The Religious Experience and the Idea

Saturday, September 5, 2015

It all starts with the Saysanas, who were traveling separately from the Lawsons and the Rubergs (as is their usual protocol). Their plane was delayed out of Indianapolis; then they just barely made their connection, only to find out that there were mechanical difficulties and they had to change planes, which created further delays. [Note: from the Lawsons and Rubergs perspectives, the benefits of NOT traveling on the same airlines as the Saysanas continue to pile up.] Despite their difficulties and the smooth airline travel by Lawsons and Rubergs, in the end we arrived in Rome at approximately the same time.

We are staying at the Rose Garden Palace, which is slightly ironic since they have no rose garden, and in fact, no roses at all. It is right across the street from the US Embassy for those of you familiar with Rome city geography. Interestingly, next to our hotel is the Jackie O Ristorante. We are trying to figure out who it is named for (we will get back to you on that when we find out).

After getting settled in our very nice hotel, our main activity consisted of a walk to see the second largest Basilica in Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore. Along the way there were many fountains and churches (900 churches in Rome, and of course, Rome is The City of Fountains). The Basilica was grand (perhaps one of the widest facades of any cathedral Steve has ever seen).

In front of the Basilica we saw what you will never see in the US – armed guards! Inside of the Basilica, perhaps the most striking first observation is the incredibly ornate ceiling with gold gilded paint on floral features. Of course, there are stained glass windows, paintings and mosaics decorating EVERY inch of wall space. The baptistery (off to the back right of the Basilica) was a very large room with a baptismal font of pure bronze the size of two large bathtubs.

We were not allowed in the side chapels (they were gated closed), but the vaulted ceilings that could be seen were decorated with the most amazing ceiling paintings. One was Mary ascending into heaven, and the painted sky was so realistic that it looked like there was no ceiling.

As divine intervention would have it (some call it luck), there was a Saturday evening Mass was happening shortly after we were done walking through the Basilica (6PM). Steve and Debbie decided to attend Mass (what else are Catholics supposed to do in Rome?) while the others decided to go across the street and break bread and drink wine at the café. It should be noted that it was a religious experience for both groups.

We left the Basilica area to walk back to our hotel with the desire to find a nice restaurant along the way for dinner. As we walked, we were most fortunate to stumble across the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica. For those not fluent in English or having any common sense, this translates into the National Institute for Statistics – alas, Steve felt right at home.

We ended up at a wonderful outdoor restaurant called Ristorante Strega. When we asked for a table for six, the waiter there asked if we were Americans. Upon responding in the affirmative, we were quickly ushered to the back of the outdoor seating area where we had a table to ourselves away from the madding crowd. We debated whether we were given this special table because of their fear of the “ugly Americans” or out of respect for the greatest country on earth. Hmmm. We will let the reader decide. By the way, “strega” in Italian means “witch,” and we never figured out why it had such a name. Alas, another restaurant name we will have to get back to you on.

Lastly, throughout the flight to Rome and during our walks and dinner, Tim had a brilliant idea. [Be prepared … get a load of this.] Tim thinks that Steve should give a lecture to the commoners at Old Oakland (sometimes known as the Saturday Noon Golf Group) on the joys, fun and mystery of statistics – you know … all those ‘cool’ things Steve knows that no one else does. Now, Steve is flattered and enamored by the idea to be sure, and he swears he could smother everyone with cleverness. However, a test run of the idea by others in the group brought the following reactions:

              Chan: He better be buying drinks … I mean lots of drinks;

              Michelle: I am busy that night;

              Chris: What?;

              Debbie: Tim, don’t encourage him.

So there you have it. I will let the Saturday Noon Golf Group decide.

And with that, we retired for the evening.

[PS:  Pictures to follow when I can upload them.]