusion of Roma Termini, to the metro-after seeing all the trams in Dresden, this was so much more like a NYC subway at rushhour! Not the cleanest thing going- not exactly filthy dirty, just well used. We had to really keep an eye and a tight grip on all our stuff, so that in the confusion nothing would be stolen- which is just pure common sense, especially in a huge city like Rome where there are always tons of tourists! We got off the Metro, and the first thing we saw was the Coluseum, just sitting there in the darkness, right across the street from us! That was really my first impression of Rome- all these things that you see pictures of all your life are just RIGHT THERE, in the middle of everything! It's absolutely amazing!
In a way it's kind of like walking through NYC, and just coming right up to the Empire State Building, but not really- it's even more so. There is so much history in Rome, and there is a massiveness to everything. New York is big, but it's TALL, and a never ending grid of buildings, that are all quite new, and even when they are old and run down they are either just blah or have an energetic life to them, that is fitting in a city of ever new people, coming here to make their fortune. Rome has a massiveness, and a monumentality of a place where people live, and live, and live and live, and their traces are there, ever lively, but so old. And it has a completely different mass confusion than what you find in NYC. (I keep comparing the 2 because it's the closest that I know to what I'm trying to say.) Where in NY everyone seems in a hurry, to get to work, to get across town, to leave, whatever, it's just a continual feeling of rushing, with no patience for anything, Rome has a different feel. I think it may have something to do with the fact that there's little rhyme or reason to where the streets (or buses, for that matter) go, and it's so easy to get lost. Which we did, sort of. Actually, we just had a bit of trouble finding the nearest bus stop for a bus that goes in the right direction. Or at least one where the buses decided to stop that day. The bus routes are not always predictable, and the schedules are erratic. Which is SO different than Zürich, where some mode of public transportation stops at clearly designated stops every 10 minutes or so, right on time according to the printed timetables at the stops, which are rarely more than 2 blocks away from wherever you happen to be at the moment. (I'll get back to that later.)
Anyway, we did manage to get on a bus and ride for the majority of the way to the Campo dei Fiori, which is where everyone lives. For the part we had to walk, we saw part of the Forum, again, just sitting there half excavated right below us. Then we walked down this narrow little street, barely wider than a back alley, which opened right out into the Campo. Even though it was late at night, there were all sorts of vendors and people, and music...life just happening there! It was great!
We walked across the square up to one of the perimeter buildings, where all the apartments are. Mike, Graham, Colleen, and Ginelle were all there in the apartment, and I dropped all my stuff and gave them all big hugs- it was wonderful to see everyone again! So this is where they were all living- not bad at all! They have a kitchen and bathroom, a bedroom that the guys use, and a big living room/dining room that doubles as Colleen and Ginelle's bedroom. Both "bedrooms" have huge windows with big openable slatted wooden shutters that open right out to the Campo which is only a story below! So it was kind of like the life of the campo could come right into the apt, or at least they could look out over everything, and just watch what was going on!
We spent the rest of the evening eating dinner, unpacking and repacking, getting cleaned up after so many hours travelling, and just chatting, trying to catch up a bit on everything that had happened in the past few weeks, let alone the whole summer! But we couldn't stay up too late, because the Southern trip started at the crack of dawn the next morning.
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The next morning we all met outside and I finally got to see everyone in the group again- which was really great- even though I was just visiting for a week, I just felt like I belonged there, like I'd been there all the time! We all hiked down a few streets with our packs on our backs and armed with cameras and sketch pads and utensils of all varieties, hopped on the bus, and rode for I have no idea how long (I was too busy talking!) to Southern Italy. Typical RPI style, especially with Fran (and Cinzia as well, I came to find out) we crammed SO MUCH into each day, that I'm really glad we all had a packet explaining where we were, what we were seeing, it's history, etc.
Our first stop was in Cuma, which is right on the coast, and basically just ancient ruins. (I don't have my notes with me at the moment, so I'll try to do this from the top of my head.) What I remember of it was the tan rocky, sandy soil that formed big cliffs that towered above us and continued down to the deep blue sea well below us. The vegetation was a dark, dryish green, and the sky was a clear blue.
We got a brief mini lecture about the area in the shade of a tree (I felt like I could have been in ancient Greece, getting a lecture from Plato under an olive tree!) and then continued up the hill. To one side of us was a deep ravine that I think was used to hide the great naval fleet when the area was Greek. Further up the hill the view out to the sea continued to get more and more spectacular. and we made a sharp hairpin turn and suddenly stood before a deep tunnel carved into the rock face. It had a tall triangular shape, but flat where the tip of the triangle should be. (This shape is so that the tunnel doesn't collapse in on itself, like the relieving triangle on the Lion's Gate, also of ancient times- Mycenae, I think.)
This was the home of the Sybil (?), who was this mysterious prophesy-giving woman. When you went to talk to her you had to stand outside until she invited you in. Then you walk down the long, dark corridor, punctuated by bands of sunlight that streak in from the carved out windows on the right hand side. (This is the side towards the sea- picture this tunnel running parallel to the hillside, and the openings pierce through to open air.)
Then you get near the end and can't go any further.
The Sybil is standing in a niche just to the left, just out of the line of sight. Her voice trembles and echos through the cavern, making it that much more scary and impressive. From there she speaks to you, and I think the effect would have been something like when Dorothy had to go before the Great Wizard of Oz, his voice booming out of thin air. The ancient people here really thought a lot about the acoustics and lighting effects- the echoing voices out of thin air, and the streaks of light, which were direct sunlight at certain hours of the morning, when people were to have gone to the Sybil. I thought this place was great. It was so easy to picture this scenario that I just described to you!
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