The Blue Barracudas. It is no mere coincidence that our team beholds such a title. A large, elongated fish, fearsomely fanged and quick, the Barracuda has an intimidating presence. If one were to describe the members of our team, such words would indeed come to mind. Fearsome, fangs, quick, intimidating. "A fish out of water" is far from our motto. Rather, we traversed the eternal city with adventurous hearts, often swimming up stream, but nonetheless marveling in the deep and wondrous mass of urban ocean undulating around us, bubbling, humming with the resonance of time passed and beauty ever present.
To be honest, we don't have fangs, nor are we at all intimidating or fearsome. We're all quite enjoyable, really. Casey Fish, Kayla Eason, Greg Eriksen, and Brian Campbell comprise our team, young people scattered about the States but brought together out of love for Roma. Our scavenger hunt began in the early morning when a mysterious envelope was placed in our possession. The contents of the envelope would ultimately lead us on a mission to see, smell, feel, hear, taste and breath in a culture still rather foreign to us.
Once we had read through the clues and directions provided to us in the envelope, we searched our wrinkled maps for the locations. After several minutes, we managed to circle our destinations and we outlined our route. The only place would could not locate on the map was the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. This church and the Mouth of Truth would continually haunt us upon the journey, for it remained a mystery until the very end. We did not let this defer us, however, and the enthusiasm in our feet whisked us away with fervent smiles. The sky overhead was crisp blue as we inhaled the early afternoon air. The weather was kind and the white sun spilled light upon our faces. We caught a bus to our first destination--Castle St. Angelo, a spherical stone structure sitting beautifully upon the Tiber River. Marble Angels line the bridge leading to the fortress, and against the clear blue of sky they appear real as if in a dream, where surreal and majestic beauty can only be explained and understood. From the bridge the Tiber river is serene: the water is a fogged green, as if saturated paint on an artist's palate. Snapping our photos, we look to our map and walked to the next location on our journey.
(click on any photo to enlarge!)
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| Starting the hunt! First bus on the way to Castel Sant'Angelo |
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| View across the Tiber River of the Castel |
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| Publication worthy (Don't you think?!) team photo in front of Saint Angelo's Castel! |
Piazza Navona is an absolute lovely Piazza--there is not quite another word to describe it. Covered with artists and painting, music, and performers. Our task was to take a picture with a street performer. We found a small little man painted in black and dressed like a cowboy. Obviously we were thrilled. After having dropped a euro or two in his tin can, proceeded to lasso our necks and point his tiny toy gun at our heads. He even kissed the hands of the ladies. When you are generous to the street performers, they generously put a smile on your face. There was another performer that caught our eye, primarily due to the fact that he was not wearing pants. Dressed as a Gladiator, this colossal man was adorned in tattoos, leather, chains, and big muscles.
"Should we ask him for a picture?"
"What if he just dresses that way?!"
We couldn't be sure, becuase the man was simply talking on his cell phone. Was he taking a break from his role and talking to his girlfriend? Or was that his fashion sense...? Finally, we worked up the nerve and he indeed took a picture with us. We all sighed in relief. Brian challenged him to an arm wrestling match, which he lost, as was to be expected (no offense, Brian).
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Piazza Navona with plenty of street art and Performers! Tre Scalani
was tragically closed, but we will return soon to try their famous black truffle. |
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| Fighting back |
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| Greg is still all smiles. Not even slightly phased. |
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| Man with the baby did not even try to save us... rude. |
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| Seriously though, this is hilarious. |
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| Clearly an even match up. |
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| His arms are tiny. |
Unanimously, our stomachs decided it was time to eat something, a.k.a. find the gelatterias. We headed northeast on foot in search of the Pantheon, where we would find gelato and famous iced coffee. Our first stop was Tazza d'Oro for a
granita di caffe. Covered in whip cream, the sweet frozen coffee overwhelmed us (in the best way possible). We couldn't finish the whole cup, but a few spoonfuls was enough to revive our bodies for hours to come. As if we didn't cover our sugar fix, we went straight to Fiocco di Neve gelatteria. Because it was suggested by our wonderful API friend Audra, we tried the
yogurt mela cannella...and basically felt that we had reached that point in life where all was perfect and we could have very well died in that moment happy and satisfied human beings. We then walked to Piazza del Gesu to find the Church of the Gesu; however, it was closed (silly us, riposo hours.) We would return come the end of the day.
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| Tazza d'Oro for a coffee break! |
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Blue Barracudas with our granita di caffe in front
of the Pantheon |
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| Seriously the best. |
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| Couldn't be happier |
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Couldn't go inside the Church of Gesu our first try,
but could appreciate the outside anyways! |
So, when you fail at one thing, go eat gelato. We then walked up to the Trevi fountain and located San Crispino, suggested by Luca! We tried the honey flavor gelato, and it literally melts in the mouth and spreads a comforting feeling through the body.
