Memorial Day Ceremony in Margraten

Disclaimer:I want to warn you the blog you are about to read was written by me, Ben. Ellen has taken sometime off from blogging tonight. She apologizes to all of her regular fans and promises that she will return soon with what all of you have come to love and enjoy.

On Sunday I got the distinct pleasure of getting tasked to volunteer to be in the Memorial Day Ceremony at the Margraten American Cemetery. So, one of the few long weekends I get soon turned into a short weekend. It is all good though. I actually freely volunteered because I would have been going to the ceremony anyways. As you may know Ellen and I both have great uncles that are buried in this cemetery. I thought it was only right that I pay my respects and give up a few hours on Saturday and Sunday.



We actually really lucked out. Sunday ended up being the only semi-nice day out of the whole weekend. NO RAIN! and a little bit of sunshine. YEA!! The weather was beautiful and there were a whole lot of people there to pay their respects. According to the organizers it is the largest Memorial Day Ceremony in all of Europe.


I could go into all of the details of the ceremony however, I don't think that is necessary. It was much like other memorial ceremonies you have been to. This one had speeches (only in multiple languages), it had high ranking Generals (from multiple countries), it had wreaths (from multiple countries), it had songs (in multiple languages) and it had two flybys (from multiple countries).


It was a very nice ceremony and I am very glad that I took the opportunity to participate.

After an underwhelming week in Latina, we hopped back on the train for the short trip up to Rome.

Rome was big. Rome was old. Rome was full of tourists. Guidebook-carrying, camera-wielding tourists as far as the eye could see. I'm not kidding. Check out this picture from the Piazza de Spagna. If you look down the street in the middle of the photo, you can see the sea of people pushing along. And this was when it wasn't very crowded.


We did Rome the way we did Paris - by foot and hitting as many sights as we possibly could. We had planned on taking the metro each day to the general area we wanted to see, but on our first day we found out that the metro is not as efficient and reliable as the one in Paris.

Our hotel was very nice and a good price, but it was not exactly anywhere near the center of Rome. So each day we paid a couple euros to take the hotel shuttle into the city where it would drop us off and then return at a specified time. On our first day we decided to get the late shuttle back to the hotel, the one that picks up at 10:30 p.m., so we could enjoy a little touristy nightlife. In the morning, after the shuttle dropped us off, we figured out how to take the metro and quickly made it to the Piazza de Spagna.


Then we wandered and wandered and wandered all day. Saw the Pantheon...

and the Fountain of Trevi...

and the Piazza dei Fiori...

And finally made it back to the Piazza de Spagna, where we sat on the Spanish Steps and drank some wine and watched people.


We had planned on leaving at about 9:30 to take the metro back to the train station where the hotel shuttle would collect us. Plenty of time to make it back, right? A whole hour! We ended up lingering at the Spanish Steps until 9:45, and then we pulled ourselves away and trudged back down into the metro's tunnel. After we had walked a bit in the underground corridor, we came to the sign that said "Ai Treni/To the Trains". And underneath it? A big metal grate that had been pulled across the corridor, closing it off. Uhhh, what? The metro is closed? Like, no trains? Of course, there was no explanation either, so Ben and I just looked at each other and said, "I guess we better walk fast, huh?".

And with that, we took off walking as fast as humanly possible because the 10:30 p.m. shuttle is the last one back to the hotel, and taking a taxi to the hotel would cost enough that we budget travelers wouldn't be eating for the next couple days. So there we were, walkingwalkingwalking. And you know what? It didn't actually take that long. In fact, we made such good time that we stopped for a quick photo at the Place de la Republica.


After that, we were a little disenchanted with Rome's public transportation and our confidence in our walking ability was bolstered. So, we walked. Everywhere.

Like to the Colosseum...


Down random streets...

Saint Peter's Basilica...


...just to name a few.

We walked so much that by the last day I had a blister on the tip of my pinky toe, and muscles so sore I was hobbling around for days afterward.

Rome was nice, and definitely very old and impressive, but more than once we found ourselves comparing it to Paris. And Paris just has better pastries, not to mention a more reliable metro.