JIMBORED HAS VISIONS OF GLADIATORS, CHARIOTS AND GLORY – ROME 1999

With my last story just finished, I have been reminded of another lapse in my memory. It seemed that I “breezed” through my memories of our times in Scotland, and “breezed” right past our trip to Rome. Only, a fool would have been in Europe, and not been, to see Rome. And Deysi was no fool. She had a “must see” list of places to go, even before she landed in the UK. Along with London and Paris, Rome was one of her most favoured travel destinations in Central Europe. I am going to take a break from our retirement years and fill in this, faded, memory of Rome. So, right before Christmas of 1999 we set off to see what Rome was all about.

For myself, Rome was a trip that I went on willingly. At that point in my life, say late 1990’s, I was still an avid reader of History. You could hardly have been able to profess that, without at least reading many, many, books of the Romans and their exploits. It is interesting to note, that when you speak of Rome, you almost treat it as if you are talking of a country. However, it was and is a city. Back in the day, maybe it was considered a City State, but none the less, it was still a very tiny part of Italy. Remember the Roman Catholic Religion was centred in Rome, not so much Italy. When you speak of other places such as Paris or London, you refer to them as cities, a part of a bigger country. Not so with Rome, it stood alone.

Deysi’s dream during this period of her life was of seeing Venice. Something about the romance and allure of the city surrounded by waterways and cut through and through with canals, called to her. Alas, she would have to wait another 20 years before that dream was fulfilled. You will have to wait another short while, before my memories take us there in writing. So this time, Desyi had to settle for a trip to see Rome. I’m not saying that this was a lesser of trips. She was terribly excited to see Rome, and got deep into the planning and scheduling of a trip there. Ange was about 15 years old. She could still be talked into accompanying us on a trip. Although it was getting tougher to convince her, unless Disney had a place at our destination.

It goes without saying, that I never contributed much to the planning, scheduling and coordination of this trip. Like a garden slug, I was just there, dragging myself along behind. The interesting thing about our trips was that although Deysi, did all of the work, she always planned the trips for my and Ange’s comfort. I suppose she knew that she didn’t want us on a trip, whining about something not right, or not too our tastes. Her’s was a thankless task, she had little support from us. She tried to guess what we wanted to do, eat, where we wanted to stay, how long to stay and and anything else that her “babies” could dream up. I would say, that looking back, her planning was, almost, always 100% on the nuts!

The day arrived and we were off to do what you do “when in Rome”. One of the first things you notice is that the whole city encompasses, more sights and history, than any other place in this world. It is not in some “roped off” area, where you take a tour bus to visit it. Rather, it is intermingled with everyday life, and the hustle and bustle of a city, swirling around you. It had the feel of two worlds blended into one. On every street, you are part of fabulous historical structures, mixed in with modern life. For example, one day as we were walking towards another site, we encountered one street blocked off. There was a sign on one of the barricades that stated they had recently uncovered an ancient Roman Temple under the street. They had stopped all traffic, no matter the chaos created.

I remember a surreal feeling come over me as we visited some of the most famous ruins. It was almost as if I had been there before. I could sense, the excitement of those ancient peoples who tread these very streets as we did now. A sense of peace and safety shrouded me. Strangely, I felt almost, a recognition, as from past experience. My feelings, when I look back, and remember my familiarity with Rome, were very probably due to the number of times I had read about this very place. Often, I had read of Roman exploits and intrigues, and lost myself in dreams, where I was often part of the history. Who knows, perhaps I was Roman, before becoming Peruvian. I believe my vivid imagination contributed to the sensations I felt in places such as Peru, Japan, England and now Rome.

Another very vivid memory I have is of Deysi, very quickly adapting to the Italian language. Spanish and Italian are both Latin based languages. There are some “near” common words in each. However that would be the same as saying English and German are similar. They are not. My point is that Deysi quickly caught on to the “format, genders, & tenses” used in the Italian language. She was able to derive meaning from the sentence construction and a few words that might be familiar to her own language. For the most part she was our translator on this trip. Myself, I just babbled away in Spanglish, happily assuming everyone understood me. As usual, I received many a quizzical stare, or alternately people shying away from me, immediately, when I spoke.

I cannot be, positively, sure where we started our tour, but I will begin as if we visited the monument to Romulus and Remus. Since these twins were reputed to be the founders of the city of Rome, it would have been fitting, to start with them. I remember bits of their story, and will give you some excerpts that remain in my memory. It may be enough to describe the general tone of this legend. The story goes, that the mother of the founders of Rome, was held captive as a “vestal virgin”, by a powerful ruler. Somehow she managed to bear twins, some say by the God Mars. When it was discovered that she may not, in fact, have been the most dedicated of virgins, the twin boys were taken to be disposed of. They were placed in a trough and set adrift in the river Tiber, to drown.

