Roma - Day 2

Today we started out a little bit late since we were all tired from traveling the day before. We still made it out to the Colosseum by 10:00 am. We took the metro and ended up right next to the Colosseum. It was huge! I was amazed at how large it was and all of the different levels and rooms and pathways it had. It was amazing to see the columns close up and all of the walls with plants growing out of them. Outside the Colosseum there were people dressed up as Roman soldiers which added to the experience somewhat.

After visiting the Colosseum we went to the Forum. This is an area where they have a bunch of arches and pillars that have been uncovered. It was incredible to see the different structures and how intact most of them still were. This used to be the heart of Rome. There were a wide variety of buildings, churches and gardens. There was actually a grove of orange trees there along with some palm trees which made the area seem very tropical. There were poppies all over, growing up between rocks and in fields. They made everything seem even more beautiful.

After the Forum we went to the Vatican City. We walked through the Sistine Chapel and the museum before it. The artwork that adorns the walls and ceilings is unbelievable! There is so much detail and ornamentation. While the chapel itself was beautiful, the many rooms leading up to it had artwork that was more stunning to me. A lot of the paintings on the ceilings was meant to look like molding with artwork inside. After looking at it for a little bit you could figure out that it was painted rather than real, however it was extremely well done.

The thing that impressed me the most about the Sistine Chapel was the size. Every inch of the wall and ceiling seemed to be painted with ornate murals. In any room that would be awesome to see, but the chapel ceiling is 68 feet high! I can’t even imagine trying to paint on that!

We walked out of the chapel and into St. Peters Basilica. Words cannot even describe this building. It is full of statues and paintings and gold plated ornamentation. The chapels are exquisite! I don’t know how I would focus on a meeting in this place. The whole thing is rather overwhelming. Every inch of the building is decorated in some way. There are huge Corinthian and Ionic stone pillars with very detailed designs.

From the Basilica we walked into St. Peter’s square. We actually saw it earlier this morning but the Pope was visiting at the same time so it was extremely crowded and we decided to come back later. The whole thing is incredible to see. The “walls” of huge pillars surrounding the square was one of my favorite parts. It was simple yet stunning.

The walk from the Vatican City to the Pantheon was quite scenic. We shopped for souvenirs and ate more Gelato. Our flavors this time were: Pineapple, Mango, Chocolate, Banana, Strawberry, and Melon. Pretty normal flavors, but very delicious. By this time our feet were getting sore so we had to get some gelato in us to give us more energy for the rest of the walk. Along the way we walked down quite a few alleys with brightly colored walls and flowers hanging over the balconies. It seemed like every where we turned there was something to take a picture of.

Just before we got to the Pantheon we stopped in Piazza Navona. This seemed to be the area where all the local artists displayed and sold their work. If I had tons of money and a way to get it home I would have bought one of the large oil paintings. I couldn’t believe how gorgeous some of them were! The colors were so vivid and the landscapes and cityscapes in the paintings were beautiful.

When we visited the Pantheon today we went inside (it was closed last night). It was similar in nature to St. Peter’s Basilica, although not nearly as ornate. It was still very interesting though. The thing that caught my attention was the large opening at the top of the dome. It let in light for the building, but if it rained, it seems like the marble floor would have been a little slippery.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the Trevi fountain again for enough time that Brianna and I threw in a coin and made a wish. I’d tell you what I wished for, but then it wouldn’t come true! We also bought a couple scarves and ties at the vendor by Pinocchio.

We ate dinner at the Termini (the central metro and train station). I had a delicious pasta with some sort of red sauce, much like a typical spaghetti sauce. It was so good, but I was pretty tired so I’m sure just about anything would have tasted good. We walked around a couple shops and then headed back to the Hotel for rest and relaxation. We saw quite a bit today and definitely did a lot of walking, about 2953 steps to be exact.

Roma!

We finally made it to Rome at about 6:30 PM, Italy time. Somewhere we pretty much missed all of Tuesday, but we made up for it with the activities of the night. We took the train from the airport to the center of the Rome train lines. We then walked about 746 meters (thank you dad :) to Hotel Sonya. We are on the third floor looking over an opera house, Teatro dell’ Opera.

After checking into the hotel we walked along the gorgeously lit streets of Rome to the Fontana di Trevi. It was just about dusk when we got there and it was beautiful! It was pretty crowded with lots of people trying to distract you and get money. Some of them were even handing out roses. We walked around the fountain for a bit and then got some pizza and walked to the Pantheon.

By this time it was completely dark, but the streets were very well lit. There were a lot of quaint restaurants along the street, countless Gelato shops, pizzerias, and endless shoe and bag shops. The Pantheon was very stunning, especially considering how old it is. It was amazing to see the “new” buildings mixed in with the really old buildings. This city has so much history! Everywhere we turned it seemed like there was some building with incredible architecture.

