Rome, Naples, sicily

Ciao,
     How to describe Rome.  Being that I lack in creative adjectives, just combine all those that I use constantly, such as  magnificent, beautiful, amazing and incredible, and that is how I would describe it.  It is the combination of a booming metropolis and an excavation  site weaving through, and sitting on top of one another.  The landscape and sky line is dominated by splendid and intricate modern architecture with roman flare, and decrepit but fascinating remains from the Rome a thousand years ago.  The sculptures and fountains, that seem to stand as the middle ground between the ancient past and the modern era,  are still sprinkles throughout the streets, piazzas and along the bridges.    It is difficult to even comprehend the  time spans and eras of development like those of the roman empire, the renaissance.   Everywhere you look there is a beautiful fountain, statue or roman pillars, and it is hard to determine even from what time they are from.  The excavation sites,and eroded buildings clearly indicate that they are from before the far of the empire, and the fountains and statues can be assumed to be some piece of artwork from Bernini, Michael Angelo or perhaps one of the other renaissance artists to follow him.  You could spend a whole day in one piazza, or plaza, researching where each is from and it's origins.  It really is a quite stunning city.
      The first day begot an early start to head off to the Vatican.   The smallest sovereign nation In The world.  At it's entrance there is a massive open courtyard In a semicircle, surrounded by, had to of been Over ten story high roman style pillars, in three rows all around.  This faced st. Peter's basilica.   It was an enormous area and the basilica was as well.  The front balcony is where the pope comes out every Wednesday to greet those who pile in and await it.  We thankfully went on Tuesday.  I don't think we would have been able to see as much if we hadn't. I found it more of a priority to visit the Vatican museum and the Sistine chapel than the basilica, although I can imagine its stunning inside.  In the museum they have a collection of replicas of the Greek and roman statues, and behind a locked gate originals.  I think I could make out some of the figures in the distance and I think that some of the statues behind lock and key are suppose to represent the disciples.    
They had numerous collections from Italian artists to egyptian mummy's.  Was a bit peculiar actually.  The majority of it, of course was religious art.  You could have spent hours but it generally wrapped you around and you were shuffled around with the crowd.  The layout however made it easy to just wander through and follow the crowd.  We started with the musio pio-clemintio, which contained the Greek and roman antiquities.  Following that was the galleria dell carte geographite, or map galleriey and the galleria degil Arazzi, or tapestry gallery.  The map gallery was various giant maps of Italy and I presumed territories once of.  The Vatican museum itself is an exhibit.  Many of the artwork is not in a collection on display, but part of the structure itself and painted right on the walls.  The tapestries depict biblical stories, some of which were quite graphic and desturbing, like the massacre of the innocence,which of course was the order of mass murder by Herod to kill all new born children and pregnant woman, when he heard rumors of a prophecy of a new king.  Or at least I think that is how it went.  To follow this was the stanze de rafaello which was once the private room of the pope Julius the second.  The biggest point of interest here is the stanza Della segnatura, which features rafael's master piece frescoes such as the school of Athens and disputation of the sacrament.  There was also one, I can remember the name, that depicted the battle, interpreted by Christians to be the fall of paganism, where co statins defeated his enemies after having received a revelation to march into battle with the cross on his battle flag.  Clearly the one the most significant turning points in human history.  After this Constantine declared Christianity the empires official religion,and ended the persecution of Christian, the second being on a good note,  on the bad note, the empire didn't last too long after.  They were all extraordinary workslf art, or rooms of art of I should say.
