My Feet Hurt

Yesterday I decided to be completely Italian for the day and wear heels. (The beautiful brown heels Gramma Bear bought me for my 16th birthday that I still wear and love! Thank you Gramma!) I felt classy and on top of the world as I walked to school with the tapping of ancient stones accompanying my step.

My feet began to hurt a bit as I walked to Termini where I was meeting a new friend who was going to speak with me only in Italian. I was hoping we would find someplace to sit a chat, but he had planned a tour of his favorite sites. We spent the next FOUR HOURS walking all around Rome. I won’t go into much detail. Partially because you would be bored with all the street names I would throw at you and partially because the pain is still too fresh. I just wanted to cry. It was difficult to speak and think in Italian as my feet throbbed with every step. The stones I had once loved where now my enemies, as each step was dangerously treacherous. Each stone so small; so bumpy; so angled. I just kept praying my feet and ankles wouldn’t give out.

After the tour it took me twice as long to get to the train station because I had to stop about every ten steps and suck in the pain. I would have gladly taken off my heels and walked barefoot if it hadn’t been for the nice pair of tights I was wearing. Biting my lip and holding in tears I slowly limped to the train station and slumped into the first available seat.

At home I sat on the edge of my bed and found my feet covered in five blisters; one blister as big as a nickel. And my feet started bleeding. It was not a pretty sight. I cared for my feet and then winced in pain as I pulled my tennis shoes on over two pair of socks. Walking to the car to pick up the girls and driving to school was painful.

As long as I live I will never forget about yesterday. It will be a while before I do that again.

My First Disappointment

Ever since I heard about the oculus (which for all of my etymology friends means ‘eye’ in Latin) in the roof the Pantheon I was filled with questions. What happens when it rains? Where does all the water go? Is there a drainage system in the floor?

I had to find the answers to these questions. I promised myself I would go to the Pantheon when it was raining and see for myself. I had imagined a beautifully romantic scene in which I would stand under the oculus stretching my arms toward the sky and feel the raindrops poor down my face. Of course, in this moment there would be only two or three other tourists in the Pantheon and I would have all the time in the world to bask in the warm droplets.

That is not what happened.

A few days ago I was in the city center when it started raining; I knew exactly where I would go. I maneuvered my way around the crowds of people trying to buy umbrellas and rethink their day in Rome. As I rounded the corner and the Pantheon came into view I was disappointed to find there was still a crowd of people. Regardless, I excitedly walked up to the Pantheon and stepping inside the dome took a deep and eager breath and then opened my eyes expecting to see a waterfall of rain. I didn’t see any rain. There was a crowd toward the middle of the pantheon gathered around the oculus looking up at tiny specks…at dust…at misquotes. It did not look like rain. Certainly not the big droplets I had imagined.

(This is a good picture of the rain in the Pantheon. Can you see anything?)

To my further dismay the ground beneath the oculus had been chained off. I was tempted to climb over the chain anyway just to fulfill my dream but then I saw the guard keenly watching the crowd. Better not to make a scene. So there I was, stuck on the other side of a chain looking at puddles of water on a marble floor. I couldn’t even clearly see the rain hitting the floor.

The oculus was so high up that by straining one’s eyes they would only barley see the water falling in. The ground was wet and piles of water were beginning to form, but it was not magical. It was cold. Wet. Stuffy. Chained off. The floor became a muddy mess. People started to slip. Not my dream.

It was altogether quite disappointing.

Tip for travelers: When you go to Rome visit the Pantheon when it is sunny.