We got a late start to the day. I woke up at the ungodly hour of 7 a.m., but there was waiting for Mom to wake up and then Dad and then we had to put the laundry in but before that we had to find a store that would sell us detergent. Finally we went to have our coffees at a little cafe on the Trestevere plaza.
It was a bit too chilly to be sitting outside, and the waiter didn't seem to be paying attention to us. I felt that unpleasant feeling of it not being perfect. Because nothing ever is but when you're on "vacation" you have this ideal that your whole time spent will be one idyllic experience after the next. My dad ordered "cafe con latte" which he thought would bring him milk on the side, but instead we got "cafe lattes" which is fine, but not as good as the cappuccino that was my true heart's desire. You see how I am? It's amazing how ridiculously privileged I can be, how ungrateful, how foolishly focused on the immaterial.
We went back to the hotel, did some more dawdling. Mom and I got a second coffee- this time a real cappuccino (you see? I shouldn't have worried) and after more dawdling and losing each other we were on our way. We went to an outdoor square where venders were selling fresh produce, t-shirts, jewelry, knick knacks and anything else a tourist could possibly think of to purchase. It was the start of feeling like a giant herd of tourist cattle.
Then we went to another square with a bunch of Bernini sculptures, where Dad insisted on getting his picture taken with the guy who sold selfie sticks. My parents bought a drawing from one of the venders (they wanted to know if the guy selling it really did draw it himself and he insisted he did).
Throughout the day, I got some nice footage of all the street musicians (see my little video above) which I really did enjoy and always tried to give money to, especially since I was filming them. Even that, however, turned unpleasant when they got too aggressive with asking for money.
By chance, we happened upon the Chiostro del Bramante, which we had planned to visit later in the day. They were having an exhibition of Chagall drawings, prints and paintings. I had seen an advertisement for it and thought it might be fun, mostly because I thought it would be somewhat tolerable for my Dad. It turned out to be a 45 minute wait, which unbelievably my Dad was all for doing. I felt guilty, because my parents were obviously tired of standing up. But I think they did enjoy the show. I refused to listen to the audio tour, but missed some of the key points because of that. I didn't want to feel like I was working, but I did anyway because eventually I started taking notes. I thought maybe I should pitch a story somewhere until I convinced myself that I was supposed to be on vacation. It was kind of cool though, both for the art and because of the interactive elements. Yes, the whole selfie thing can be annoying, but they had this other feature too that was video animation projected onto the black and white drawings. The projected video were in full color, bringing to life the dreamlike images of floating couples, musicians melting into their instruments, donkeys and circus performers with a swirl of color.
We had some lunch, all thankful to be able to get wifi for a moment, and headed to see the three Caravaggio paintings of St. Matthew at Cantarelli Chapel. That's where the cattle herd feeling was at its height, and my dad simply had to go home after that.
I got home and was exhausted, furiously uploading photos to Instagram. I supposed I should have just taken a bath or read or done something to relax, but I wanted to go do something else. I didn't want it to be the end. It was only 4 in the afternoon, after all. So I looked up different places to see contemporary art, but they were all just so far away- it would have taken me over an hour to walk. I particularly wanted to see the Maxxi Museum, mostly to see the architecture. But finally I had to accept that it wasn't going to happen.
Then, around 5:30, I got the idea that I wanted to see the sunset, and was consumed by this notion. While I did see one sunset in Sorrento, I actually technically missed the sun going down, only seeing the colors after it set, and on another day I missed it entirely. So I really, really wanted to go see the sunset even though I was so late in deciding it, as the sun sets at about 6.
The problem with seeing the sunset in Rome is that there are so many buildings in the way. Dad suggested I get Mom to show me how to walk up the hill, and I started to go with that plan before realizing she would be too slow and I wouldn't see it. So I walked myself, feeling bad for being rude.
It took me a while to figure out that latter point and by then I realized I would never find an uncovered view in time. But I decided to try. I walked and walked, feeling so frustrated and really devastated actually that I would miss it. I walked along a busy street with no sidewalk, almost getting killed and kept running into dead ends. Finally, at about 6:15, I came across this park and I could tell the sunset would be on the other side, though at that point I realized I wouldn't see the full one. Still, I walked and got a nice picture of the pink sky behind this old relic building and felt somewhat satisfied.
I found a hill and started walking up it, eventually finding steps to climb as well. Climb. Climb. Climb. There were so many steps. I got to the top and there was a spectacular view of the city, but it faced East, not West. Perfect for sunrise, but not set.
It took me a while to figure out that latter point and by then I realized I would never find an uncovered view in time. But I decided to try. I walked and walked, feeling so frustrated and really devastated actually that I would miss it. I walked along a busy street with no sidewalk, almost getting killed and kept running into dead ends. Finally, at about 6:15, I came across this park and I could tell the sunset would be on the other side, though at that point I realized I wouldn't see the full one. Still, I walked and got a nice picture of the pink sky behind this old relic building and felt somewhat satisfied.
Of course, there are sunsets in Minneapolis too. Just as bright, just as beautiful. And maybe, just maybe, I'll come back to Rome again. I'll try to plan better, perhaps, or maybe I'll just try to remember to breathe.
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