Continued...We entered La Cappella Sistina.
I'd forgotten its grandeur and marveled at the outcome of Michelangelo's sculpting hand and eye. For those who are unaware, Michelangelo refused to call himself anything other than a sculptor and was a brilliant observer of the human form. So, in this project he painted his figures with the "chiaroscuro" ("light-dark") technique (AKA with shadows) to make them more life-like. He also adored the male form, so even his female subjects have masculine qualities. In fact, during the chapel's restoration in 1980 (?) one of the characters, who was thought to be male for centuries, was discovered to be female. This occurred when some "clothing" added to the figures during the Protestant Reformation was removed chemically.
In 1994, it was also discovered that a figure Michelangelo modeled after himself has a snake biting his own penis (view video at 11:14).
"What do you think?" I asked Mike.
"Pretty cool," he said.I pointed to different parts of the chapel, trying my best to remember and explain what I had learned in previous courses as a former art history major.
"Cool," he said. At this point I could tell he was itching for the Colosseum. Oh well.
So, with a few hours before we needed to catch the last fast train to Civitavecchia, we headed out and grabbed food at a nearby restaurant. We were charged three euros for the bread given to us before the main course, which is normally free in the States...and most other places. Dumb.
Following that, we took the Metro to the Colosseum. I'd also forgotten that, when exiting the Metro system, the Colosseum and Arch of Constantine are right there, conveniently, to greet you.
"Oh, wow," Mike said with a more surprised tone.
Like a mother with her toddler, I let him have fun in the playground. But boy, was it getting hot. I was getting thirstier and browner by the minute. As we migrated to the Roman Forum and the Forum of Trajan, I used up euros to purchase bottle after bottle of water while shooing off irritating vendors. Time passed by like China's new bullet train and we had an hour to return to the station.
"We should probably start heading ba--oooh, Trajan's Column!" I said.A few minutes go by...
"Okay, time to head ba--oooh, is that a museum?! Those steps are really high."
...
"Maybe now--oooh, another beverage stand!" We purchased our last bottle of water, and upon leaving one of the men working the stand squirted me.
"There are two nearby Metro stations," Mike said, using Google Maps again.
We chose one and made our way. A little over a kilometer later, we found it.
But the ticket machine wouldn't take our paper euros. And there were no ticket windows. We set for a bank, got some change, and came back. With thirty minutes left, it still wouldn't take our money.
Mike got fed up and went to a nearby shop to ask for advice. I waited by the ticket machines. A few minutes later I noticed that the "Exit only" gates had been opened. It seemed many people were having trouble with the machines.
So I ran across the street to fetch Mike.
"MIKE! IT'S OOOOPEEENED!" We ran back to the Metro and entered the next train, ticketless.
We approached our stop, got off, and RAN. Half an hour left.
Being on a one-month hiatus from the CrossFit gym, I was crapping out after a few minutes. Mike, a robust fellow who doesn't know his own strength, missed a window to pass between two people and accidentally bumped into a man slightly larger and taller than he.
"BIPPITY BOPPITY! BIPPITY BOPPITY!" The man turned around and shouted in Italian with his arms out.
"Sorry, sorry!" Mike said defensively.
"BIPPITYBOPPITYBIPPITYBOPPITY!!!!" He shouted again.
"SORRY!!!!"
Mike and I continued, but because I was short-winded we started to run late. So we caught a cabbie.
Of course, the ten-minute ride cost us an ear and a few toes...and we didn't have enough cash...again. This frustrated the cabbie, so Mike went to a nearby ATM while I waited in the taxi. He returned with enough cash and we jogged to the train station, just missing the fast train.
So, we waited around for the slow train to Civitavecchia. Thankfully, after a blistering one-hour train ride and another unfriendly cabbie, we arrived at the ship 15 minutes early.
"Let's make it a half day in Pompei tomorrow," I told Mike, and he agreed.
