Yesterday was probably my favorite day in terms of the sites we saw as a whole. We visited the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel.

There were sooo many fascinating art pieces in the Vatican museum. I wish we had had more time to really look at everything. However, even with our time restraints, it was still a great trip.

We had an interesting start to the day however, as our art professor nearly got us kicked out of the Vatican. We were supposed to be waiting in the long line with all of the other groups, but she forced us ahead to the reservation line, even though we didn't "technically" have a reservation. When the police stopped us to ask us for our proof of reservation, she forced us ahead anyway, despite the policeman's protests. They were not too happy. She got escorted to another office where they had a little talk with her while we waited nervously in the downstairs lobby. They asked us to leave and go back to the very end of the line or to not come back at all. However, the policemen quickly dissapeared to go patrol outside again and we were able to continue on to the museum. I hope we are not on some list somewhere....













I think my favorite piece of art that we saw while at the museum was one of the very first things that you see upon entering the museum—Michelangelo's statue of Mary holding Jesus in her arms. I had heard about the statue, but was not expecting to be so taken-aback by it. The expression on Mary's face and the statue as a whole is just so striking. It was one of Michelangelo's first pieces, and the only one that he ever signed. Very interesting.

















After we finished at the Museum and the Sistine Chapel we had to head back to the Rome Center to watch a film for our Migrations class. However, as we tried to cross the street a couple of us who were lagging behind were stopped by several policemen and we had to wait by the side of the street. There were clusters of people waiting anxiously on the sides of the street. And several minutes later, as we were hoping, a procession of cars went by, the center one holding the Pope, who stuck his hand out the window to wave to the crowd. We were so excited! What an unexpected surprise! The perfect ending to a long, fascinating day at the Vatican.

The pictures below show a group of nuns anxiously awaiting the Pope, and then their excitement after seeing him. They were adorable.



























Some random pictures I took at the Vatican and some of the interesting art pieces I really liked:

La Spaggia e Ostia Antica

On Saturday we went to Ostia Antica and a nearby beach afterwards. It was about a 20 minute bus ride and a 45 minute train ride to get there. Unfortunately I do not have pictures, as I remembered my camera but not my camera card. :(

But it was really cool to get to see all of the old brick remnants of the bath houses and other structures that can still be explored. There are even still mosaic tiles that have come apart, but are just laying on the ground!

After that the beach felt really good. We lounged around for awhile and enjoyed the sun on our pale, sun-deprived skin.

Today we went to the porta portese market again in the morning, and spent over two hours just looking through everything. There is so much there, you never feel like you get to see it all. And the vendors were all different this time.

After that we went and watched the Germany vs. UK game (which was a very fun one to watch compared to the US vs. Ghana game the night before), and then went out and had salad for dinner at this really good salad place.


Tommorrow we go to the Vatican! I am excited. I will definitely post more pictures soon!

A Long, Sunny Day...

Today was very eventful. We did a lot of walking. So much so that the bottoms of my feet are still really sore--which probably has something to do with the hard, uneven cobblestone.

But we saw some really interesting things. The first thing we visited was Trajan's market and column.

After that we went to see Michelangelo's Moses--considered to be one of his greatest works--in the Church on San Pietro in Vincoli. It is also where the chains believed to have held Peter are housed.

From there, we went to another church containing Michelangelo's Risen Christ, which is often considered controversial, and is not always well liked because of its unusual representation of Christ. This church also contained the body of Saint Catherine.

And after all of our long, exhausting trekking throughout Rome, we were rewarded with some gelato from our Art History professor!
I also included in the pictures below, our trip a couple days before to the Pantheon and the Ara Pacis.

Today has been a nicer day, and I've been feeling much better. A nasty cough is all that remains of my gross cold.

We had classes pretty much all day, but I did some exploring and reading out in the sunshine, which was wonderful.

I also had some delicious pistachio and cioccolato fondente gelato. The pistachio gelato has real pistachio chunks in it, which I was not expecting, but it was really good!

I have also decided I like caffe macchiato even better than cappuccino, as it is coffee with just a drizzle of milk in it. Very good! It is such a quick, yummy shot of coffee that gives you a little burst of energy without all the milk. And I think I am finally getting the hang of ordering caffe in a bar. It is a bit intimidating! Everyone else knows exactly what they are doing--and common practice can vary from bar to bar. But if you smile a lot and try to speak at least some basic Italian, usually they will treat you kindly, even if you are doing something completely wrong.
But some basic rules I have found:

1. Don’t put change directly in the hands of cashiers. There are trays by the cash registers that you put money on—you do not hand it off directly.
2. Don’t sip coffee like you would in the US, you generally drink it quickly, in a couple of gulps.
3. Don’t order caffe latte or cappuccino after 11:00 or so, or you will probably get a bizarre look from the barista. I knew this, but forgot, and ordered a cappuccino at night, and got a very confused look.
4. Try to speak mostly Italian, as a sign of respect, and the barista will often be more friendly—even if you accent is terrible and your vocabulary is very limited. They really do appreciate the effort.
The Campo di'Fiori, where I am staying, has a big market with fresh fruit every morning, so I have also been buying some really good apples, pears, and peaches for breakfast. Yum!

Rome in the Rain

I've had a bad cold the past couple of days, and have been taking cold medicine non-stop in hopes of getting over it soon!

Luckily the weather looks a little bit better today--but who knows if it will stay that way!

Yesterday we visited a Refugee center in Rome that is one of the only day centers for Refugees. It is run by a Episcopalian Church, and has mostly refugees from Afghanistan and Iraq.

The day before, we visited the Colosseum and the Roman Forum--which were incredible! It is hard to believe I am actually standing in all of these historical places that I learned about as an Elementary School student! And there are so many other interesting builidings and monuments that I don't know anything about. Hopefully the next few weeks I have here will be enough time to learn more about some of the interesting things I have come across.

In the meantime I will keep sipping tea and drinking lots of water in hopes of feeling better soon!

Buona sera tutti!!!

The past few days have been amazing!!!

The weather was beautiful for my first 3 days in Rome, but today has been windy, with heavy, sudden downpours and it has actually been pretty chilly. I kept hoping for a thunder storm, but no luck. :)

But I cannot complain--I have been seeing some incredibly amazing things!! I am still pretty much in a daze, as I can't believe I am actually here, in this gorgeous, historical place.

My classes haven't started yet, so we've mostly been exploring on our own--unexpectedly happening upon the Pantheon around a sudden turn or a beautiful little fresco painted church whose story we don't know! There are suprises everywhere. and EVERYWHERE you go is incredibly beautiful.

However, it is really easy to get lost! It is very difficult to get your bearings, as there is not a clear block system that you can map in your head. Its very easy to think you are backtracking, before realizing 20 minutes later that you are actually headed in the opposite direction. It has been interesting...a lot of walking involved--but it is necessary in order to walk off all of that pizza, pasta and gelato. :)

Oh and the AMAZING cappuchino here is only 80 cents. And it is soooo much better than pretty much any coffee I have every had in the US. Yummm...

Yesterday we also happened to see a big protest, that we believe was an anti-vatican, pro religious diversity protest, from what we could tell anyway. It was fascinating. Very well organized. There were interprative dancing mimes who acted out the life of Jesus. Not even kidding. It was quite entertaining. It was right outside of our window, so we had a perfect view from the upstairs computer room.