Saturday morning. 5:30 am. Cue us (me, Liz and Jessica with a crutch for her severely sprained ankle) trying to leave the apartment, actually leaving at like 5:45, and almost being late. We were the last ones on the bus. But hey, we made it! The bus ride was uneventful. I slept for about an hour and then I kept dozing on and off. I woke up once we started driving into Rome and I got really excited. I was not disappointed - Rome is beautiful. Pictures do not do it justice. So once we started driving through the historical part of Rome, I got really excited. We passed pretty much every monument you can drive by in a charter bus (including Castel Angelo - LIKE FROM ANGELS AND DEMONS - but we didn't get to stop there) and ended up right around the Colosseum, our first stop that day. We got to walk around the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine for about an hour, before we headed over to the Forum. Jessica was such a trooper, but having to stay with her did slow us down a bit. So in the Forum, we only got to see the Palatine Palace ruins before we had to go back down to grab a quick sandwich from a street vendor and get back on the bus to go to the Vatican. It's so weird, you study all these monuments in school over and over again and it's so strange to be able to see them in person and walk around them and touch them!! It also makes the history much more interesting, which is an impressive feat for me.
Arch of Constantine
Colosseum
More Colosseum
Me!
Palatine Palace Ruins
Me!
After that, we went over to the Vatican to take our guided tour. I feel like we spent forever there yet I didn't nearly have enough time to see everything. The Sistine Chapel was incredible - I could have stayed there for literally an hour without moving. Raphael's rooms were also incredible - I've studied these paintings and there they are, just hanging out on the wall. The Galleries - incredible. Literally from the ceiling to the floor, it was covered in art. The Gallery of Maps was also really cool - subjective maps of Italy, radical. And of course, St. Peter's Basilica and Square. The nerd inside me almost jumped for joy upon seeing it - I loved Angels and Demons and watching mass from St. Peter's. Naturally, I also don't think I had enough time here but it's huge. It's gorgeous, Bernini is becoming one of my favorite sculptors. And the Pieta by Michelangelo is just unfairly good. He made that when he was 24 - it was the only work he signed. It shines like it's almost made of glass, truly breathtaking. It's easy to see how people could be overcome by the glory of God when walking into places like this. Of course, my entire tour of the Vatican was...altered by one simple fact: The tour guide thought Jessica needed a wheelchair. So yes, I pushed Jessica around the Vatican. So this also limited by art-seeing capabilities. Of course, I didn't mind. I know I'll be back to the Vatican at some point. So yes, I loved it. Yes, I'll be back. Yes, I'm re-reading Angels and Demons (shut up, my inner nerd is very excited about this).
Gallery of the Maps - hopefully you can see how detailed and awesome the ceiling is
Hopefully you can tell but it's Graffiti done by German mercenaries when they invaded the Vatican
Just one of the SUPER FAMOUS artworks just hanging around in the Vatican
Nave at San Pietro
Pieta
St Peter's Square (or at least as much of it as I could fit in a photo)
Facade of San Pietro with yours truly
Stone where the second Cardinal was killed in Angels and Demons (yes I spent a good portion of this trip going, "Remember this from Angels and Demons?!" Again, shut up.)
After our tour of the Vatican, we finally checked into the hotel and were on our own for dinner and the night. Originally, we were planning on going sightseeing at night...no. We went to this small ristorante the hotel recommended, where I had spaghetti carbonara (which was delicious but super heavy so I couldn't eat too much of it) and then we promptly returned to the hotel to get in the bed and go to sleep. It actually took me awhile to fall asleep because I was so hot and I couldn't get the covers situated the way I wanted them, but eventually, I managed to drift off into a deep sleep only to be rudely awakened at 7:15 the next morning. We had breakfast at the hotel (nothing too special - had some peaches though), packed up our stuff, and got back on the bus to be dropped off for our walking tour of Rome.
Dinner
Our beds were so close we were basically sharing a queen bed. Lucky we're already roommates.
Our walking tour included Piazza Navona (with the Four Rivers Fountain), the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Vittoriale and the Trajan Column. My favorites were definitely the Trevi Fountain and the Vittoriale. Both of them just immediately took my breath away and are so much more impressive in person. Of course, it was beautiful and incredible and mind blowing. The Pantheon was built BEFORE CHRIST. They had figured out how to make a dome sit on top of something without collapsing before Christianity came into practice. It's just mind-boggling. Of course, I needed more time at each place, but with only two days, you have to move fast.
Me with the Four Rivers Fountain
Pantheon
Street vendors make and sell roasted chestnuts...I think they do it a lot better than when we tried at Christmas
Trevi Fountain
Me throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain (and yes I did actually throw a coin into, I didn't just put my hand in the air)
Me and the Spanish Steps
One of the oldest cafes in Europe - something like 250 years
Vittoriale
It was some South American festival thing so there were all these dancers in the Piazza
Me
More Vittoriale - it's hard to capture just how huge it is but it's incredible
Finally, after our walking tour, it was time for our Roman lunch. Five courses: bruschetta with veggies, spicy tomato pasta, pasta with mushrooms, peas and prosciutto, eggplant parmesan and of course, tiramisu. My favorites were the pastas, especially the mushroom one. With a nice cream sauce, it was delicious. After our lunch we took a tour through one of the Catacombs. It was pretty interesting actually, to think about how much our burial practices have changed. Also that there are all these tunnels with dead people running under the city...creepy. After our tour, it was time to go back to Firenze, so we got on the bus where a rainbow waved goodbye as we left Rome.
Penne alla arrabbiata
Pasta alla Monteruzzo
Stairs into the Catacombs
Hallway
Goodbye Rome rainbow
After sleeping another hour on the bus, we arrived back in Firenze around 8:15 and had to stop and get photos taken for our Permit of Stay appointments today...blergh. Luckily, it was pretty easy, it was just annoying and a hassle. After getting back to the apartment, I took a shower, did my homework and collapsed into bed.
This morning (hah I'm finally caught up to today!), I had my fingerprinting appointment. All in all, it went fine. Although, I don't know why the woman explained it all to me in Italian when I clearly did not speak Italian but tutto bene. Maybe I'll actually get the permit before I leave (doubtful). Let's see, then class, market, META, lunch, "studying" for cooking class and then actual cooking class. Our teacher is getting better but still, I miss Marco. Today we made a saffron rice risotto, breaded veal cutlets and an almond cake. And I do have pictures!
Veal and risotto
Cake and dessert wine (not as good as the Vin Santo and cantuccini but still)
After class, I came home, did homework and am about to publish this and go to bed. Finally.
Ciao!!
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