February 3, 2010 BIG DAY in Rome

February 3, 2010. (Sandra) The events of this day included the National Museum, Angel Basilica, and the wet night walk from the Spanish Steps to the Trevi Fountain. Now for some of the details: Our Roma Pass allowed us to use the bus system to the National Museum. Amazing sculptured busts of well-known leaders such as Socrates, Alexander the Great, etc. We also saw the famous ‘disc-thrower’ and numerous other ‘peanut-less’ naked sculptured bodies. One floor included a spectacular display of coin money from the beginning of ‘money to the present’ within Italy, and a display of golden and gem jewelry from the far past. Beautiful wall mosaics and painted frescoes were artistically displayed on another floor. One particular fresco inspired me to want to paint our interior home walls with different theme. The mosaics reminded me of quilts patterns. The Basilica across the street had a unique feature of Galileo and Michelangelo displays. This was a church which publicly embraced science – unique, since in the distant past, the church made these leaders publicly denounce their findings. We listened to an excellent auditory/visual message from a box and learned about the history of this great church (the biblical history of angels and their importance), and about the nearby baths that catered to up to 30,000 people at one time. A tiny hole in the top corner of the ceiling allowed a shaft of light to fall upon the floor and this light was used to measure time using a zodiac monthly calendar. Upon exiting this basilica, I gave a begging man half of our sandwich and he responded with gratitude and surprise. The doors of this basilica were unique in their modern representation of angel body parts. We used the metro transportation (tiny in comparison to the system we used in London) to travel to the Spanish Steps. We climbed the 136 steps to view a sky scene that could inspire anyone to pick up coloured pencils, a paintbrush or a camera. Karannina and I did some Schaufensterbummeling – Italians have a fantastic skill in putting together window displays. The coloured, leather glove displays intrigued us the most. We walked to the amazing lit-up Trevi Fountain. 24 waterspouts coming from horse and man sculptures is an amazing sight to see. The Romans certainly knew how to make ascetic use of the water at their disposal. From here we meandered our way home, visiting numerous Italian specialty shops: Gepetto (wood), colourful pottery, paper and books, gelato, etc. Back at our apartment, we Skyped Dieter’s Dad for his birthday and had a nice conversation. A grand day in Rome! We anticipate Karannina’s birthday tomorrow, when she will become a teenager – 13 years of age!