          Speaking of the walls being canvas, I had no idea what to expect upon entering the Sistine chapel.  I have never seen any thing so mesmerizing created by human hands.  All you could do was stop and stare in wonder.  There were layers of observation.  First you work through the astonishment that someone painted this all with z paintbrush tied up on a lift, with paint dripping in there eyes, then you try to work out how some things, that you were sure were figures, pillars and statues coming out of the wall, are actually paintings that were done with the use of no technology, and then you can begin to analyze the significance of some of the scenes and specific frescoes.   No picture could ever do this justice. Micheal Angelo was truly a genius.  If you stare the shadowing makes everything threes dimensional.  Every time you look in any direction there is something new new.  I was fooled so many times, it was unreal.  I looked and I was like, wow the statues are even brightly painted, and then realized cater moving positions and standing somewhere else that they were actually as two diminutional as the rest of the figures. I didn't realize until half way through that the curtains along the bottom protium were not actually curtains.  The creases and waves and shadows on them actually made them look as if they were moving and the glass that is placed over them reflects the crowned making it seem as though the light on the other side is making them somewhat transparent.  They had the scenes of the old Teri ate along the right side as you walk in, like Moses receiving the ten commandments from mt. Sinei  and the parting of the red sea.  There was the baptism of jesus, the first sermon and stories of the new testate Long the left.  Those were the only ones could make out at least, but there were about seven to eight on each side. Along the ceiling their was in the center the painting of god touching Adam giving him life, the creation of Adam and then eve and the fall from grace.  Again there were others I just couldn't figure out.  Significant pictures and paintings filled all the spaces in between.  The floor was a beautiful mosaic, but the alter was simple, as there need to be nothing added to this eye full of wonder.  It is one of those places that you find hard to bring yourself to leave, because you can't take your eyes off of it and you know you may never be so fortunate to see it again.  Unbelievable.
     I was satisfied for the day, but I split from the girls because I wanted to see st. Peters. After just parting ways, I gave up on the line and headed of to check of the rest of the sights.  Rome is very easy to get around.  The buses go along all the main road, all the sights are marked clearly on maps, and there are only two metro lonesome that cross in the middle right u der the maintain station.  I walked through a piazza and saw some historical buildings, walked to the pantheon, which is now a church, but the fact that it was the pantheon of the roman gods for thousands of years prior, it is now th eldest church in Rome.  I saw all the main piazzas, then went to the Italian government building, which had numerous remnants of temples and old churches on the streets behind it.  I could even see the colosseum in the distance.  After that I went to see the trevi fountain,found the famous gilato  shop, and after sunset went back to relax by the fountain a bit.  At around seven I found my way back to the hostel.  It is near the university, and about a twenty minute walk from the main station or temini.  All of the buses pretty much run to there so at least you could get yourself in walking distance.  We all pretty much arrived at the same time, and had gotten groceries for stir fry and to save on food so we could pay to see the sights.  My student Id gets me a couple euro off some places but it still adds up quick.  We had some veggies wine and called it a night to beat the crowd to the colosseum.  After of course, people watching some characters in the hostel.  I think I could write a cartoon just using a random character from each of the places I've stayed.  This one had a creepy Chinese couple that slurped there food it seemed like ten times a day.  They never ran out of noodles.  Left there shit everywhere and walked like dinosaurs.   Not even being mean, just very entertained.  
         The next morning we loaded up on free breakfast, escaped the hostel before too much commotion and headed off to the colosseum.  It was radiating sexy romanticism.  Idk wtf that even means but it just came to my head.  I guess I just wanted russel crow to come charging out dirty and bloodied mm .   But instead there are big hairy, perverted, Italian men dressed in costume that think making sexual gestures at you is going to make pay to have a picture with them.  We beat the crowd.  Even as we walked by after our tickets the lines were already starting to form.  Well worth it because we could walk right up to the balconies overlooking the center of it and really take in how massive this place really is.  Without people being loud and crowding around you it made it easier to think and imagine the intensity that this place must have really had. So cool. Idk even know what to say about it, I was so thrilled to just be able to stand and look around.  It is like an ancient super owl size stadium.  The Home of the legendary gladiators.  Incredible. These are like all the places since I was a little kid I thought would be the coolest places to ever see and I was there. I was always such a nerd about ancient civilizations and always dreamed of seeing part of what was left, from what I find to be the most fascinating time period and  cultures in the world, I wish I had a time machine.  That's all I have to say.I just want to go be there, and this is about as close as you get.  I didn't want to leave.  We left and as we walked out the line had already started to get so long.  

Ok well now I've already been to Naples, or Napoli and had one terrible long day in Sicily Palermo after a night train with no seats for ten hours.  Palermo, probably due to the lack of sleep, left a bad taste in our mouths haha.  We slept the entire day and hid out in b and b.  The nice thing about traveling in threes is you can go to places that don't have hostels and b and bs between three are usually really cheap.  we are on a bus now to go to tripane, where the random flight we found is out to a town an hour outside Barcelona.  Forty euro sure beats 300 for a flight though.  Naples was a genuine Italian experience.  We even extended our stay at the request of Simone and his family to stay for a traditional Italian Sunday lunch and dinner.  What seriously kind hearted people.  Francesco, the other friend originally from Ireland may even be getting a work visa to work in Vancouver with sarayha next summer.

