Yesterday was fun. i guess you have to start somewhere.
On the train now. The countryside is a bit like MO, a bit like CA. Only insofar as therea re lots of farms, I guess, and the number of deciduous trees are like the MO forests. The countryside looks at once poorer and more industrialized than the state's (Those of). Corrogated cardboard huts things, but also the sheer influence of people on every inch.
not looking to type since the train is making me dizzy. Will flip over and face the right way soon.
anyway, yesterday. (Why are there fflieds of grasss? Does someone mow them? )
Flipped over. Anyway, yesterday. Well, I guessI should startat the beginningn. Went to the ancient rome stuff early yesterday. The coloseum, which was less impressive than I thought it would be. There aren't a lot of things of interest in there, I guess.
Als=ways there are little things that remind you of movies in europe...but Europe isn't really like the movies. Unless you see the sort of movie that doesn't try to make it look romantic or whatever. I dunno. Old, which means not as nice, in some ways, grungy. Sort of third world-y in that sense. But then everything is clean. I guess the grungy thing might have been just a city thing. It was a very clean city, but there was more trash around than in the states, in out of the way places. And the traffic!~ Rule of law is not a sstrong as I thought it would be. I guess the gov't is more of a subtle presence.
The ruins. We were walking around the palatine. i gueally ony liked the end of it, with the ruins of columns strwn everywhere.
Vertigo lurking in the sway of the car. The train is going very fast. Glad i didn't eat very much. BTW, mcDonalds in Italy is not that different from McD's in the states, but then again, I guess the people aren't that different so they dont have to try very hard.
Anyway. Right. Decadant. two thousand year old giant blocks, carved, all lying around. Not being gaurded, could go and sit on them, And so very elaborately carved. very, very pretty. And the columns are huge! Everything was really tall. Except for the short walls, i guess.
then really good pasta. there was the pesto pasta, and then the next day there was the linguine with Porchino muchrooms, which was excellent. Need to get those when we get back. everything was really filling. I guess it's teh cheese.
couldn't find the hostels when we were looking on the first day. A bit weird, we thought. Anyway, there were no signs. With the night coming on, and us in a sketchy neighborhood. ended up in chinatown (less sketchy0 and got a really nice room for very expensive. Much much happier when we found the hostel the second day
Which we did by the Vatican city. Which we only saw little parts of, or else it is very small. there was this circular thing in front of St. Peter's basilica (San Piedro) also, John is giovanni. sounds so muhc uglier in english. Anyway.
saw the sculpture by Michelangelo in the basilica. the face. so sad. It was 9presumably0 Mary Magdalene holding the dead body of christ, and she was looking down at him. Her expression was so amazing. so profoundly sad. i have never seen someone that sad before. the sign said that she was also 'longing" and "hopeful", but I couldn't see that. Just deep sorrow.
let's see. Ate outside at some place, where we had mediocre pizza and the really good porchini mushroom pasta. It was cold. Drank a L of water between us.
everyone is so stylish. Skinny pants are definitely in, and they are skinny skinny. Also boos. Everyone has boots. And the jackets! Very pretty, and not poofy or shape deforming at all. I guess I can't tell if it's a italy thing or just a city thing, since I don't go to the city that often, but I don't remember people in SF quite that stype conscious. Or maybe it's just a different style. A very punk-sexy, streetwear-runway style. the stuff in magazines.
Anyway, the end of that story is that I felt dumb in my giant blue poofy jacket. until my left leg (first it was the heel, then the knee, and then my hip started going) started stabbing my nervous system with scissors. Then it was just painful. Made it to the crazy random fountain anwyay, but it was not the most pleasant thing.
On the way, we passed through these really tiny, cue little streets where there were tiny boutiques selling random things, in a this-is-a-store-I-own-it-and-work-it-like-two-centuries-ago kind of way, but fancy and stylish. cobble stones Not the best on the knees. put weird pressure on things.
the pantheon. on the way there. huge ancient roman facade, with the columns and the solid angles and everything white and marble, imposing. ridiculously, inside was a basilica, where they were having service, so we couldn't go in. so soso weird.
The tibetian llama event at the angry-fish fountain (which was less impressive than it could have been, since it was wrapped in plasic; renovation, i guess). But then the other fountain, the one growing out of the building, with the horse things and the dude. Very cool. Everything had pont max written on it, with the pope who did it. i guess when you have lot of free spending money that's what you do. Build random elaborate fountains fo rthe public. It seems like a waste, but then, that's what is left, so maybe it wasn't.
Leg hurt, so went back to the hostel, where I prompty shut myself down. slept until 4am (starting at 6pm ish: i am probably psuedo-sick), upon which i lay in bed for another hour or so, dreamily wandering around my head, enjoying the down comforter like a good shower.
Had one of those recurring dreams last night. As in, the first time I've had it in a while, but I know i've had it before. can't my head come up with anything better than reruns? It was the one about...and now I can't remember. Anyway, it's one of the ones that I know the ending to (I don't remember who I am...i think i'm some sort of African man? And the ending is tragic; there is death involved.) i should have written it down. but it wasn't a really good one, or I would have (at least, tried).
Am now on the train, and still hungry 9now that the motion sickness has been successfully kept at bay for a while. it's about 11am, so i think we must be there soon? left the station at 9:45, only supposed to be an hour and a bit ride.
Over, out.
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