All Roads Lead to Rome

They say that "all roads lead to Rome," and on any given road trip throughout Italy, I'd have to agree with Roma signs pointing in various directions. I'm convince that there is more to the saying, and they left out the part about "...but some will take a lot longer." A lot longer.

Why? Well, various of reasons: the distance of the road, weather conditions, paved vs unpaved roads, traffic patterns, the speed of the driver, the mode of transportation, etc. Oh one more little one- if your co-pilot when so kindly already fighting the borrowed GPS unit for you inadvertently tells it to avoid toll roads.

Now, yes. I should have trusted my gut and proceeded on the tang as I always do, but hey, if the technology is nothing short of calling you an idiot for thinking about going any other direction? You do your best to put aside your control freak nature and listen.

Even when you realize you're headed to the port city of your least favorite ship ever that causes more headaches for you than Tylenol has pills.

Even when you keep seeing signs to the road you know you should be on.

Yes, even when you start to follow the signs you know you want through ity bitty towns.

Sigh. It's about the journey- right? This journey was beautiful through the green mountains on a rainy day, but sometimes you want to just reach the destination already! Needless to say, we finally reached our destination (a train station in Rome) to ride the rail into the city for our whirlwind tour of the Vatican, St. Peter's, the Spanish Steps, Roman Forum, and Coleseum. As I saw many of these places for a second, third, even fourth time I realized I had never really posted pictures or blogged on them. Oops. Guess it's time to do that? Domani. Dopo domani.

Rome Marathon in 30 Seconds

We arrived.
We had a blast at the Expo after meeting the group.
Our race was (once again) sponsored by Aleve.
We ran.
And ran a little more.
Munched on cookies along the course.
Took photo/prop me up on a rail breaks.
Lori singing and the promise of "bling" are the reasons my feet carried me over the finish line.
We crossed that finish line without one injury!
5:33:50something is a long time to be running, but well under the 7 hour time limit!

Even with the exhaustion and pain I'm feeling today, and the near certainty that I'll be -3 toe nails come summer time I'd do it again in a heart beat.

That is register, not run it- Paris 2013 is soon enough to run 26.2 miles! 

Roma-Ostia Mezza Marathon: Giorno Due

Morning of race day quickly arrived and team crazy (I think that may be my new team for me and Lori) got ready. Well, I was ready and fielding questions asked about "should I take this" and "will I be warm enough if I wear this." Hey, it's all about being part of the team. I put her through a tad early alarm, she got to ask 20 questions, we both made it down to be attacked with flashing cameras from one of the guys. Yep. Some of those gems have made it to FB. 

The bus was loaded up and we moved to the starting line to be dropped off before our cheer team traveled to the finish line to await our arrival.

The starting area was a little crazy. Turns out this event is the second largest in Italy, second only to the Rome Marathon. Running clubs from all over traveled in packs sporting their matching warmups. Leather skinned old men with 2% body fat walked around wrapped in space blankets. Ponchos covered a lot of people and spandex shorts didn't do enough covering in some cases. Some groups out to have fun wore wigs and "CSI" body suits.

As the group warm up started (aerobics instructors on a stage shouting instructions in Italian) the group got moving, or you know, laughed at those getting into it. Runners still milled around the park area, running, stretching. If the competitor was male, there was a 85% he was using a tree or bush as his bathroom. Seriously. If not for all the starting gates and bib numbers this would have looked like a men's urinal rather than a race event. (Shoot, along the course it was more of the same!) Major ick is right!

Having no official time on record most of us LPN folks started in the giallo group or you know, the last one to start. 35 minutes after the first gun went off we were on our way. (Turns out the winner was already more than half way done when we started! Amazing and yet disgusting at the same time- right?)

We made a quick loop around the immediate area of where we started and then headed out town. On the autostrada. Just like Lori said it looked like we were going to be doing. It was a straight shot, with a couple of slow and steady hills. If you want a better shot of the terrain here's my race summary. Please admire the steady pace I kept...slow and steady. Emphasis on slow but yet that's the pace we're hoping to keep for the marathon, plus after 12ish miles it's the perfect pace!

The course was rather uneventful. Lots of people ahead and a fair amount of people behind me! Guess that's one good thing about these major events, they are more like the races back in the states. Around 20km an ambulance was on the side, a portion of the course roped off, and a man being put on a stretcher. Rumor has that he had a heart attack, ma no lo so. 

