Beside the Seaside

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In Which I Have To Say Goodbye To Some Old Friends

May 22, 2008 by Mike

Castel Fusano

Washed some clothes in the morning. It's not all glamour, this life.

But made up for it this afternoon: the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums. Even if I had to queue for one hour, 26 minutes and 56 seconds to get in. I queued longer to get in to the Hermitage but that was cheating: there weren't many people queuing, it was just that the ticket office staff decided to close for an hour to prove how powerful they were to all us foreign tourists. Today, it was pure weight of numbers -- and I don't just mean the crowd of portly Americans in line just behind me.

Sample conversation: "WellwouldyalookatthesizeofTHATcar?" (every time a Fiat Punto went past. When they spotted a Smart Car, I thought they were going to explode.)

I was wary of the Vatican museums.. expecting there to be an emphasis on, y'know, god and stuff. But the size and scope of the art won me over, even if the quality is shaky at times. Not the Sistine Chapel, though: this is Art & Beauty & Wisdom & Life & Truth -- even if it's based on a fairy tale.

I shall walk with my head held high and my eyes looking up from now on. Don't want to miss the stars.

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And this evening I bought a new pair of shoes and threw away the Converse All Stars that have been my faithful companions since I started this trip. They weren't falling apart - they had fallen apart.

I know that, in Real Life, that's the moment when All Stars are just starting to look fashionable.. but out here, I need to keep the rain out, and occasionally look respectable. Sorry, shoes, but you just had to go. I shall miss you. *sniff*

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