Back to Rome, let's see what I can remember.  After the coliseum, which was another place you are hesitant to just walk out of, we went to pale tine hill and the old senate, where they excavated old temples, the house of ceased, the senate, and the surrounding houses of the rich and powerful of Rome.  It was a beautiful day.  The weather since Florence had been extremely nice, even down to wearing shorts.  In Venice, after the first day of rain it was nice as well but still chilly.  We walked through drawers house, where some frescos still remain.  You are let in just a couple at a time where you are then watched and followed to be sure you don't touch anything or take pictures.  You can't take pictures of fre OSS because the flash starts to warp them over time.  In the sisteen chapel they were extremely strict, besides it just being disrespectful.  Pictures in no way could do that any justice anyways.  My legs and feet were exhausted after hours of walking for two days.  We bus to main points but there is so much ground to cover.  It still took us three hours to just quickly see the old stadium and houses at palatine, then the senate on the other side, and the temple of Saturn where the nine Beatle virgins tended the fire of Rome for thirty years, ten to forty.   They had statues of them still erected.  This site is still a work in progress and you can walk by and see archeologist digging and sweeping away the dirt from different areas.  It is a massive archaeological site just sitting in the middle of the capital.  So strange.  We headed back to the hostel, rested up and headed out before sunset again to the Spanish steps with a couple bottles of wine.  After first getting our serving of gelato for the day.  I had gilato every day for like a week straight.  It was a cheap way to treat yourself, and it was everywhere.  Just big slabs you couldn't just walk by when you saw a new flavor.  This is not like gilato from anywhere else.  I didn't think I liked it until I got addicted to it here.  Sunset was nice, and everyone said we had the right idea, with our wine,  stolen Tupperware bowl with guacamole that we made grapes from the stand and a little box of crackers.  We are high rollers.  As darkness defended so did the obnoxious sales men with there squichy noise making balls that they throw in front of you and splat and laser lite pens.  Seriously don't know why these are everywhere.  And can't forget the rose guys that for some reason always think we want to buy roses for ourselves.   After this we were bound and determined to find travesti, which is an area across the river where there are lots of bars to walk around and evening markets.  Kind of the night life, without being in the tourist center.  This was a mission with a couple bottles down and one more at the bus stop.  There were nuns everywhere.  I had to hide the wine out of guilt haha.  When we helped someone with directions one of the other guys on the bus gave us a picture of Mary and said shed bring us luck in our travels and to never get rid of it.  That's a lot of pressure haha.  I have it in my passport.  After getting of at a few wrong stops and being shuffled by broken English directions from one frilly to another and bus to another to get back on track we made it.  One more bottle of wine.  Little Sarah was having a hard time keeping up but she pulled through.  Proseco, that was what I was trying to think of, that is like a champagne wine combination.  Found our way back to the city center from a corner drug dealer pretty sure, well no after I was positive:).  Got some zucchini pizza, managed to find a bus to the train station, we are pretty quick on memorizing public transit roots from going city to city so much now, then walked it from the train station bus stop.  The next day was rough.  We got our stuff together slowly, relaxed in the common area, which is pretty much a front desk, where we had the nicest Italian hostel attendant that just let us hang around, a few chairs and a love seat.  We slowly got out to the bus, or underground, can't remember al, the wys around now an dwelt to the castle, walked around the city center, and got one last amazing gilato.  Blackberry and peach and I got raspberry and dark chocolate, we all share everything to make it cheaper.  The blackberry and raspberry had seeds and tasted just like you stirred up the berries and added fat and sugar.  So good.  We wanted to catch the train at 7 because we knew Simone would be waiting at the train station at 8.  We told him not to wait but these guys are serious gentlemen haha.  Loaded up, piled on a packed bus because we couldn't walk anymore, squeezed out at the train station and headed of for Napoli.  
