A Roma: Day Two

After arriving back at the hotel I packed up my things and headed downstairs for breakfast where I met up with my two favorite roommates and Mr. Nero. I got to recount my morning adventures over a croissant and pear with a glass of multifruit juice! When I told Mr. Nero that I had tried to find the Caravaggio church he said he would've told me the way if I had let him know earlier! It's too bad that I hadn't resolved to see them on my own earlier than the previous evening!

In short time we were told that the bus had arrived and we had to board it to go to the Vatican Museums. We were lucky to have group reservations, otherwise we would've had to have braved the line that stretched as least 10 blocks away. I have no idea how long these people would have to wait before getting into the museum... at least 3 hours certainly... at the very least. I wished I had taken more pictures--that line was crazy!



Inside I was able to take pictures of many things... but our main point of interest was trekking to the Rafael rooms and the Sistine Chapel.





It felt like it took forever, but when we got to the room with the famous "School of Athens" I looked over my shoulder and saw this!:


Michelangelo, my man! It was incredibly fortunate for him to be the first thing I saw when gazing upon the famous room.



Shortly after we were escorted to the Sistine Chaper, where we were no longer allowed to take photos. It was the highlight of my trip and better than I had imagined it to be! I only wish that the other tourists there would have been more considerate... it truly felt like a desecration and detriment to the chapel. I tried to block them out as best I could and admire the amazing work of Michelangelo. We stayed for 20 minutes, which was just not long enough, and exited out into Saint Peter's Square.


We were let loose for a short while until we met up with Mr. Nero for a short tour of the inside of St. Peter's Basilica, the largest Christian Church in the world!

Inside, I saw Michelangelo's Pieta, Bernini's large bronze canopy above the high altar, St. Peter's tomb, St. Peter's Cathedra, the housings for the relics and many many wall tombs! Here are some pictures from the interior.





After St. Peter's we were let free for lunch. Unfortunately we had no idea where to go, but a short walk away there was a decently priced diner and gelateria with ample seating, and it won our choice.


Afterwards we had some extra time so I took pictures around St. Peter's square.




We met at the obelisk at St. Peters and made a short trip to some catacombs just a short distance away from the outskirts of Rome. There were no bones in these catacombs, just dark, dank and deep underground with various small cubby holes where bodies had once been entombed. The little section we walked through was just a very small portion of the entire complex... these catacombs stretched for 11 miles under the surface! Since we were closest to the opening we saw the graves that had been subject to grave robbers who had sold the bones they found as relics to the local churches. Our guide was German and very knowledgeable and friendly. No pictures were allowed there either.

After finishing at the catacombs we got back on the bus again and headed for Florence... tired as ever! Although we had really spent only a day in a half in Rome, it had felt like a week away from "home."

I took some pictures of the surroundings on the way back.

Art Quest alle Roma

This morning (Saturday) I got up super early--at 7 am--to embark on a quest to see art! I was supposed to do it with one of my roommates but when she didn't make it to our proposed meeting place by 10 after I went out exploring on my own. (I love the morning pictures because they are so remarkable absent of tourists!)



I passed by the Pantheon and first tried to locate a church with two large (and very famous) works by Caravaggio. Unfortunately the maps provided to us featured intersections that didn't exist, so I found myself walking around in circles! After a short time I gave up, but it was still a long enough time spent looking for it that I wasn't able to go further down and see the street where Caravaggio killed a man. It would have just been a fun art historical thing to do and say I've done... : /

When I came up empty handed in my Caravaggio quest I moved onto Michelangelo! One of his lesser known sculptures "Risen Christ" was located in a church right beside the Pantheon. I didn't take any pictures because some of the priests in the church were doing prayers at an altar that was nearby, and I thought it would've been inappropriate, ce la vie! I still got to see it!

The last work I had wanted to see was the St. Theresa that I and Marybeth had tried to see the previous day, so I held tight to my water bottle and made the long trek across the city once again!


I stopped at an "Area Sacra"--a location of ancient Roman ruins. This one was particularly notable because it had become known as the "cat sanctuary." Hundreds of strays call these ruins home and there are some ladies that take care of them here. Another interesting story about this area is that it is in close proximity to the area where Julius Caesar was killed, in fact it is located in the piazza between the two peach colored buildings!




I also stopped to pet a kitty! He looks meaner than he was. He was trying to ignore me at first but when I ignored him was when he decided it was time for some attention!
Here are some interesting sights from the walk up to the Bernini church!











And then I finally made it! My prize? "St. Theresa in Ecstasy" by Bernini and a remarkably dramatic church interior. I did get to take pictures of these! Sorry if some are blurry, but the trompe l'oile is amazing!






After I finished in the church, I had to make the long trip back down to meet with the rest of the group at the hotel--all of whom were just beginning their day, whereas I had just made a good day's journey!

A Night in the Eternal City

Warning: This entry not to be read while hungry! : )

For dinner our entire group stopped by a fancy sit down restaurant (I'm not sure of the name) and had a large traditional Italian dinner with apertif, primi piatti, secondi piatti, insalade and dessert!



Primi piatti was spaghetti and marinara sauce (the first spaghetti I've had since being here).


Second piatti (or the main course) was delicious! It was cooked pork with cheese and bacon on top, marinated in a sauce that was similar to chicken bouillon.


We received our salad and insalade at the same time. The salad was okay, a little strong for my tastes, the other plate was filled with fried things! Fried artichoke, mozzarella balls (PS: the mozzarella is really different here... very wet and usually immersed in water), riso balls and other fried vegetables.


I think only one person liked the dessert. It was some sort of flan cake covered in a sweet sauce... but not sweet enough. After trying some and waiting awhile I looked around and everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing I was... it's the first thing I've had here that I haven't liked!

Believe it or not, I've mistakenly ordered a tripe sandwich on two occasions and liked it--meanwhile its a gallette (cake) that is the only thing that hasn't lived up to expectation! I find that very funny... especially because all of the sweets here have been delicious.


After dinner the professors took us for a walk to the Trevi fountain. On the way we passed a few landmarks, but many of them were under constructions, including Bernini's "Four Rivers" which was impossible to make out through the scaffolding.



The Trevi Fountain has a more mystical and romantic air to it at night. It definitely seems to possess magic. Mr. Nero gave me a great description of what was going on in the fountain (meaning, symbolism, etc.) and I left that evening having a much greater appreciation for it!




And I threw a coin in!