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We found our transportation for the rest of the day on our way
to gelato stop #2. Not too shabby. |
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| Quick stop by the trevi fountain. Gorgeous as always. |
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Gelato at San Crispino, fabulous but we all decided the
yogurt mela cannella was still the favorite (sorry Luca, Audra wins). |
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| More street performers on the way! |
Next we took a bus up to Piazza del Popolo and climbed the hill to overlook the city. It was beautiful, to put it simply. We climbed the cracked marble steps, beneath the shade of green trees and silver clouds. From the top, we viewed the rooftops and domes of the city. Billowing clouds glowed a faint yellow aura and streams of light fell delicately to the ground from high in the sky. The air was fresh as we looked out upon the violet and beige and maroon buildings. We took our pictures with awe and inspiration. It was one of theose moments where beauty is felt in your fingers and eyes and deep, deep in your chest--when breathing feels like smiling and you can't seem to stare into the horizon for long
enough.
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| Piazza del Popolo |
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| The views were well worth the many stairs |
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| Such an incredible view. |
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| Breathtaking. |
We walked along the park until we came upon the Spanish steps. Instantly we were bombarded by street vendors, eager to sell roses and bracelets and umbrellas. One man offered the girls roses, but took them back within five minutes when he realized we would take them for free. We learned their scamming ways. We descended the steps, past lovers and flashing cameras, to the bottom where water spurted out of an ornate fountain. Squatting down, we took turns drinking the water from the
Fontana della Barcaccia at the base of the Spanish steps.
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Posing with roses that we never bought/got to keep.
Nice try venders. |
From the Spanish steps we took the metro for the first time! Down beneath the ground we winded through the tiled hallways and found a train to the Stazione Centrale Roma Termini. Once we arrived, we sought out the clever machines from which we could purchase tickets. Not too complex, even in Italian.
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| Ready to go to Florence! |
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navigating in Italian! Much cheaper (obvioiusly) to take the slow train,
but it takes about 3 hours longer. |
Satisfied with out ticket-purchasing skills, we finally confronted the main obstacle of the day: where in the hell (excuse the language and irony) was Church Santa Maria and the mouth of the truth?? We had asked many Italians during the coarse of the day, and had been given long and confusing answers in the Italian language. At the Termini, we asked a Taxi driver in our best Italian where the church was once and for all. His directions seemed concrete and promising. We headed off on foot towards the elusive church, only to realize that we were lost, tired, and quite cold. The clouds had begun to darken, mirroring our mood. The air seeped beneath our skin as fatigue sat heavily upon our eyelids. Shuffled steps brought us into the warm haven of a hotel--a concierge knows everything, right? Indeed, he helped us. We continued on, and once again found ourselves lost. So many churches! Every time we approached one, we crossed our fingers and repeated over and over, "This
has to be it..." But it never was. It never was. Inevitably, we again asked for directions from a couple walking along the street. They again directed us and finally (finally!) we came across the church.
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Getting "lost" in Rome is never really a problem when you
stumble upon something like this. |
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One of the 890982378920 churches that fooled us by
a "St. Maria" name. |
We stood in a long line, stuck our hands in the mouth of truth and thankfully escaped with all of our hands. Though we were tired, we still marveled at the medieval architecture. In any place of such history, a sense of peace can be found. Shadows danced upon the walls as candles were lit in prayer. The ancient columns rose above our heads into the darkness, and we felt flooded by the warm aura of the sanctuary.
And just when we thought we were done for the day...we remembered the Church of the Gesu! We caught a bus back, and managed to dose off en route. Luckily, we did not miss our stop. Walking briskly, we entered into the church and felt instantly astounded by the massive measure of beauty swallowing us. The gold, the gentle darkness, the naked figures painted upon the ceiling, the chandeliers. An ornate and silent atmosphere. We set our camera upon the ground and smiled as we all huddled around, managing to capture our faces and the ceiling. We were done.
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| Inside Gesu. Incredible. |
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| Tired, but happy we committed to finishing! |
Rome is rather like a dream to us, for is has always been submerged in our hearts and minds as a fantasy. A place of beauty and grandeur and ruins and history settled into our imaginations. A destination we wanted to visit, but never fully knew the reality. Now, however, we live in the reality. To us, as we were on our scavenger hunt and as we experience the city, we have come to understand that the reality is exactly what we have imagined all along. And that resonance, the sound of time passed and beauty ever present, is captivating.
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| So tired, so much walking! |
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| The end. Fine. Ciao! |