The twin babies were discovered, floating along, by a she wolf and a woodpecker. The she wolf, suckled the babies and raised them as her own. I don’t remember what the woodpecker did during their formative years. But it somehow helped with the nurturing. Eventually, they were found and raised by a herdsman. The babies grew to become young men equally strong and courageous. They found a little village and took it over. Next they set out to conquer another nearby village. In this one they found some women, and so, captured them and held them hostage. The menfolk, of that conquered village, soon tired of not having their women close by. Out of longing, they formed an alliance with the twins, in order to get their women back. Next Romulus and Remus built a wall around their now growing village.

The small village, continued to thrive and grow. However, at some point, Remus “jumped” over the wall. That “jump” may have been figuratively, only. Perhaps they disagreed, about something. Whatever happened, seemed to irritate, Romulus, greatly. So much so, that he killed his twin brother. He named his city after himself. And that, my friends is how the city (Rome) came into being. Apparently all of this took place about 750BC. Rome grew rapidly and consolidated many nearby villages into a great City. The Tiber ran through the heart of the city. That is about the extent of my knowledge of the founding of Rome. Some parts of it seem like fantasy, while other parts may hold some truth.

For me the sight that I most wanted to see was that of the Coliseum. Myself, along with countless others, had fought many great battles “in our imaginations”, on this site. To me it seemed like it was located smack in the middle of Rome. It was only a 10 or 15 minute walk from our hotel. When you approach this ruin, you would have to be quite soulless to not feel the powers exuded from this structure. For me, it ranked, just shy of my first vision of Machu Picchu, with Desyi, and other wondrous sights in Peru. It was heart stopping! The sheer size and age was mind staggering. We had at last laid eyes on the famous stadium, built of stone, brick and cement, somewhere around the time of Christ. At some point, in its history, it may have held 75,000 people or more.

The Coliseum was an amazing structure, and after nearly 2000 years, it still looked capable of hosting a good show. In its glory days, it must have been overwhelming. I remember many times, where I fought epic battles in this very place. I never lost any of them. However, my imagination did not picture this place, near as spectacular as it was. I must say, had they ever got me near this place, in chains, I well and truly would have fainted dead away. That, of course, after I had soiled myself, thoroughly. The stables and gladiator block, under the floor, of the coliseum, were scary even now when I looked at them. Imagine it filled with wild “hungry” beasts, captive warriors wanting to kill you, and Roman guards that beat you daily.

As we stood there looking down into the pits, I am sure I heard the groans and screams of those who suffered. When I cast my gaze, up into the stands, I could see the crowds of citizens and nobility. Each segment of Roman society, had their special section too sit in. The fans, watching each performance, wore their best clothes, and all screamed for some act of violence, to be perpetrated on a prisoner of a foreign land. The mood was festive and the crowds were bloodthirsty. When I look back thru some of the photos we took of our visit to Rome, I feel that they did not do justice, to how magnificent this city was. Some of the older structures were so well preserved that they fit, easily, when mixed into a modern city.

Another of the sights that I just had to see was that of the Circus Maximus. I guess, as the name implies the Biggest Circus. Once again what we found there was stunning. The Circus consisted of a large grassed area, approximately 2000 feet (630 meters) long and about 400 feet (120 meters) wide. Around its sides, there were grass embankments, wooden and some stone grandstand seats for about 150,000 people. The wooden seats were replaced from time to time, and no longer exist. Chariot racing was the primary use of the Circus. One full lap of the Circus Maximus was nearly one mile in distance. Seating was above ground level, but not very high, maybe two levels. It did not need to be. This was a huge, huge area. I could imagine myself reclining, in my toga, on a grassy embankment, watching the show, while Desyi fed me grapes.

Early records of the Circus being in use, dated back to about 400BC, I believe. The last races recorded were held around 550AD. That means, the Circus Maximus was used for about 1000 years. We walked around, however there was not a great deal to see, other than a huge grass field surrounded by a low stone wall. If you did not have imagination, then this was not a sight for you. It would have appeared to be just another huge, green park. I, easily, conjured a couple of visions with me at the reins of a chariot, and Deysi “swooning”, at the sight of me. If you were to split your day into two sights to see, then the Coliseum and Circus Maximus could easily fill that day. In the day, I believe the track was wide enough for chariots to race four abreast.

