Hooked up last night with some friends I met in Rome --Emily followed me up a day later (I think she was getting a bit overwhelmed by the eternal city... quite understandably!) and David had finished his quick jaunt to the south. After a fantastic day alone in Florence wandering this splendid city, I was ready for company again. We had a great supper -you havent eaten steak until you've had Florentine bisteka- and got a bit blitzed on some cheap wine. It seems that all wine here, even the cheap stuff, is good.

This morning, I cured my hangover with a nice small Italian breakfast, and we headed to the Uffizi gallery at 9 pm to beat the crowds. The Uffizi gallery (literally "office" -named for the former public buildings used by the Medicis that it now occupies) is the little Florentine museum that happens to hold a large proportion of the world's art treasures from the Renaissance period. In this gallery, it seems that every second painting is a masterpiece. I'm talking Michelangelo, Carravaggio, Veronese, Rubens, Titian, Giotto, Pontormo, da Vinci and of course Botticelli's "Birth of Venus", which, judging from the amount of posters featuring this image sold in the gallery's giftshop, is the gallery's most famous piece.

We wandered, awestruck, through the 45 rooms, barely aware of the time. At 2pm we stumbled out into the famous Pizza Della Signoria, footsore and slightly giddy. What an incredible feast for the eyes... but, having nourished the soul, we now needed to feed the stomach We grabbed some bread, ham, cheese, and tomatoes from a local deli and headed down to the Arno for a picnic lunch on the floodway. There were a few sunbathers there, crumpled on the concrete slab. With the Ponte Vecchio as a backdrop, Emily, David, and I washed down our little feast with some leftover wine from last night and roasted in the Tuscan sun. I couldn't have imagined a better day!

How does one describe Pompei? It is as if the ancient Romans had departed the bay of Naples in the last couple of years for some mysterious reason and their city had fallen into disrepair... like those abandoned bungalows you sometimes see in rough parts of the city. It is like you are looking at homes that were abandoned 20 years ago... not buried 2000 years ago. The frescoes, stonework, fountains, courtyards... all immaculately preserved, all fresh, alive. It is also immense... acres and acres of buildings preserved beneath the volcanic ash of vesuvius. The echoes of a vibrant city, a city with personality, is what you find there. Not sterile monuments dedicated to a god-emperor, but little touches of domestic life, the life of the ordinary Roman. The grisly plaster casts of the dead of pompei show that death came swiftly to many that dwelt in that city, and their anguished grimaces and contorted limbs show us that their last moments were painful and terrifying. I shuddered more than once.

Now, I am in Florence. Unbearably gorgeous city... My mom's favourite, I seem to recall. I had to rush from the bus to the hostel to the trainstation to make the Naples-Rome-Florence connection, but it was worth it. In just half a day, I travelled up half the italian peninsula. On the train up, I met a nice young american couple who gave me some tips on what to see in Florence.. we also discussed world events. On this trip, I have yet to meet a single American who supports Bush.. and yet the polls tell us that the race is still fairly close... granted, I have met mostly left and right coasters, rather than folks from the heartland... I arrived late last night and, in spite of my foolish choice not to book ahead, I managed to find a room at a little Pensione just a few steps from the Train station and the City Centre. Today, I am going to take it easy. After the hustle and bustle of the Capital, it will be nice to just go slow for a day or two, and savour the sights and sounds... after all, I am on vacation!

Just checked the Playoff standings.

GO FLAMES GO

Bring the Cup back to Canada, willya?

Jarome has just become the most popular name for newborn boys in Southern Alberta

Meanwhile, in Italy... Going to Pompeii tomorrow. Arrivederci Roma. Then it is on to Firenze.

Today, I visited the Campidoglio. Cant believe I almost missed it. An incredible collection of priceless art treasures and more statues than any reasonable Roman emperor could possibly have any use for. Beautiful. Magnificent. Sublime. What else can I say? Par for the course as far as Rome is concerned. Will my streak continue with Naples and Pompeii (Only a day trip)... what about Florence. Lets wait and see!

