2015.05.15 Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (Rome, Italy)

The couple of hours before the flight back home was spent visiting the beautiful Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore nearby our hotel. My travel companions wanted to rest a bit more, so it was doubly nice to have a moment to myself.

Interesting fact - the basilica is owned and operated by the Vatican and therefore enjoys the same immunity as a foreign embassy.

Piazza del Esquilino

Left: Front Facade, Right: Portico Ceiling

I really enjoyed visiting this church, maybe more so than St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. 

Maybe because it was so early in the morning, but it was indescribably peaceful.

Plus, it didn't hurt that the church was beautiful. I mean, look at those gilded rosettes on the coffered ceiling.

Because this visit was somewhat unexpected, I didn't read ahead. So for the most part, I had no clue what I was looking at, save for the fact that they were beautiful.

It would be great to return better prepared and maybe even take in a guided tour.

Again, because it was still early morning, neither the guided tour or the museum were open. But, I did get to see this - the morning cleaning routine. 

Can't have those marble statues getting dusty and looking grimy now, can we?

Hmm... I wonder how they clean the floors... Would be hysterical if they use a little zamboni-like vehicle while rock music play in the background...

Sorry, what was I talking about?

Anyways.... found out afterwards that this is the church where the great Bernini and his family are buried. DRAT, DRAT, DRAT!!!

Airport Troubles in Rome

The coach bus ride to the airport was smooth as could be. But once we arrived at the airport, that is where the troubles began. When checking in online the previous day, there was a pop-up notice about a fire at the Fiumicino airport that had happened a few days prior causing possible terminal changes. However, our electronic boarding tickets still read terminal three.

When we got to the airport, it was complete chaos. Only when we finally found an available agent who actually knew what was going on, unlike the two we encountered before him, were we informed to go to terminal five using the shuttle.

Seemed simple enough. First thing we saw at terminal five was massive lines in front of a "security check", which was really just agents passing out plastic produce bags for everyone's electronics [feel free to insert your own look of incredulity here]. One bag per electronic item, we were told, including adapter cables. There were people with dozens of bags on their arms, looking very comical. Oh Italians and their germaphobia...

Once we passed the human produce bag dispensers, the check-in counters, the real security checkpoint, found our gate (after another shuttle ride) and had taken our seats on the plane, we thought it would be smooth flying from then on.

How naive we were.

It took another two hours of waiting before we could take off because apparently, the flight schedule was in complete disarray, even days after the fire. Even our pilots' tone of voice sounded like complete disbelief at the famed Italian inefficiency.

And the transat ride back home from the airport was certainly no picnic either, especially when you're already tired and hungry.

I'm so glad to be home.

Even gladder to report that everyone survived the trip and no one was robbed or pick-pocketed or conned.