From Fiumicino to The Vatican (Part 1)

This is a recollection of my trip to Italy earlier this year. As one of my passions, i have decided to record the details of my trip, although it was in the past. I will be taking it out of my journal, so it might sound slightly different. Well, here goes…

I’m in Rome, Italy! Who would ever have guessed that i would be here when i’m supposed to be in college…i mean it’s not even the holidays, and i’m off in Europe. It’s 6.30 am and dad and i just reached the Fiumicino airport in Rome after a long flight. The Malaysian Ambassador for Italy, Datuk Lily, was there to pick us up when we arrived (she’s a family friend of ours) and then her driver drove us back to her place. Being the representative for our country in Italy, she has hosted many VIP’s there, such as both our present and previous Prime Minister’s. Her house is the sort of European cottage type house that i’m sure you’ve seen before…kind of like in fairytales-it’s one of those stone houses with flowers and vines all over. Anyway, dad and i were shown to our rooms, and then after a warm refreshing shower, we had a quick breakfast. It was about 2˚ outside, so the warmth of the hot milo was very soothing.

Before i start unfolding all the details of how my first day in Rome passed by, let me just make some ‘culture shock’ observations. The roads here in Rome are extremely narrow-even compared to Malaysian ones…a lot of them are like our alleys-just wide enough for a car to fit through. Many of these roads are one way, so if you accidentally turn in the wrong road, sorry no u-turn’s! You gotta go all the way to the end and then turn around. If the roads are two way, there are most likely only 2 lanes, but somehow, the Italians seem to manage 4 lanes. This brings me to their highly commendable driving and parking skills. Italians drive, in a way, much like Malaysians, except they are more polite…at least that’s what i observed. Now, one of the highlights of my whole trip, however weird this may be, was observing their parking. Rome does not have enough parking spaces, thus alongside the road usually does it. I saw a car that was sandwiched between 2 other cars. Seriously, bumper to bumper, both front and back. I was wondering, how do they get out? Answer: They go forward and backward, slowly nudging the cars behind and in front until they can get out. Hilarious! That’s why so many cars have scratches all over their bumpers. Another thing…because they need to fit in small parking places, they’ve got absolutely miniature cars-the SMART car.

Well, back to my story. Around 9 am, Hendy, who is from the embassy came and picked us up from Datuk Lily’s place and took dad and i to the city area – downtown Rome where Saint Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican are. It was around 10am when we reached the area, and the sight was truly amazing. All the old statues, columns, sculptures, etc. definitely gave it such a cherished old and antique feeling. Outside St. Peter’s Basilica is this big, vast, empty area, with a fountain and a pillar in the middle. Dad and i lined up, went through the security check, and then we were in the old church. The inside of this building is really too exquisite to describe in words. It’s one of those places where you have to visit to fully appreciate it. I felt quite overwhelmed standing there, admiring the walls and ceiling that were just covered with paintings…all so breathtaking. On our way out, we stopped at the souvenir shop, and then moved on towards the Vatican.

The Vatican is a country of its own and that’s where the Pope stays. We got into the line outside this walled up area and after paying 12 euros, we were allowed in. Now this part is rather hard to explain in detail, because dad and i went through quite fast, and there was so much to see that i can’t really recall every detail. But basically, we went into rooms, down hallways and saw paintings on the ceilings and walls. There were also some walls covered with huge rugs with all sorts of designs on them. The place was quite crowded and i was actually surprised at the number of young people there…there were so many groups of teenagers. One of the final rooms that we went in to was the Cappelle Sistina, the eminent Sistine Chapel. This is where Michelangelo’s renowned paintings are. As i was observing the paintings that depict the story of time through the Bible, i was dumbfounded just thinking of how difficult it must have been for Michelangelo to be lying flat on his back, painting the ceiling with all sorts of characters, complete with facial expressions and rippling muscles. Our final stop was the room with the life size painting of The Final Judgment.

We left the antique buildings, walked out into the sun and decided to go for lunch-our first real Italian meal. Guess what i had…yeap! Pizza margherita, which is basically a thin crust pizza covered with tomato puree and cheese. From that moment, well, let’s just say that this is a meal i simply adore. It’s nothing at all like Pizza Hut, which is American pizza. This is the real stuff. We ate at this café alongside the road, and it was really pleasant. After filling our stomachs, dad and i went back to the Basilica, which is where the Pope appears on Sundays, just to enjoy the warm sun and cool air. This whole area was packed with tourists, but we managed to find a place to sit down on the stairs. So we just sat down there, in the sun, and relaxed…like we had no cares in the world.

A few hours later, dad called Hendy and he came from work to pick us up. While we were waiting for him, i got to enjoy myself sitting on a bench by the roadside, watching the ‘car parade’ pass by…so many colorful cars…Fiat’s, Merc’s, BMW’s, Jaguars and ever so many Alfa Romeo’s. Almost too soon, Hendy was there to pick us up and we were on our way back to Datuk Lily’s place. I crashed the moment i tucked myself into bed. I was exhausted but i had had a brilliant day…by far one of the best in my life. Little did i know that there were many more of these magnificent days to come.