Yesterday was about unfinished business. Specifically, the Vatican museums and St. Peter's Basillica. Should you visit Rome and leave without seeing the Sistine Chapel and the view from the top of the Dome of San Pietro? Sure, but you would miss two of the biggest highlights... of course, you can't possibly hope to see everything this city has to offer. With this in mind, I jumped on a tour with Emily, another Aussie that I met two days ago. The Vatican museums are so huge, it would take several lifetimes to explore each of them in detail. With a tour, you have the advantage of a guide, you puts everything in context and shows you the highlights. The Sistine Chapel is every bit as exquisite as people say it is. But whereas most people focus on the ceiling, I was captivated by Michelangelo's depiction of the Last judgment on the wall, with St Bartholemew, a martyr who was skinned alive, holding his own skin, within which is concealed a portrait of the artist!!!

After leaving the tour we went to the top of the Dome of St Peter's and hung out for a while, taking in the panoramic view. Later, we walked down some sidestreets, looking for family that Emily had it town... we couldnt find them, but spent an enjoyable afternoon cruising Rome's less touristy streets. Towards the end of the day, we happened upon a church containing the mortal remains of St Ignatius, the founder of the jesuits and patron of my high school! I was pretty blown away.... Last night was the usual amazing supper (just like the night before... kinda getting routine), followed by drinks by the Trevi fountain, and another late night... not sure I can --or should-- keep this pace up!

Ah, I can rest tomorrow!

Another delicious meal last night at a restaurant called Zampano near the piazza della Cancelleria. No tourist trap, this one.. this was the real deal, teeming with Romans. To say the food was splendid would be an understatement. I have never eaten pasta that good, and likely never will again... at least until my next trip to Italy!
This morning, after seeing my american buddy off, I went to the Pantheon, the Piazza Navona, the Piazza del Popolo, and half a dozen other attractions that in any other city would qualify as major attractions. But this is Rome, and you can only take a quick glance at the site of Julius Caesar's murder before quickly moving on to a massive temple raised by a conquering Emperor, or a huge ornate exquisite church crammed with priceless art treasures dedicated to a martyr of the Catholic Church, or some other wonder. Rome hoards its ruins and guards them greedily. There are so many in this city, that they have almost become mundane. Then you remember that some of these works were wrought two millenia ago by the people that laid the foundations of Western Civilization. They are worthy of our wonder.

Lunch, a sandwich of prosciutto and cheese bought from a deli and a little bottle of wine, was eaten on the Spanish steps... at least until David (a bloke from Kent who came along for the walk) and I were approached by a guard who didnt appreciate us eating on this "Monumento Nazionale". I cocked an eyebrow at the guy. To the left were a bunch of clowns eating potato chips out of plastic bags. To the right were some girls smoking and drinking. Whatever. I apologized to the guy, and smiled my best smile at him. Putting a slight crimp in my plans perhaps... but could I really complain when I was enjoying a fine afternoon on the Spanish steps?

Right now, it would take a heck of alot more than that to get me down!

This morning, I woke up at 11 am in a haze of alcohol fumes and dim memories from last night. The pub crawl was amazing!
I'll spare my reader the gory details, but many whiskey and cokes and shots were consumed at five of Rome's seediest and liveliest drinking establishments. I must have met 30 people and forgotten almost all the names (There were at least 50 people on this crawl). One name I didn't forget was Rosalie, the name of a girl from Quebec City who had been living in France for a year and was delighted to speak joual to a fellow Canadian after months of softening her accent for les francais. I went along with 4 other people from the hostel, an american, a brit, and two aussies from Tazmania. We did it up big, no doubt about it! The atmosphere was great, and nearly everyone was very talkative and friendly. I barely remember stumbling back to the hostel and collapsing sometime around 4 a.m.

Today, naturally, was expected to be a writeoff... but I am not one to take things lying down. I convinced my companions from last night to jump on the metro and spend the afternoon on the Via Apia Antica (the ancient Roman road also known as the Apian Way). We also visited some incredible catacombs, where the bodies of early Christian martyrs were buried by the hundreds in the time of the persecutions. I found it interesting that the adherents of this religion, that had suffered such torment at the hands of the empire, used symbols like fish and sheep as their symbols of their faith. In the face of cruelty and degradation, their art was the embodiment of serenenity, not wrath, or despair. Pretty inspiring.