Rome circa 1986

As I plan for my up and coming trip to Rome, I'm feeling nostalgic toward my trip in 1986.  In one of the writing exercises in the GlobeJotting book he suggests going back and journaling about a previous trip.  So I decided to go back and meditate and think about the trip in 1986.

 

28 years ago Rome was a different city, I presume. Trying to remember all the details of something that happened 28 years ago is difficult, but I'll give it the old college try. 

 

Why Rome? Well, TASIS (The American School in Switzerland - the boarding school I attended in 1986/87) has what's called In Program travels twice a year. The first is in the fall and the second in the spring.  The idea behind them is essentially a school sponsored trip. All the details are coordinated by the school so us kids just got on a bus/train and headed out. 

 

I joined TASIS in January 1986 and wasn't familiar with the 'in-pros" and the process to pick where you were going.  There was some talk the first month of potential trips, but nothing serious.  Finally it was "announced" what trips were available for which classes. It seems to me, anyhow, that they broke it out by classes, but maybe not. Rome was an option and I jumped at it.  I didn't know who of my new friends would be joining me on this trip, but I figured at least one or two would. 

 

I have no memory of how we got to Rome, I'm assuming it was via train. I have no real memory of the hotel in Rome. I have no real memory of who all was on this trip.  I have memories of three specific situations and that's all I've got. Oh wait, 4. I have 4 memories. 

 

Now keep in mind we were in Rome for 4 days.  Enough time to create some fantastic memories.  And it was 28 years ago, so I can't be responsible for my lame brain that can't remember everything. Which is why I'm turning to journaling. 

 

I have a total of 6 photos of Rome. None of them am I in. Remember it was 1986 and was WELL before digital cameras. I was a student on a budget and didn't have that much for film. The MomUnit and DadUnit did make sure I went to school with film, but taking photos of everything wasn't the way things were done back then. 

 

So back to the memories. 

 

The first memory is with my friend V. She and I hung out on and off during school and seemed to have the same interests in Rome.  We were walking down a street heading somewhere. V had a clutch purse she had under her left arm.  We had been walking for some time, and were tired. The sun was setting and it was a relatively warm evening.  We were chatting as two high school girls do and weren't really paying much attention to our surroundings.  A moped came screaming toward us and before we knew what was happening we heard a thud. V screamed and hit the floor.  I stopped and helped her up.  We were both stunned and I didn't know what had happened, but V was white as a ghost.  Her left shoulder she said was hurt.  We later figured out that the moped drivers had most likely been stalking us and noticed her clutch purse under her left arm. As the sped past us they made a grab, missed, and knocked V to the floor. She had a mighty bruise on her left shoulder. And we had one heck of a story. 

 

The next memory I have, I'm stunned I have no photos to share.  It involved the Colosseum. I mean Rome and Colosseum go together like peanut butter and chocolate in my book.  Alas, I have no photos of the Colosseum.  I do however, have one heck of a memory.  

 

The Colosseum is 2000 years old.  The school arranged for a private tour that included taking us into spots that the typical public could not access. One of those spots was in what they termed as the lion's den.  Essentially, under the floor of the Colosseum was originally a  maze of corridors and holding cells. Many of the holding cells had lions in them or other wild animals scheduled to fight.  We stood on the gravel and the guide provided us the history of the structure.  You could see everything from our vantage point. The actual floor has long since been destroyed so our vantage point was perfect.  The sun was out and it was warm as we stood listening to the guide.  I remember standing there and thinking of the number of people who had been in the stands all those years ago as well as the number of people who had died in this place. 

 

Part of the In-Program travel we were required to write an essay about a specific location. I chose the Colosseum.  At one point during the tour we stopped and I had to read my essay to the students on this tour with us.  My back was to the floor of the Colosseum and I read historical points to my friends who would have much preferred to be anywhere but there. There were stray cats everywhere in the Colosseum at that time and I had one winding between my legs and remember seeing 3 or 4 of them hanging out with my friends. 

 

From the Colosseum we walked to the Roman Forum.  I stood in amazement looking out over the Forum.  Thousands of years ago people walked these same streets. Could they have imagined what the world would have become?

The Roman Forum

An old structure in the Roman Forum

Another memory has to do with the Trevi Fountain.  We had some free time one evening and were allowed to go and do and see whatever we wanted.  V and I had a cheap dinner and then visited the Trevi Fountain. We both wanted to toss a coin in the fountain to ensure we'd return to Rome someday.  My 17 year old self never would have imagined that I'd be returning to Rome someday. And yet here I am … so guess who's going to the Trevi Fountain again and tossing a coin in the fountain? Ahhhh, this girl.

Ahhh the Trevi Fountain. How I love thee!

My last  memory is of the Vatican.  Our tour was again arranged by the school. I have vague memories of seeing the famous Mary and Jesus statue in St. Peters, but my real memory is of climbing the stairs of the dome to the scenic view it offered. My friend J and I climbed all 300 steps (not sure I can do that today) and were greeted with a breath taking (literally) view of Rome. The air was dirty and heavy, but the view was spectacular.  St. Peter's was going through renovations at the time and I remember complaining to J that I'd have this awful scaffolding in my photos and to this day I see it and cringe.

 

Then I have this random photo of the Pantheon. I don't remember much about visiting the Pantheon or even what it was about. I'm sure I shot this photo while walking around because I thought it was a cool structure. It is a cool structure, and I'm looking forward to visiting it as an adult to appreciate all that it is, and all that's in it.

 

Because of my visit to Rome 28 years ago, I've created a certain amount of anxiety and expectations for this trip. That's another blog for another day. I'm still working out those feelings, thoughts, emotions, etc.