We leave for London now.
I am going to miss Roma.
I’m considering perhaps living here at some point, only I’m afraid my skin wouldn’t hold up. If I wear head scarves, long sleeves, and invest in S.P.F. 60+, though, I may be able to make it work. J
We began the day out at the Villa Borghese, in the north of the city. This pretty area is a vast park-like place, with ponds, a horse track, restaurants, and the occasional museum at the edge. We took a boat out on a pond and chased large fish and ducks and turtles. You could spend a whole day at the Villa, especially if you go to the Galleria, which has some of the greatest artistic masterworks in Rome. The landscape alters as you walk about the gardens, woods, hills, and ponds, and periodically you will come across a temple or a statue or a fountain in varying degrees of preservation.
Next, we headed to the Crypt of the Capuchins, also known as the Bones of the Brothers. This is the Crypt beneath St. Mary ----. All the decorations are made from the bones of members of the Capuchini order. There are a few full skeletons, and many other intricate designs made from various bones. The Crypt is like nothing I, or any of my peers, had seen before. It was intense and highlighted mortality in a truly unique way. It almost made the idea of death beautiful, which I think was kind of the point. There was a sign in the last chapel which said, “What you are now we once were; what we are now you will become.”
The trip is not even close to being over yet, but the Rome part of our journey is nearing its close. We have all become so familiar and comfortable here. I think as excited as everyone is to see London, we are all a little verklempt to say goodbye to this extraordinary city.