I also have one very vivid food memory from this trip. By this time, Deysi and I would have been, considered, well travelled and well grounded in food tastes from different places. What was so special about my memory in Rome was that, I think it was the first time we had ever eaten, a truly Italian meal. We went to a local restaurant, very close to our hotel. The one we picked, was recommended, by the staff of the hotel. It was not the food, nor the service that stuck in my mind. It was more about the process and presentation. We found the food good, but not exceptional. We also found the waiters, ok, but slightly on the surly side. When we were seated, we were presented with a menu consisting of four different sections.

I had come looking for a big plate of spaghetti and meatballs. Nothing like that appeared anywhere on the menu that I could see. The restaurant was not huge, nor particularly well lit. However it was comfortable. If my memory serves, we asked for a traditional meal from a set menu. It was presented to us in course after course of different foods. None of the dishes were big.

First we had an antipasto, consisting of salami, mortadella, cheese, and pieces of bread dipped in olive oil. Next we were presented with a small round pizza, each. They had some tomato sauce with cheese on top. I remember they were a little bigger than small plates. I could remember Ange looking at it like, “what the hell, where’s my pizza”? Then came a plate of pasta, with a butter, chive and garlic sauce. Once again, it was not large and possibly left Desyi, looking for seconds. I’m thinking; “well I guess that’s it”. But it didn’t stop there. Now came a piece of veal scallopini. Just the meat. It was really delicious. I could have eaten four of them. Along with the meat came a side dish of boiled vegetables. Finally when that was done we were presented with a tiramisu and coffee.

The meal seemed to last forever. I understood that the Italian people eat late and spend maybe 2 or 3 hours with their meal. Wine was a staple with every course. And for the grand finale, they brought around some more cheese and a glass of grappa (fire water) to help the digestion. All in all it was a unique experience. I left there feeling that If I had not eaten every morsel that was provided, then I would have left slightly hungry. You might think that we went for a very special dinner, however that was not the case. What we ate was a very traditional everyday dinner in Italy.

We walked around the city for the next couple of days. Inevitably, we ended up at the Vatican to see where the Pope hung out. Once again we were presented with some wondrous sights. The Vatican, in itself was incredible. Here just west of the centre of Rome, sits a city, within a city. By itself, the Vatican was almost like being in a separate country. They had their own government, security forces, laws and formalities. Our passports were looked at prior to entry. So, along with thousands of other tourists we entered. I was curious to see what they were doing with the zillions of dollars, contributed, by the faithful, to this place. It did not take long to find out. Inside of the first holy place we entered, I saw walls gilded in gold, magnificent artifacts of gold, silver and jewels, and large murals covering everything.

Breathtaking might be a good description. Just being there, left me feeling, exposed, as a heathen, or at least not part of the faithful. I was somewhat, mildly, uneasy. I wondered, do they know, that, “I’m not one of them?” I cannot be exactly sure, but I think there were probably 30,000 or more tourists milling around with us that day. However, it did not feel overly crowded. I might possibly have been the only tourist; not dropping to my knees and crossing myself continuously. The Vatican, and all of its buildings and wonders, was absolutely huge. We climbed to the top of the St. Peter’s Basilica in order to get a view over the grounds.

At one point the Pope appeared in one of the upper windows of his quarters. He gave us a wave and said a few words, that were broadcast, over loud speakers. Everyone stopped what they were doing and crowded into the main square to catch a glimpse or a word. It was SILENT as he pontificated. I cannot be sure if that was him, or they just use a stand-in. He was a long, long way away from us. In any event we can say we saw the Pope. We wandered around the Vatican grounds for three hours and then headed back into the city. I can say in all seriousness, that the Vatican has a special feel about it. As I said before, I was slightly uneasy walking around in there. I was on particularly good behaviour and did not even think blasphemous thoughts, let alone say any out loud.

Our few days in Rome, basically consisted of reading tour guides and trying to pick out what we thought were the most interesting places. Deysi loved it and would easily have stayed there a lot longer. I think Ange had enough of Rome after about two days of sightseeing. As I have said before, if the place we visited did not have a Disneyland, then she had not much interest. But, having said that, Ange did hold up quite well and wandered around with us each day. The sights we looked at are too numerous to describe. The sights we did NOT get a chance to see, were far more numerous than the ones we did look at. It would take a year to see everything in Rome, even then you might not finish! I will finish this post with some of our pictures from Rome 1999.