Perhaps the worst part of this race was the cruel and unusual finish line. Luckily I had prepared myself by looking at the course map and saw that there was a loop right before the finish line. As in you could see it, but it was barricaded and you were forced to run out and back before really being done with all 13.1 miles. Well, the map didn't show me that I'd be passing under 3, yes tre, inflatable arches in the process. If they wanted to make sure all their sponsors got proper advertisment couldn't they have used banners? Nothing like seeing the arch but then realizing there isn't a single clock by it so you keep running towards the next one to realize the same thing. Ridiculous.

At any rate, I finally carried my body over the timer sensor and was done! Food, jacket, medal collected while I convinced my body we'd survive I got to watch some fellow teammates cross the finish. Nothing better than screaming encouragment while they too suffer the agony of the 3 arches.

Over all it was a good race and nice to see what my "race pace" is rather than my lazy pace due to any excuse to stop running during the training runs. A weekend spent with LPN is always entertaining. ALWAYS. If it was this much fun for the 1/2...I wonder what the full marathon has in store for us in March.    

Roma-Ostia Mezza Marathon: Giorno Uno

It's just a half marathon.

Yep. Those words flew out of my mouth so many times this past week I lost count. The phrase started off as a joke with my training buddy but we quickly realized that it really just is a half marathon.  13.1 miles. Va bene. Nothing like the mileage we've been logging along our path to the Rome Marathon now in just under 3 weeks.

Le Piume Nere headed north in our bus where we laughed about previous trips, other races, and ate fabulously appropriate pre-race day food like Thin Mints, M&Ms, and chips. Once entering the city our first stop was in the EUR district which was just outside the city walls "way back when." Our destination was San Paolo alle Tre Fontane which is the location that Paul was martyred.

The chapel was beautifully decorated from what we could see since mass was occurring. The three fountains inside supposedly sprung up in each place Paul's head landed after being decapitated. Turns out the fountains were actually closed up in more recent years due to pollution. The Abbey area was also gorgeous: tree lined walk ways, birds flying through the air chirping happy songs, statues scattered. No real reminder that just on the other side of the wall was the busy city.

After milling around until almost sunset we loaded back up for the dinner location.  I still have no idea where we actually were. I should have turned the GPS on because after a while it was a game of "where are they taking us?" Finally the bus stopped and we were told it was time to get out for a "short walk." No problem right? Well, you'd think that considering 90% of those getting off the bus were running a half marathon the next day. Yeah, you'd think. Not really the case but it was getting late and I for one was ready to eat. We walked through a neighborhood to get to the place and found our typical 2 huge tables waiting for us. Food starting pouring out of the kitchen and then it was "pizza no stop" time. Pizza no stop is the glorious pizza meal where they keep bringing out different pizzas. I think we got through 5 or 6 types before turning over the peg from the green to the red saying "basta!"

All the pizza brought out was similar to ones I've tried before, with the exception of the one with red lentils. Yep, lentils. It was absolutely yummy because the pizza dough in Rome is much more like a fried flat bread or tortilla. So if you can imagine this type of crust with lentils and cheese, it almost tasted like something Mexican or in the least, not something too Italian. The final pizza was con nutella ma, it wasn't the best one I've had so it was onto the café and lemoncello. This of course was dopo i litri di vino, birra, e acqua.

Looking around the table seeing all the seats full while hearing the laughter, chatter, and clatter of dishes is a crazy experience. It's like a huge reception but not because we're all at the same table! I'm telling you dinning with fellow LPN members makes me really feel like an authentic Italian family. Of course this family consists of a whole lot of Americans, British, Italians, Spanish, Germans, Romanians, French, Canadians, and others but when we're all together we're a regular United Nations!

While we waited for the bus back on the street we were entertained by the radar speed sign. When a car passed by at a certain speed higher than the posted limit a -5 would appear. Who knows what this meant but we figured it wasn't good and were very amused when we saw it several times...including as our bus pulled up!

We had one last stop before the hotel....a drive by of the Colosseo at night. It was beautiful. So beautiful. Even more so than this awesome picture Lori captured from the bus driver's window.

Finally (finally, finally) we arrived at the convent we were staying at. Tired and stuffed we waited for our keys to the rooms. Within 15 minutes of getting into our room the lights were out and we were sleeping since it was way past my turning into a pumpkin time. Plus, we had to be moving in the morning crazy early.

Roman Holiday!

So I may not be Princess Katie, but that doesn't mean that I don't crave an escape from all these trainings...meetings...required certificates...forms...meet and greets...house-hunting...you get the drift. Granted I didn't fall asleep on a bench and meet a tall, dark and handsome reporter who showed me around Rome, but I did see many of the same sights. I say some because if Rome wasn't built in a day, there is no way I can see all of it (or even a fraction of it) in a mere day. 