Nearly all the buildings had ornate Corinthian columns or various pediments. Some were half circles, others triangles, and some were just flowery and decorative. The walls are all a unique color—I’m sure we’ll see that more tomorrow when it is light—and the streets have a lot of personality.

Driving in Rome is supposedly very crazy and most people suggest you don't do it. Well, this intersection would prove that theory. It is probably about 2-3 lanes wide on each side of the road, there are about 5 different roads, no traffic lights, no stop signs and no lines painted on the road. You just go. It was crazy to watch! The picture doesn't do it justice obviously, but it was extremely chaotic.



While we were walking from the Trevi Fountain to the Pantheon we saw Pinoccio so we decided to stop and take a picture. There was also a shop close by that had ties and scarves for a really good deal.

After we visited the Trevi fountain and the Pantheon we walked around and just looked at buildings for a while and then… we got gelato. For those of you who think gelato can’t be much better than regular ice cream—think again. It was amazing! We tried four different flavors: hazelnut, chocolate fondetta, chocolate cream, and cinnamon. Everyone tasted all of them, but Brianna and I shared the bowl with hazelnut and chocolate fondetta. It was divine! The chocolate fondetta had such a rich flavor and when it was mixed with the hazelnut it tasted like Ferrero Rocher. Mmmmm… delicious! As we finished eating our gelato we walked back to the Hotel and now I am posting this to the blog. What a day!

On my way!

So I’m guessing you probably don’t want to hear about going through security and the flight, but I have nothing better to do while I sit in the airport… so I figured I may as well write about it.

I am pretty much a security problem. When we went through security at SLC they had to call a supervisor to look at my passport because it had some suspicious spots on it. Yep, it’s a counterfeit passport. Ok, not really, but they thought so. So, once we made it through security there we got on a small plane that took us to LAX.

Going through security in LA my suitcase had to be checked twice. Fortunately though, I made it through just fine. We had a four hour layover (about 45 minutes to an hour was spent getting to our next gate). We watched the first part of Cranford, a BBC special a lady in our ward let us borrow. It was pretty good. We boarded the plane, a Boeing 777. It was quite a contrast to the tiny plane we were on before. There were 9 seats in each row rather than two, and I would have loved to have flown first class. The seats there were amazing! But, coach wasn’t terrible.

We were on the plane for 10 hours so they provided a dinner and breakfast. For dinner we had our choice of salmon or chicken. It was no ice cold fish head served with a turnip and a spork. It was a delicious, hot meal complete with cheesecake for dessert. Probably the best airplane meal I have had. After they served dinner they gave everyone a little packet that included everything you need for a quiet, dark, “comfortable” sleep.

While it was nice to have earplugs and such, I still had a hard time sleeping. But, when I woke up we had a delightful breakfast, so that helped. About an hour after breakfast we landed in Paris. Oh, the flight attendants all spoke mostly French (as we were flying Air France) so they didn’t seem to appreciate our speaking to them in English. Unfortunately I didn’t brush up on anything French for this trip.

In Paris, we had to go through security yet again. And yes, you guessed it, I caused a delay. Everything went through fine, or so I thought. After I got everything off the x-ray belt they wanted to search my suitcase. So I had to open all the pockets on the suitcase so they could examine what was inside. Then they ran a cloth over everything and tested that. Fortunately they didn’t find anything explosive or flammable or the like.

Fortunately we are through all the security checkpoints for today—who knows what the way home will be like. The only thing I have to worry about now is customs… hopefully they let me through… but until then I have about 45 minutes until we start boarding the plane to Rome. Normally I don't like pictures from the airplane window, but it was a really cool view as we came into Paris, so I thought I would take one anyway. Ciao!

Lucky Charms

My mom, Connor and I were all home on Saturday night, so we decided to eat some Lucky Charms together (but I actually had ice cream...). Kind of random, but fun!

A memorable Memorial Day

Every Memorial Day we have a Linebaugh family breakfast with all Linebaughs invited. All of my Grandpa's brothers and sisters and their families are invited. Usually around 90-100 people will come. We always have it at my Grandma and Grandpa's house (except while they were on their mission and it was at Kinkades). This year it poured rain the night before and the morning of, so we added hot chocolate to the menu and ate in the garage and kitchen (as opposed to outside). It was still just as well attended.

A little while ago, Janet made some charms that had a picture of her Grandma on one side and my grandpa and his brother and sister on the other side. After most people had eaten she gave one to Jean and Jane (my grandpa's sisters). It was a touching experience. They were so excited and, naturally, it brought my Grandpa to tears.

Later on in the day we had a graduation party for Parker and Brady. The rain cleared up for a little bit so we were able to play volleyball and basketball for a little while. As we were leaving Carl and Kathy's house, there was a gorgeous full rainbow. It was a wonderful day!