Visiting the Colosseum and its friends, church hopping and an Italian cinema

Waking up early in our current home is pretty easy, what with a skylight right above my head. Alex and I took advantage of an early start to pack the day with Roman goodness. We grabbed a quick breakfast of croissants and caffe latte (just ordering a latte in Italy will get you a glass full of milk) and then made our way to the bus stop for number 87, which takes riders to the Colosseum. With Roma passes in hand, we were all confident in our bussing abilities, but it was more complicated than we had anticipated. Folks entered the bus from all doors and found their way to a ticket validating machine in the center of the bus, put their tickets into the machine, heard a satisfying validatey sound and found a seat. Our Roma passes didn't fit in the validating machine, so we tried to scan the passes. No such luck. Alex and I were destined to be unvalidated riders.

Once at the Colosseum, we easily jumped through the security line (thank you skip-the-line privilege) and checked out the scene. Even at the early hour we were there, the place was packed, which dampened the fun a bit, especially for Alex. Being touristy is not his favorite, and I can see why. The beauty of the place outweighed the crowds for me, and after a 20 minute visit, we were out the door and heading towards Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. We actually wound up waiting in a larger line for these sites than for the Colosseum. Security has been heightened in Rome for sure. We've seen Italy's army patrolling several areas, especially around pedestrian walkways where menacing cars could wreak havoc. 

The history and beauty of Rome's most famous ruins gave me the feels and I spent probably double the time that Alex did walking through all of the paths and buildings. Alex very patiently waited for me for the second half. He's got a real aversion to the commodification places like this and he also feels that folks visit them just to get their picture taken in front of them, like some kind of accomplishment or checking of a box. Visiting Rome? Gotta get that snapshot in front of the Colosseum. I totally get this feeling and, recognizing that I'm making huge assumptions here, think it's true for many of tourists, with their selfie sticks and for some, self importance. There was a guy at the Colosseum who was yelling about others bowing down to him, flexing his muscles and taking up space while his partner snapped picture after picture. He was American, of course. Geez. I just realized how judgy this post has become. Sorry about that. I think may inner American shame is showing.

Anyways, after my absolute enjoyment of Rome's wonders and Alex's tolerance of the same, we headed for lunch and then back to our nest up high in an ancient building in Rome. Alex sat on the terrace writing and I napped for about an hour, then ventured out on my own to explore our neighborhood a bit more. There are beautiful churches everywhere in Rome, and I spent some time in a few, contemplating this trip so far. Before we left, Alex and I hadn't talked much about it. He wanted to be surprised by everything we did. About a week into the adventure, a new complexity in our relationship emerged. For anyone who knows our family at all, you know that Alex has had to overcome some pretty significant challenges in the last few years. It hasn't really allowed him to go through the necessary letting go of his parents and becoming his own person. Though we've only been away for a bit less than two weeks, Alex has been making up for lost time, seeing his parents with all of their flaws (and strengths), taking charge and helping us navigate our travels, seeing that his needs are met during the trip and finding his voice, both on paper and as a travel companion. It's not always easy for both of us, and tears of happiness and frustration have been shed (again, mostly by me). But he's fining his way.

Another thing I did while church hopping (apologies in advance to those who may take offense) was to text with George. It's hard to reach George at when he's not in school or sleeping from over here. But he had just had cavities filled and was available for a quick chat, So I found myself texting in church. Not being Christian, I'm not even sure if it's wrong to text in church, but I'm guessing it is probably frowned upon. It was exactly what I needed and the exact right time, however, and I am thankful for the gift of technology to be able to stay in touch with my boy. George, apparently, is excelling at this high school thing. He's already completed a project (less than two weeks into the year!!) and has others lined up and ready to go. Dang, I'm so proud of that kid. And I miss him into my bones.

So, we picked this Airbnb because of it's charm and location. What we didn't know was that we are a 5 minute walk from an art house cinema, right in Campo dei Fiori. It's called the Farnese. And for the next several nights, it's showing films in conjunction with the current Venice Film Festival. Hmm. Pretty good luck for the cinefile and his mom. Apologies to all cinefiles, I can't remember the name of the film we watched. It was from a middle-eastern country and subtitled in both English and Italian. Alex and I thought we'd get to see it without any English subtitles and were a little bit bummed when we could read the film. Sounds strange, but we wanted an authentic foreign film experience. We both felt the movie was too heavy handed, though Alex could articulate his thoughts a million times better than I could.

As all good evenings in Italy should end, we ate pizza (Alex) and a caprese salad (me), stopped for gelato and listened to the street musicians in the piazza. Rome is a special place.