My day in the Eternal City was jammed packed. Of my sette to do items, I crossed off cinque. So what did I do? Keep reading! 

Piazza del Popolo The People's Plaza  
My day stared off in North Rome at the Piazza del Popolo. This main square not only marks the center of the city but also the traditional north entrance to the city. In the center of the square there is an obelisk surrounded by those adorable lion fountains. Like most piazzas there are churches and other fountains that surround the large area. I didn't check out any of these churches because I was nervous of being delayed/I figure someone else is going to want to check them out so I'll be back one of these days. (Apparently these churches have a ton of artwork and I believe it based on their doors and walls.)

At the south end of the plaza there are 3 roads leading into the city but I think Via del Corso was the most interesting. Why? Well if you look down it you can see clear to the Victor Emmanuel Monument. Since I come from the land of curves, turns, and hills this concept is somewhat crazy.

Cappuccin Crypt
I don't think you can think "Rome" without the mental imagery of the various sights and random historical events. Well that's how my brain operates and in my mental picture of Rome it includes the catacombs. Although there are lots of famous ones to visit, I picked this crypt instead? Why? Well, you can't take pictures so I have to rely on the internet to provide you images. Seriously- check out that link. I'll hold. 

Yes. Those are bones! Isn't it amazing? Those are the bones are from Capuchin monks that died during the lifetime of the crypt. They would exhume the the longest buried monk to make room for the newly deceased who was buried without a coffin. The bodies spent 30 years decomposing in the soil, before being exhumed and used in decorating the walls.

*If you haven't lost your appetite and interesting side note- Cappuccinos are named after these Capuchin Monks who wore brown robes.  

Confession time. I found myself identifying the various bones in each arrangement (apparently I did retain some of that anatomy knowledge).  Another confession? I didn't think this was creepy at all. Well, I did when I started to think about how when those who were arranging the bones may have said, "hey, please pass me Brother John's right fibula" but other than that I was just in awe. Talk about being resourceful! 

After walking through all the crypts, you find yourself in the 6th one looking at scene of judgement day. On the ceiling a skeleton holds a grim reaper scythe and a chandelier of bones hangs overhead. The words "What you are now we used to be; what we are now you will be..." leave you with an oh-so somber reminder that life here is only temporary.  

Trevi Fountain
Yep, the fountain you throw a coin over your shoulder so you can make it back to Rome. It was crazy busy in the late morning already but coins were a-flyin' and the fountain was a-flowin'. Definitely a touristy place but on another visit it will be a great hang out place with a scoop of gelato (or two) and a fabulous friend to chat with while we comment on the folks passing by.

Colosseum
For years I've heard stories about how dirty and crowded this part of Rome is. I've had images in my head of this enormous, smog covered ancient building in the middle of a round about (because they had to build the road around it) with cars 3-4 deep driving around. Please tell me I'm not the only one?! Well, the Colosseum was dirty and falling apart (it is kind of old) but it's still a remarkable piece of architecture- especially when you remember when it was built!

I ended up caving and paying for a tour, mainly because I didn't want to wait in the long ticket line. The tour was actually pretty good and filled in some of the gaps that my reading had left. From inside I couldn't help by be in shock that this ancient building and what took place on the arena and in the passageways below it. I couldn't get enough of all the views and arch ways either- so here is a major collection of the pictures.

Palatine Hill/Roman Forum
By this time in the day my feet were covered in ancient civilization dust, my face had less makeup on it than it started with, and my arms had gained a ton of freckles. I was still functioning, but in the heat of the sun I was fading fast and really didn't want to be looking at piles of rubble pretending I was in a one time 150,000 square foot palace. I had to laugh when I heard two little kids complaining at all the destroyed buildings. The little girl suggested that they tear down the half buildings and use all the remnants to build something new... I don't think she understood exactly what we were touring.  

While waiting for this tour to start up I did some walking on Via del Fori Imperiali and checked out some of the Roman Forum remains. This street was also scattered with statues of famous Romans. Somehow I ended up at the Victor Emmanuel Monument where I saw even more impressive buildings and snapped more pictures of my favorite sights.

Over all, my first to Rome was amazing! The city is incredibly easy to navigate, there is no shortage of sights, and I found most of the locals to be incredibly helpful. True I still have a ton to explore but this trip left me craving more trips that way and also to brush up on my ancient civilizations history. I'll keep doing the research for when you visit since you know it's always better to share amazing stuff like this with someone.