While visiting the catacombs on the Appian Way, it is worth taking a few minutes to step into the Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Piante (Church of St. Mary in Palmis), otherwise known as Chiesa del Domine Quo Vadis.
Having heard of this church, I wasn’t aware of it’s location near the catacombs. After our visit to San Callixtus, our tour guide recommended the short walk to visit this holy site. Located about 800 meters from the St. Sebasian Gate, Quo Vadis is a small baroque-style church built on the site, according to the bible, in which St. Peter met Jesus while St. Peter was fleeing persecution in Rome. Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, where are you going?” (Latin: Domine, quo vadis?) Jesus answered, “I am going to Rome to be crucified again”.
A marble slab is on display at the center of the church. A copy of the original, which is kept in the nearby Basilica of San Sebastiano fuori le mura, the slab contains the imprint of what is believed to be Jesus’ feet. Considered to be a miraculous sign, the footprints are what gave the church its name…palmis refers to the soles of the feet.
Prior to 1845, there was an inscription above the front door on the church’s façade which said, “Stop your walking traveler and enter this sacred temple in which you will find the footprint of our Lord Jesus Christ when He met with St. Peter who escaped from the prison. An alms for the wax and the oil is recommended in order to free some spirits from Purgatory”. Pope Gregory XVI found the advertising tone of the inscription very inappropriate and ordered its removal.
In this small church, you will also see a bust of Henryk Sienkiewicz, the Polish author of the famous historical fiction novel Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero which was published in 1886. It is said that Sienkiewicz was inspired to write his novel while sitting in this church.
In 1983, Pope John Paul II defined the chapel as “a place that has a special importance in the history of Rome and in the history of the church”.
After your visit to Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Piante it is an easy return to Rome. Step outside of the church; the bus stop (#118 and #218) to Rome is located immediately to the right.
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In Amsterdam, many years ago, on December 5, the hotel staff advised my crew to leave our shoes in the hall that night.
“Why?” we asked. “Because Sinterklaas is coming tonight and he will leave treats in your shoes,” they replied.
I learned two lessons that night. First, leaving your shoes in the hall can result in one or both missing in the morning…probably another spiteful flight attendant…definitely not Sinterklaas. The other, is that some of the Netherlands’ Christmas traditions are a bit different than ours.
Over the years, I acquired much knowledge on Dutch traditions while visiting Amsterdam during the Christmas holidays. Children leave out their shoes on December 5, the night before the feast of Saint Nicholas, in anticipation of Sinterklaas’ arrival. He rides on the roofs of their houses on his horse and his helper, Black Peter, shimmies down the chimney, leaving presents and candy in their shoes.
On one of my first trips, while shopping for a unique piece to add to my Santa Claus collection, I was introduced to Black Peter, by a Christmas Shop owner in the Flower Market. Black Peter, or Zwarte Piet, is the companion of Saint Nicholas. He is attired in colorful Renaissance attire and is portrayed as a blackamoor, a Moor from Spain. He is the helper of Sinterklaas and children are told that he keeps a book of all of the things that the children have done all year, good and bad. Good children receive presents from Sinterklaas. Bad children are put into Black Peter’s sack and taken back to Spain in order to be taught lessons on how to behave.
I loved the idea of adding something different to my collection and purchased him immediately. This has become one of my favorite pieces…one that I share the story of with my children each year. Additionally, I have visited de Bijenkorf’s department store many times to see the mechanical Zwarte Piets climb festive ropes up and down in the main hall and to take pictures with Zwarte Piet!
Dutch tradition dictates, I later learned, that Sinterklaas arrives on the second Saturday of November. Hailing from Madrid, Spain, every year he chooses a different harbor to arrive in Holland, so as many children as possible get a chance to see him. He arrives on a steam boat with many Zwarte Piet and dressed in his red robes, leads a procession through the town, riding his white horse, Amerigo.
In Amsterdam, which hosts one of the largest parades in the Netherlands, Sinterklaas’ entrance into the city is by sailing down the Amstel River. The route through the city is past the Nieuwe Amstelbrug, Torontobrug, the Hoge Sluis by the Royal Theatre Carré and the Magere Brug. The waterborne parade ends at the Scheepvaartmuseum (Maritime Museum) where he is welcomed by the Mayor of Amsterdam. Here, his boat is traded for his white horse, Amerigo and the parade continues through the streets. After arriving at Dam Square, a special musical program is kicked off for kids of all ages. When the musical progam is complete, he continues on through the Rokin, Muntplein, Rembrandtplein, Utrechtsestraat and Weteringcircuit until he reaches the last stop on his tour, the Leidseplein. Here, Sinterklaas delivers a special message to his smallest fans from the balcony of the Stadsschouwburg.
Last year, I was present for Turn on the Lights in Dam Square…the lighting of the facade of de Bijenkorf, followed by a magical theatrical show, but somehow, for all the time I have spent in Amsterdam, I had never managed to be there for Sinterklaas’ arrival.
