When You Could Use Some Prior Knowledge

Now that I’ve returned from my trip to Rome, I’ve been combing through my photos {all 3,123 of them}, trying to pinpoint exactly what I took pictures of. 


I recognize the major landmarks, of course, like the Colosseum and Vatican, but it’s the neighborhoods and fountains and piazzas I can't always identify.

Even though I carried a tiny notebook in my purse to jot down names and places, I soon realized it was impossible to pull out a pen and paper while following our tour-guide-host, juggling my camera and snapping photos. 

So I never once wrote anything down.

It was all I could to keep a grip on my bag, dangle my camera off my other arm and not twist an ankle as I kept an eye on the uneven cobblestone streets.

I took a lot of photos of churches too, that I'm not sure of.

There's one around every corner in Rome, and it seems as if half of them have Santa Maria as part of their name.

Some churches had their names above the door {although in Latin or Italian} which helped since I could snap a photo to remember. Some churches had cute little gift shops where I could buy a postcard or bookmark. 

But most names of the churches in my photos are still a mystery to me and it's going to take some research to figure out exactly where I've been.

I've been rereading my guidebook, scouring the library's history and travel sections, and ordering books on Amazon.

Which seems as if I'm going about this whole thing a little backwards since I should have spent more time gathering knowledge about Rome before I got there, not after my visit.

To cut myself some slack, I did do some reading -- since I'm a planner at heart -- but even six months to prepare was just not enough time for me to conquer all there was to know about Rome.

Like the little elephant statue I'd never heard of.

On our last day in Rome, the foodie-tour-group-host told us to meet her at the elephant statue for our farewell coffee. 

Elephant statue? I looked at her blankly. I hadn't come across an elephant statue the entire week.

You can’t miss it, she said. It’s quite famous.

She said this about nearly everything in Rome. {And it's true, of course.} 

But not knowing about the elephant statue only reinforced the idea that I should have spent more time learning about what I was going to see.

{Especially when I shot dozens of photos inside a building I thought was the Pantheon -- that's it below -- only to discover I was in a nearby church instead.}

So when I finally located the piazza and saw the elephant up close, I thought it was rather unimpressive. 

I thought it would be bigger. Kids were running around it and tourists were resting on its base.

But now I feel a little sheepish since the elephant statue is actually more than a little famous. It was created by the Renaissance sculptor Bernini in the 1600s, and it was all over the news just six months ago.

Vandals damaged the 350-year-old elephant by breaking off one of its tusks, and Romans were understandably indignant.

It’s been repaired now, but had I known, I would have taken a closer look. 

So last week the book I ordered from Amazon about Bernini and his elephant statue arrived.

I added it to my stack of books on Rome growing ever taller on my dining room table, and hoped that it will give me some insight on remembering the tourist spots in my travel photos.

I've heard, after all, that an elephant never forgets. 

I'm having coffee with Holley Gerth at Coffee for your Heart.