Today we got up early at three forty-five (ugh), did the last of our packing, and met downstairs. The nuns nicely made us each a parcel of food to take with us. Soon a couple of vans that our guides had ordered came and picked us and our stuff up and took us to the airport. On the drive to the airport I felt sad seeing the scenery of Rome go by for the last time but I was also glad to be going home. The flight back was actually pretty relaxing although it was punctuated by chaos in the airports. When we got back I sleepily greeted my family and went home.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Borghese Museum
Today we went to the Borghese Museum. We saw many beautiful sculptures and paintings but out of all of them there were four in particular sculptures that stood out above all of the rest. they were called David, Apollo and Daphne, Hades and Persephone, and Aeneas. My favorite of these was Apollo and Daphne. The story of Apollo and Daphne is that Cupid shot Apollo with a love arrow making him fall in love with the next person he saw - Daphne. But Daphne did not love him so she ran from him and he chased her. Daphne ran to her father (a river god) with Apollo hot on her heels and begged him to turn her into a tree so that Apollo could not have her. He obliged and the sculpture is of the moment where Apollo embraced her as she simultaneously turned into a tree. And this is part of what makes it so amazing, it seems to be a frozen moment of time. Also the expressions on the people in the sculpture are so realistic that it could almost convince you that this actually happened. Another thing is that the sculpture seems to defy gravity, parts of the sculpture are hanging in ways that I would not have thought possible. some one from my group had to come and fetch me out of the museum to tell me that we had to leave. It almost makes me cry that we weren't allowed to take pictures in there.
Next we ate the lunch that we had bought from the store next to the gift shop and walked back to the convent. There were two cool things in between to convent and the Borghese Museum that we walked through. One was the Spanish Steps. They don't really have any historical value but they are shown in some movies and they lead up to a higher level of the city (physically), there is also a small fountain out front.
The other was a large park. In that park there was green everywhere, the people were laughing, and there were many fountains all around.
During the rest we went to the store were I bought some chocolate, packed (we are leaving tomorrow), went to dinner, and went to the awesome gelato place we had been going to one last time. At this last visit I bought the eight euro cup of gelato again and when it had been filled only to the rim with my requested flavors the guy who was working there picked two random ones and slapped them on.
Next we ate the lunch that we had bought from the store next to the gift shop and walked back to the convent. There were two cool things in between to convent and the Borghese Museum that we walked through. One was the Spanish Steps. They don't really have any historical value but they are shown in some movies and they lead up to a higher level of the city (physically), there is also a small fountain out front.
The other was a large park. In that park there was green everywhere, the people were laughing, and there were many fountains all around.
During the rest we went to the store were I bought some chocolate, packed (we are leaving tomorrow), went to dinner, and went to the awesome gelato place we had been going to one last time. At this last visit I bought the eight euro cup of gelato again and when it had been filled only to the rim with my requested flavors the guy who was working there picked two random ones and slapped them on.
Trevy Fountain and.... Pantheon?
Today we had a free day. we could do whatever we wanted to do, so we didn't get up until ten o'clock and went to a cafe for breakfast. I had a ham and cheese panini and decided to order the hot chocolate again to see what would happen. It was more like regular hot chocolate this time except very thick. Next we walked by the Pantheon again. This time there was a band playing out front and inside people were allowed to walk under the ocular and there was much more light thanks to the bright sun and it was also much less crowded, very nice.
Next we went to the Trevy Fountain. there is a believe around Trevy Fountain that says that if you throw one coin in the fountain you will come back to Rome at some point, if you throw two coins in the fountain you will fall in love, and if you throw three coins in the fountain you will not return to Rome. I don't really believe in that kind of thing though and I was starting to run out money so I did not throw one in.
Next we went and saw the ruins of an ancient Roman theater where Julias Ceaser was rumored to have been murdered. It was in a large hole in the ground with a wall around it. It was also at these ruins where I had my first encounter with the cats of Rome. The cats of Rome are very interesting, they are feral cats but they are just as nice as any house cat. They are fed and sanitized by the city and they will let you walk right up to them and pet them. The little dot that I zoom in on in the video is a cat by the way.
