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The Plan
May 28, 1997

London 
June 3, 1997

Paris 
June 4, 1997

Amsterdam
June 9, 1997

Prague 
June 15, 1997 

Prague
June 21, 1997

Montreux
June 27, 1997

Rome 
July 19, 1997

Athens
July 30, 1997
 

  Hello All, 
     Where did I last leave you? Oh yes, 
Montreux, Switzerland. Well from 
Switzerland I traveled to Rome. I was 
going to stop along the way but decided 
against it. It was already getting towards 
the end of the month which meant I would 
only have 2 or 3 days in Rome. The train 
ride was not fun, everything you hear about Italian 
trains is true. 

    I immediately went to a youth 
hostel I read about in my book and 
which was recommended to me by 
another traveler. Of  course, it was full. 
The desk clerk advised me to go to 
a tourist office called "Enjoy Rome" 
to see if they could book me a room 
somewhere. I did, and they were able 
to find me a place. One hitch though was 
that it was a tiny hotel room with three twin 
beds squeezed in and I would be the only 
female. I was desperate so I took it. It turned 
out to be not so bad. One of my roommates 
was an 18 year old from Boston and the 
other was originally from Vietnam but now lives 
in Berkeley. 

    From there I had to plan my attack of 
the city. I knew I wanted to see the Sistine 
Chapel, St. Peter's cathedral, and the Coliseum. 
I looked in my guide book and read that 
St. Peter's and the Vatican Museum (including 
the Sistine Chapel) was free the last Sunday 
of the month. Since it was the last Saturday 
of the month I decided to wait till the next 
day. I walked around the city a bit and 
found myself at the Vatican. I wasn't dressed 
appropriately to enter St. Peter's so I just 
sat and looked at the beautiful square. It was at 
this point that things fell apart a tad. I saw a 
sign that gave the hours of the Vatican museum. 
Yes, most last Sundays  during the year the 
admission was free. Save for June. The last 
Sunday of the month in June the museum is not 
only not free- it is closed! I missed my chance to 
see the Sistine Chapel. I was devastated. I'm still 
angry. I absolutely had to leave on Monday 
morning so there was no chance for me. 

    From there I  went to the Coliseum. It looks 
just like you see in  the pictures. The basement is 
exposed and 
you can see where 
the cages for the lions, prisoners and 
Christians where held. I paid the extra 
money to go to the 1st floor which gave 
me some amazing views of the structure. 
When that got boring I continued my 
walk around the city. Everywhere you 
turn in Rome you see archeological excavations. 
I would just stare at these sights and wish 
I had been an Archaeology major instead 
of Social Science/Criminal justice. I spent the 
rest of the day walking around. When I 
woke up the next morning I went to the 
original hostel I tried to stay in and checked 
in. I attempted to do everything I could possibly 
do in one day. I visited the amazing St. Peter's 
cathedral. I came during mass so the place was 
packed. I have never seen so many religious 
professionals: monks, priests, nuns, all wearing 
different colors and looking solemn. 

After spending 
some time in the church I stood 
in the square and listened and 
watched the Pope do his weekly blessing 
of the people. It was like seeing a king, which 
is basically what he is. I  felt bad that Josephine 
wasn't with me. As a devoted Catholic she really 
would have appreciated the the whole ceremony 
much more than I did. Nonetheless, I was still 
impressed by His Holiness. 

Afterwards I went to the Pantheon. Unfortunately, 
it was past 1:30 and it was closed. I wandered 
through Rome some more and then decided to 
visit a place I never heard of. Santa Maria Della 
Concezione, well let me relay what my 
guide book said.  "Fluted arches made 
of collarbones, arabesques of shoulder 
blades, and spirals of dusty vertebrae- 
the ornate and gruesome decorations of 
this church's crypt were made from the 
remains of  4,000 priests and monks." I 
thought it would be a nice unusual place 
to visit. I was shocked by this place. The 
crypt was in the lower part of a non-descript 
church. When I  walked in a Franciscan 
monk sat at the entrance with a basket for 
donations. I gave him a coin and in a very deep, 
slow voice he replied, "Ok." I walked through 
the crypt which was decorated much like the 
book said. However, what the book didn't 
mention was that the monks whose bones 
where not used to make art were displayed 
in an open crypt kind of way. There were 
probably 15 monks, in their robes, whose 
bones where displayed. I had a feeling I 
was going to have nightmares for 
weeks. Afterwards I ventured into the 
giftshop where they sold, I swear to God, 
little toy cameras where when you 
looked through the viewfinder and pressed 
a button a different image of the crypts 
would appear. I  was so queasy from the 
whole thing I didn't buy one. I now kind 
of wish I did. 

    Later I went to the famous Trevi fountain. It 
was a nice place to hang out. After that I walked 
to another square and saw a lot of people and 
heard beautiful classical and opera music booming 
from nearby. I don't know exactly was going on, 
I think there was a concert on the other side 
of the wall. Nonetheless, people gathered around 
the fountain in the square and just listened to 
the unseen music. I stayed for probably at 
least an hour. After all that I went back to 
the hostel and watched some t.v. and got 
ready for my journey 
to Greece. 

    This is where I will leave you for now. I am 
home now, I got back on the 17th. Unfortunately 
I was not able to access any cybercafes in Rome 
or Athens, although they do exist. I think tomorrow 
I should be able to give you a run down of my 
amazing 2 weeks in Greece. That should 
be my last note. 

Until then, 
Marisa