Le Journal de +Louise

Trip Report – {Rome 5 Nov 2008}

Well rested from our fourth day in Rome, we woke up bright and early for our journey into the Vatican City. Having read that the line into St Peter’s Basilica becomes excruciatingly long post 11am, we gulped down our breakfast and made it to the papal state before 10am.

Vatican City

Vatican City is a city-state and is the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church. It is the smallest country in the world and is located on the right bank of the Tiber River. Vatican City also issues its own currency, postage stamps and has its own newspaper and broadcasting facilities.

St Peter’s Square

St Peter’s Square refers to the large piazza directly in front of St Peter’s Basilica. At the center of the square stands an Egyptian obelisk made of red granite. It is the only obelisk that has not toppled since Ancient Roman times.

Ranks of columns that surround the square.

Saints in the sky…

Papal Swiss Guards of the Vatican City.

This is where the Pope addresses the people gathered at St Peter’s Square.

St Peter’s Basilica

St Peter’s Basilica houses the biggest interior of any Christian churches in the world and it does indeed live up to its apt title of the “greatest of all churches in Christendom”. I was in awe of its sheer grandeur and felt very blessed indeed to witness its architectural splendour.

One of the domes in the cathedral adorned with colourful frescoes.

St Peter’s Basilica also houses the tomb of St Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus.

Globe structure within the Vatican Museum Gardens.

Sistine Chapel

Photography was not permitted within the Sistine Chapel, however we still managed to sneak a way of capturing Michelangelo’s masterpiece; there was no way we were leaving the glorious chapel without a single memento.

The clever use of bright colours, skillful strokes and the brilliant play of light and shadows breathed life into the paintings on the ceiling.

After a long day and a somewhat confusing subway ride, we made our way back to the centre of Rome. Day 5 is our final night in this ancient city, weary as we were, we couldn’t possibly leave Rome before returning to the Colosseum to bask in its full moonlit glory. So after a quick shower, we hopped on the Metro and bade this magnificent structure a fond farewell…

Dost thou love life?

Then do not squander time,

For that is the stuff life is made of.

 Benjamin Franklin

Today despite the violent bouts of coughing fits, I decided to brave the gloomy weather outside to quickly grab lunch with a dear acquaintance of mine.

Sitting across the table from me, she was looking a little worse for wear, haggard, unkempt hair casually tied into 2 low pigtails. I later learnt that she has not been eating nor sleeping well because the diagnosis for her dad’s condition did not go as well as expected. The cancerous tumours that formed around his liver, which were successfully removed a couple of years ago, have returned with a vengeance. Since he is not eligible for a transplant, according to the doctors, he has months, and if he’s really lucky, a handful of years left.
He has always been a vegetarian, doesn’t drink, smoke or do drugs. But yet, here he is, going head to head with the big C.

Life is unfair in so many ways, isn’t it?

My friend has always prepared herself for the eventual day but she did not expect it to come so soon.

My little lunch hour had got me contemplating for the rest of the day. Of how fleeting life is, of the many things I’ve always wanted to do; Of the many miles that I want to tread; Of the adventures that I long to have; Of all the plays I wanted to see; Of all the beautiful French words I want to learn but keep deliberately putting off; Of all the books I’ve promised to devour but not quick enough; Of all the articles I’ve wanted to pen, but could never find the right words; Of all the conversations I wanted to have but the phone always seems too far away; Of all the pennies I have diligently pinched and saved but never spent; Of all the baubles of treasures I have crafted but never sold; Of all the missed opportunities that I have never and will never be able to recapture; Of not saying ‘I love you’ enough to the people who matter…

As I went on typing the rest of this entry, I got furious about how I have closely befriended procrastination and how, hand in hand we have conjured up some lengthy and exasperated excuses to not do/put off something.

As you get older, you get so caught up with the trappings of life that you forget to live life.  

After all, there is always the next time, right?

“Maybe next weekend when the weather’s better”;
“Maybe next year when I get that fat pay rise”;
“This Saturday morning, really? Maybe I’ll enrol for the next term…”;
“My toe hurts, maybe it’s not a good night for yoga”;
“Maybe in another year, I might finally finish reading all of Dickens’ work,”;
“Oh, the jewellery line? Yeah, it’s coming alright…”;
“It’s too cold out, I’ll take a walk tomorrow, maybe it’ll be more pleasant,”;

And then I became even more agitated when I thought about other people’s umms and aahhs over recent times:

“Maybe when work dies down a little”;
“I’m way too big now, maybe when I lose 10 pounds”;
“We’ll take that trip when we eventually pay off the damn house”;
“Maybe when my kid finally turns 7, he’s 10 months, so not long now…”;
“Maybe when the airfares eventually go on sale, then I will come visit you…”;
“Maybe next year when he can take some time off, then I’ll finally get to go to…”;
“If only I was born rich, then I might consider…”;
“Honey, maybe the year after next. Paris isn’t going anywhere, you know?”;
“Oh, I’m 55, that’s way too old to travel!”;
“Maybe I might strike it rich in the next recession…”;
“My marriage is so miserable, maybe it’s something I did, it’s probably just a rough phase…”;

Yes, there might be countless maybe’s and If only’s, but really, only one lifetime. The most heart wrenching thing is to realise that there’s never enough time in this lifetime for all the I-love-you’s, exotic locales, love, confronting experiences, bubble baths, sunsets, pictures, autumns, fresh daisies, words, happiness, whimsical dreams…

The manic marketing team behind Nike might have had it right all along, after all:

Life is fucking short; Just do it!

After the past 3 schedule packed days, we decided to sleep in a little and then take a long stroll around the city. Day 4 in Rome was a day of sorts. A day of streetscape photography, of interesting characters, of a new part of Rome and, of course, a day of utmost importance in political history…

We strolled past this antique shop after breakfast and saw the most breathtaking vintage chandeliers…sigh…

A pleasant morning with long anticipated news…

The most unassuming Obama supporter…

Campo dei Fiori market

Campo dei Fiori is a piazza near Piazza Navona and literally means ‘field of flowers’. The market was filled with food and street vendors.

Characters around Piazza Navona…

I managed to snap a picture of this adorably well dressed old man while crossing at the lights. Everybody should be this well-suited no matter what day of the week and what time of the day…

Trastevere

We crossed the Tiber River and walked all the way to the west bank. Trastevere is almost like the timid sister of the bustling city of Rome, connected, but yet, not entirely the same.

Santa Maria Basilica

Santa Maria Basilica is one of the oldest churches in Rome and the queen of all churches in Trastevere. It was tucked away in a snug corner of a piazza and has the most modest of facades. However, gorgeous ancient medieval mosaics graced the interior of this old church, with the sun streaming in through the glass windows, the entire church was enveloped in a warm glow.

A haggard lady begging for a pittance in front of the church…

These 2 street buskers drew a small crowd in one of the cobbled stone alleys, so we stopped and watched.

Sunset at the Tiber River…

Saw them from a mile away and I just couldn’t help myself….

Rome pedestrian crossing near our hotel at peak hour…

It rained that night but we braved the weather and went out to seek the infamous Giolitti gelato parlour. The limone flavour was both biting yet heavenly. We went to bed around 10pm and were ready to hop out the next morning to the Vatican.

A quick 3 day getaway to Sipadan in the midst of a chaotic trip back home initially seemed like a really bad idea. A 2.5 hour plane ride, an hour of really bumpy bus ride and eventually a 45 minute speedboat ride over extremely choppy waters, we finally arrived.

We were booked in for a 3d2n stay at Sipadan Kapalai Resort. As the speedboat approached the jetty, we were greeted cordially by the staff and were also given warm towelettes to freshen up.

The Restaurant is the main hub of the resort. Being miles away from any land in sight, the Restaurant served all meals and offered free flow of coffee, tea and cakes throughout our entire stay.

The Resort boasts 40 chalets that sit high up on stilts over the most crystal clear water, and are all well connected with wooden walkways.

Our chalet is located right towards the end of the Kapalai wing, it took us nearly 10 minutes to walk from the Restaurant. The interior of our chalet, however, was almost as breathtaking as the surroundings itself. High ceilings, beautiful décor, a private balcony that opens out into the vast ocean, and the best bit, a bathtub with a large window overlooking the turquoise waters.

Initially we intended to book for a beginners course in diving, however there were no instructors available, so we settled for snorkelling instead. And I was glad we did because snorkeling at Kapalai was absolutely amazing, dare I say it? Heaps better than Hawaii and the Great Barrier Reef.

On one of our evening walks around the resort compound, we chanced upon the most magical spot to say ‘I do’, sigh… it’s a shame that most guests will not appreciate the long journey to the resort. So we stayed around for sunset instead..

The weather was absolutely pleasant, with clear blue skies, hovering around 27C during the day and slightly lower during the night. However, we did encounter a few windy rainstorms during the nights, with waves lapping mercilessly against the wooden stilts. The chalet swayed to its sides as I crouched in bed, with Leo snoring next to me, hoping and praying really hard that those wooden beams will hold and we won’t be washed out into the raging ocean in the middle of the night.

But when the morning came, the stormy night before had long been forgotten and it was back to turquoise tranquil waters and sunny skies with marshmallow clouds.

We spent the days talking, snorkeling, wondering around the resort, staring out into the endless blue horizon and looking down at the colourful fishes swimming freely just inches beneath our feet.

We left Sipadan recharged, exhilarated and vowed to make another trip back in the near future….