Next we tried to go see a painting that was in a church but there was a huge political rally in the way. there were police there and everything. We tried to get through the crowd at first but soon decided to turn back.
On the way back to the convent we walked by the tomb of Augustus. It was actually nearly overgrown by plants but some restoration work had been started on it. I also found a two euro coin on the street although I did not know it until we got back to the convent because it was really dirty. I used the two euro coin to pay at dinner. I was actually surprised that they took it because a good amount of the dirt would not come off. Speaking of euros, by now my roommate Lane had accumulated a collection of every representation of Italian money from the one cent coin to the twenty euro bill and he let me take a picture of it.
On the way back to the convent we walked by the tomb of Augustus. It was actually nearly overgrown by plants but some restoration work had been started on it. I also found a two euro coin on the street although I did not know it until we got back to the convent because it was really dirty. I used the two euro coin to pay at dinner. I was actually surprised that they took it because a good amount of the dirt would not come off. Speaking of euros, by now my roommate Lane had accumulated a collection of every representation of Italian money from the one cent coin to the twenty euro bill and he let me take a picture of it.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
The Vatican Museum
Today we visited the Vatican Museum, the largest museum in the world. We saw some Egyptian artifacts, many many beautiful Greek/Roman sculptures, the Sistine Chapel, and many paintings from the Renaissance.
There was one painting in particular that was called "the School of Athens". In the center Plato and Aristotle were having an argument over the places where you can find science. And it also had Euclid in it, the person who wrote the books of Euclid's Elements the first of which we were studying in school.
Next we bought lunch from a pizza place next to Campo di Fiori or the field of flowers that sold it by the pound. Campo di Fiori is a small square in Rome with many stands mostly selling produce, very cool.
After dinner I bought the eight euro cup of gelato, much to the joy of the people working there. And before going to bed my room mates Lane and Ian got into an argument over movement according to the center of the universe that lasted nearly two hours. It was very funny to listen to.
There was one painting in particular that was called "the School of Athens". In the center Plato and Aristotle were having an argument over the places where you can find science. And it also had Euclid in it, the person who wrote the books of Euclid's Elements the first of which we were studying in school.
Next we bought lunch from a pizza place next to Campo di Fiori or the field of flowers that sold it by the pound. Campo di Fiori is a small square in Rome with many stands mostly selling produce, very cool.
After dinner I bought the eight euro cup of gelato, much to the joy of the people working there. And before going to bed my room mates Lane and Ian got into an argument over movement according to the center of the universe that lasted nearly two hours. It was very funny to listen to.
Monday, March 29, 2010
The Church of Saint Peter & the Castel San Angelo
The breakfast at the new convent was even more scarce than at the first one. There was only coffee, bread, and packaged sweets. Anyway we went to the Church of Saint Peter today. It was quite amazing, the church is so big that the domed ceiling is big enough to fit seven of the Pantheon's domes. And it was also filled with many beautiful sculptures including one of Peter. Whose toes are actually worn away because of a tradition that started a long time ago of kissing the toe of saint Peter. I am still a little annoyed that there was a five euro charge to climb the five hundred and ten steps to the top and back.
Next we went to the Castel San Angelo, the burial place of the Roman emperor Hadrian. The view from the top was amazing and even better than the Church of Saint Peter's (grrr). It was very cold and windy though so soon everyone started taking shelter in some holes that were against the wall.
Next we went back to the convent where we had the choice of either going out again for coffee or just resting in the convent. I opted for the second choice so I could read some. A very funny thing happened when we went to dinner, we all stopped in the street to vote on where we would go to eat and in the middle of the vote an Italian guy stepped into the circle and raised his hand, it was hilarious. Tonight I found the script to Ian's next school horror movie(he likes horror movies) titled "?!" (awesome title). It was fun to read but I don't like horror movies so I would not like watching it. I also had a small conversation with Lane over my favorite part in the book I had just finished reading "the Masterharper of Pern" before going to bed.