      Simone had arranged for us to stay on his friends boat at the yacht club, which was really just a small harbor with a locked entrance.  Sure enough Simone was standing at the end of the platform waiting for us.  Sierra, I love the way they say my name with the rolled rs.  Francesco was sitting right outside with the car.  I think they practiced there English for sure when they knew I was coming to visit.  We Gita tour in the car, and asked about our projects.  Plans are projects to them.  What is you next project after Naples Sierra they would ask. It was funny how they just blended all of our names together sometimes.  Sarayha was sariya, mine and sarahs weren't as hard.  This was Thursday night.  We couldn't go to the boat until eleven because pasquealla  hadn't gotten back yet.  They had two friend that lived int he acht club.  Him and so ones other very close friend, like a brother, Marcella.  This guys was a riot.  So sporadic in his motions and expression.  None of his friends spoke English as well as them but a couple of the guy friends knew a little.  The town we were staying in and Simone lived in is a bay town right on the water across the bay from Naples.  It is surrounded by mountains right up to the sea.  It is called castellamare, meaning castle by the sea, and it is after the castle that is overlooking the sea from the hill side.  From the boat you could look up and see it.  The town is known for having 28 different kinds of water, and springs are all over for this mineral water.  It makes sense because the volcano, that had covered Pompeii in 78 ad, mount visuvious, is right over the city, kind of creepy really.  After sampling some of the town waters we headed to the harbor, where there was one last spring.  There were four spiciest with water coming out and people with bottles to refill at this place from morning until night.  It tasted like sparkling water, seriously.  It was incredible.  It tasted like Simone had added carbonation and flavored it, but it came straight from the spring.  It is called aqua de Madonna, or madonnas water, one of the Mary apparitions.  The boys then took us to the boat.  We met everyone, had some lemon chello, which is homemade liquor with lemons soaked into it, until it literally has a lime color.  On mar cellos boat there were about four more of there friends from school.  This was a smaller town, and all of there friends they had known since high school.  They study, or most of them, but they live at home for the most part.  Simone for example still shares a room with his 29 year old brother in there parents house, even though there brother is an architect.  Why leave home when tour mom cooks a feast for you every weekend.  We went to a traditional pizzeria, where frencesco bought us all a pizza.  Literally an entire pizza each.  This is how they eat it here.  The pizzeria had the big cauldron looking dough mixer and huge fire oven.  This was classical pizza we were made to understand.  Naples is the home of pizza and where the first pizzas were made.  They are very proud of this. You only get pizza with mozzarella and tomato sauce.  Red white and green, from basil, like the Italian flag.  I honestly don't think, after having two whole traditional pizzas in the three days I was there, on top of three course meals, I will ever be able to appreciate pizza from anywhere else again.  Unreal.  They wouldn't let us get ourselves anything.  They're girlfriends from high school were hilarious.  One insisted on practicing her English with us.  She was rambunscous and so funny, even though we couldn't understand hardly anything she was saying. We all went to there little town pub, right on the water, in front of the dirty beach.  Simone got us beers, and refused, yet again any money.  They wouldn't even let us get pasquela something for his hospitality.  After a photo shoot with all of his friends that they insisted on having, we huddled into the boat.  Pasquella was going to stay with Marcella, even though he had his own room, but we insisted he stay in his own place, so he came back later after we settled in.  We were out. We didn't even hear him come back.
      Simone arrived in the morning right after we had gotten ready.  They guys have impeccable timing on top of being perfect gentlemen.  He had the most savory and delectable treats for us.  They were chocolate filled light pastries covered in sugar.  They are like malsadas but I don't think you guys tried those in Hawaii, so I guess I could compare them to sugar dumplings from Chinese buffets, and I know half of you havnt tried those, so long story short they were amazing, and he brought two for each of us.  Theywere lik a foot long already.  I am so starch sugar and caffeine out.  I never even drank coffe in my life until Naples, and by the end I was having an espresso break with them every hour.  Wow was I jacked up and on a sugar high for three days.  It was also so refreshing to not have to find where I was or what to do. He set out everything for us.  Break time, got a car to take us everywhere.  Wouldn't accept gas, or parking money, or even for us to pay hos admission into shit we knew he didn't really care to so, nut still acted so enthusiastic about.  We set off for Pompeii.  He showed us a famous church first, then we got his girlfriend from the train station after her class to come join us. I was impressed.  She was so pretty, and studying to be a doctor.  Simone is not the most attractive guy, but his personality outshines that of most people I have ever met, and he is studying to be a nurse.  They are adorBle and you can see she just really loves him.  She was thrilled just as he was to be showing the three random girls he met, the city they loved so much.  She had been up since four and they still walked around Pompeii with us.