For the first two weekends of November, this year, I was happily in Amsterdam. I always prepare, beforehand, what I will do on my layovers. None of the activities I had researched alluded to anything special occurring in Amsterdam on the second weekend, although I had realized that I was going to miss the Turn on the Lights celebration after seeing workers set up some of the equipment in Dam Square.
On our first day, we had ventured into the city, but we had set aside our second day for plans to introduce our newest co-pilot to a good old fashioned bike ride into the countryside, followed by lunch. The wind and blowing rain that morning dictated otherwise.
Grabbing our umbrellas and abandoning our bikes, we decided to try and salvage the day. My friend, Jeana, and I jumped on the hotel van to head into the city. Our tentative plan was to head to the train station and see if any trains were heading to cities that we may have been interested in visiting.
While traveling to the city center, the van driver suddenly made an announcement that the streets were being closed and it was now not possible to make it to our drop off point. After turning around, he began heading back towards our hotel and the nearby ferry so that we could cross over to the train station.
Before exiting the van, we asked the driver why the roads were closed and we were informed that Sinterklaas was arriving!
Making our way from the ferry, through the train station to the main road, we headed down the barricaded avenue of Damrak. Not knowing when the parade would begin, we decided to have a quick lunch. Here, the owners of the restaurant, informed us that Sinterklaas usually arrived, at this location, just after one o’clock. After our lunch, we ventured over to the avenue and staked our claim against the barricade. It was raining and windy and we began questioning if it was worth braving the abhorrent weather. We decided “yes”, each time the rain tapered off, only to have it start again with huge wind gusts that flipped our umbrellas inside out!
Photo by Jeana Sager
Eventually, we noticed a few of the locals pointing down the street toward Dam Square. From the nearby clock tower, four Zwarte Pieten were rappeling down the side, just over Damrak. We left our prime spots and luckily found positions that were equal in ease of viewing the parade. Watching the Zwarte Pieten jump around on the walls of the tower mitigated the misery of the steady drizzle that continued to fall. Finally, two Black Peters rollerbladed on by! We knew the parade was going to begin soon!
The parade, like many others, consisted of many floats, marching bands and dancers. This one, however, contained many Black Peters! Black Peters riding on and driving the floats. Black Peters marching and playing in the band. Black Peters dancing, rollerblading and riding bikes. Black Peters handing out flags and kruidnoten, gingersnap-like cookies. I have never seen so many Black Peters!
OK, I admit…I was so elated that I pretty much reverted to being a hyperactive, enthusiastic child, all but demanding that one kindly Black Peter give me a flag…which they were mainly handing out to children. I accepted lots of kruidnoten…and ate every last bit. And, I coerced more than one Black Peter to take a picture with me!
When Sinterklaas was spotted coming down the street, I was excited and eager to wave and take his picture, but his appearance was so fleeting, that I was once again distracted by my favorites, the Zwarte Pieten.
Sadly, the parade was over as quickly as it had begun. Officials promptly removed the barricades and people, cars, bicycles and trams, once again, filled the streets. Spilled kruidnoten and a few discarded “Welkom Sinterklaas” littered the sidewalks until city workers shuffled in cleaning behind the procession. The most important thing that was left, however, was excitement! Sinterklaas had arrived! He had been greeted by the mayor of Amsterdam and officially been welcomed into the city by the Dutch and the many visitors to the city. The Christmas season had begun!
Check out more pictures on my Facebook page, Snapping the Globe.
Once we indulged our appetites, we got a little bit of sleep. I knew that we wanted to be at the tour desk when it first opened so that we might have a chance to book a tour to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, something neither Nicki nor I had done on our previous trips.
As tired as I was, my internal clock must have coaxed me awake, because at 7:00 am, my eyes opened wide.
I quickly dressed and went downstairs. Since we had not booked twenty four hours in advance, we were unable to book the official Floating Market “Tour”, but we were informed that we could book a private car, longtail boat and tour to the market. Much better!
Quickly we dressed and returned downstairs to meet our driver, whom we had been informed, was to leave by 9:00 am.
Because it was a national holiday, Chulalongkom Day (the king’s birthday), traffic was horrendous. A trip that would have taken one and a half hours, took three and a half.
Finally, we arrived at the floating market and were escorted onto our boat.
Driving through the canals, we had a taste of local life. Many houses were built on stilts and some were connected by pier walkways. As usual, the friendly locals met our passing with beautiful smiles and enthusiastic waves.
A stop at the Coconut Sugar Farm gave us insight into how…actually, I am not going to make this up. I have no idea what they do here, besides sell souvenirs and give out free samples of a coconut drink.
On we drove, stopping locals in their boats for various food items, and stopping at market stalls along the way. Nicki and Angie snagged some clothing items and carvings…since I have been craving Thai food, I had more Pad Thai and then, coconut ice cream! It was more delicious than the last time I had it!
Because we had arrived so late, some stalls were closed and there were not as many boat vendors in the canals. Still, it was an amazing experience!
After leaving the main area of the floating market, we then went for a visit to Wat Prok Charoen buddhist temple and returned to the dock for our drive back to Bangkok.