Next we went to the Castel San Angelo, the burial place of the Roman emperor Hadrian. The view from the top was amazing and even better than the Church of Saint Peter's (grrr). It was very cold and windy though so soon everyone started taking shelter in some holes that were against the wall.
Next we went back to the convent where we had the choice of either going out again for coffee or just resting in the convent. I opted for the second choice so I could read some. A very funny thing happened when we went to dinner, we all stopped in the street to vote on where we would go to eat and in the middle of the vote an Italian guy stepped into the circle and raised his hand, it was hilarious. Tonight I found the script to Ian's next school horror movie(he likes horror movies) titled "?!" (awesome title). It was fun to read but I don't like horror movies so I would not like watching it. I also had a small conversation with Lane over my favorite part in the book I had just finished reading "the Masterharper of Pern" before going to bed.
Return to Rome
Today we took another train back to Rome, this time I chose to sit with the guides and a few of my classmates. When we got off of the train we went to the new convent we would be staying in and sorted out our rooms. Next we went to the Pantheon. The Pantheon is the most well preserved ancient Roman building in the world. Its gigantic and has a huge thirty foot wide ocular(intentional hole in the ceiling for light) at the top. Unfortunately no one was allowed to walk directly under the ocular because it had just been raining.
Next we came back to the convent and had some rest time before dinner where I noticed something quite funny. During dinner time in Rome there is often someone standing outside of the restaurant that they work in trying to wave people in. And when our large group walked by you could almost see the cash registers going off in their heads. The person who worked at the restaurant that we stopped at was very happy. As was the guy who worked at the gelato place that we stopped at. Also thanks to some kind of weird holiday that had been going on that weekend all of the girls had been getting into the museums and ancient cities free. So Don bought us all gelato with the extra money.
Also the showers in this last convent are very strange. They are simply shower heads attached to the walls. no tubs or shower curtains or anything.
Next we came back to the convent and had some rest time before dinner where I noticed something quite funny. During dinner time in Rome there is often someone standing outside of the restaurant that they work in trying to wave people in. And when our large group walked by you could almost see the cash registers going off in their heads. The person who worked at the restaurant that we stopped at was very happy. As was the guy who worked at the gelato place that we stopped at. Also thanks to some kind of weird holiday that had been going on that weekend all of the girls had been getting into the museums and ancient cities free. So Don bought us all gelato with the extra money.
Also the showers in this last convent are very strange. They are simply shower heads attached to the walls. no tubs or shower curtains or anything.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Underneath Naples
Today we did not need to leave the hotel until ten thirty, a nice change. When we did leave we found our lunch along the streets of Naples. I got a miniature pizza, a panini filled with the other parts of a pizza, and some things that Don recommended that were basically fried mashed potatoes. Next we went on the Naples underground tour. There is in fact an ancient Roman city under sixty percent of Naples. But the tour itself was rather short because it would cost to much to buy up that much private property for excavation. But we did get to see part of an ancient Roman theater where the crazy emperor Nero had once tried to play every part in several plays for an entire day. And he also locked everyone in and forced them to clap. However there were two nobles who got away by faking their deaths and having their slaves carry them out on stretchers.
After the tour we got on a subway and headed to the port of Naples where we got to "get in" the Mediterranean (as in touch it, it was cold that day).
On the way back to the hotel we stopped by a cafe where I ordered some hot chocolate and was surprised when they served me literal melted chocolate in a cup. It tasted good though, and they gave me some tiny little pastries to dip in it. I finally found some reasonably priced pasta at dinner tonight and when we got back to the hotel Linda surprised us with a small chocolate cake to share.
After the tour we got on a subway and headed to the port of Naples where we got to "get in" the Mediterranean (as in touch it, it was cold that day).
On the way back to the hotel we stopped by a cafe where I ordered some hot chocolate and was surprised when they served me literal melted chocolate in a cup. It tasted good though, and they gave me some tiny little pastries to dip in it. I finally found some reasonably priced pasta at dinner tonight and when we got back to the hotel Linda surprised us with a small chocolate cake to share.
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