   The site was huge.  It was literally an entire ancient city preserved and then excavated.  The temple, the marble shop counter tops, terra-cotta pots, paintings on the wall.  So eerie.  In the pockets archeologists kept discovering they began to pour in plaster.  When they pulled them out they realized they were int he shapes of the people that had been covered with the ash there then there bodies decayed.  They have some of these on display.  It send chills up your spine.  There are people covering there faces and laying face down with there hands over there heads.  Kind of puts it in a bit more perspective.  They didn't have time to evacuate, just as the people of the city now wouldn't if it were to ever happen again, which it very well could.  
        After this we went to the grocery store, because marcello offered to make us pasta on his boat, even though he ate at school, I'm beginignto love Italian men, dropped of Vonda, oh yea that was his girlfriends name, and went to the boat.  He made us these big lasagna type noodles with a. Creme sauce and sausage, that I sneakily picked out onto Sarah and sarahyas plates.  He then put on his water heater and they drove around for forty minutes so we could shower.  Such gentlemen yet again.  We would have been clueless if we were left alone after being privately escorted through our three days haha.one problem, he forgot to switch on the water.  By the time it got to me it was hardly sprinkling and I was covered in soup.  Good thing I'm used to this life style.  The girls were handing me in water bottles to try and rinse off.  It was interesting.  When they arrived we played mice and didn't say anything until marcello realized his switch was off.  He spiracly mumbled to himself stupid stupid stupid haha.  They felt so bad, but we assured them we were fine.  There was a sailboat race the next day so we had to move off the boats, but simone got his friend at the hostel to give a room for sixty.  It was nice and just for the three of us with our own shower.  Can't complain.  If it was just me I could have stayed on his couch or with Vonda, but I liked having the girls with me, and it made for a good crew.  That night, after our Allred two hour break haha, Simone came to gather us and get his brother and cousin and his friend to go to a restaurant where there was an a really good caustic musician they knew of playing.  It rained right after Pompeii so we couldn't do the beer festival. With the local folk bands as initially planned.  As he said, he arranged a nice evening project wi good people.  I could understand everything he meant by the time we left.  It is so interesting how people who hardly speak the same language can spend three great days together.  His brother was a corky guy.  I gathered he was just a bit of a dork, but he loved hanging out with us.  The dinner was a lot of wine and a lot a lot of food, after already having marcello whip us together a feast in a tiny boat kitchenettes.  Francesco met us for that hut couldn't come for dinner.  He hung out the first night but he works at five am and couldn't do two highs in a row.  He lifts and lowers the road blocks when trains go by.  Very boring.   It was a nice evening, after stuffing ourselves, be ause you can't seem rude.  Vonda came with us too.  After that his brother got two of the doughnut pastry things that we had had for breakfast for dessert.  Idk how they eat so much here, and they're skinny.  Well most.  Two very large girls scooted out of there driveway in front of us one day on there mopeds and Simone went, whoa she's very fat, whoa she is too, so sorry you had to see that.  I almost died, so unexpected of such a kind hearted guy, his genuine apology for it was what really got me hahaha.  
    This place gets more and more astonishing as time goes on.  Just from helping the artsy eccentric boy on the bus translate his Shakespeare a little lady from the bus squeezed the three of us in the back seat with her, after he mom and husband came to pick her up, and all our bags.  This was a tiny little deewoo sized car too.  They didn't even speak English.  Yet again this trip has restored my faith in people's capacity to be genuinely kind.  Tripane has left a much better mark on me than Palermo.  We are near the ocean, our b and b has bikes, and comes out to being like ten a night between us all.  P.s. Today is Tuesday.
      For Saturday Simone had a day planned with us and his brother in the city of Florence.  He came at nine to deliver breafast and collect I'd to gomget tickets for the Florence footbal match that night.  Super sweet frozen espresso with cream and chocolate, and this time chocolate filled giant croissants.  Wow.  I was narrow visioned and floating through the first half of the day.  They gave us a tour of the ci and the fifty churches within it, his brother being an architect, filled us in on gothic style to Basel I think it was.  This is the places and piecing together of marble for design.  Interesting.  We walked through the markets.  They had great markets.  There were nativity scenes.  These are extremely important and popolar to Naples.  Then a traditional pizza joint for yet another full pizza to our selves.  Our stomachs are so stretched at this point, thisnis not a problem.
    Checking in at our b and b.  Gotta get out doors at to the beach.  Finish this later.  Love you all.  I'm alive I assure you.  Farewell.  We can use bikes even:). The guy is super sweet and has two big dogs just roaming around.