The Vatican is absolutely amazing. It felt very similar to The Hermitage in Russia (minus the cloth over-the-shoe booties we had to wear in every museum during that trip, haha) because of the very ornate ceilings and walls, along with the countless statues and works of art filling every possible nook and cranny in the entire place. It was seriously breathtaking.
When I walked into The Sistine Chapel, I was dumbstruck. There I was, mere feet from Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement and it was every bit as amazing as I had pictured it in my head. After I had given myself time to let the awesomeness that is The Last Judgement soak in, I looked up to admire the ceiling that Michelangelo slaved over for years. I could have stood there all day taking in all of the details of that ceiling. It was simply awe-inspiring.
After The Sistine Chapel, we headed to St. Peter’s Basilica. It was HUGE! All of the Micro-mosaics (mosaics, made with tiny tiles, that have been buffed over to look smooth like paintings) and the many many tombs in all the niches around the walls of the Basilica were so amazing, but the Il Pietra (Mary holding the lifeless body of Jesus) stole the show. It was seriously one of the most amazing sculptures I’ve ever seen.
Walking through Vatican City, visiting the Sistine Chapel, the Catacombs, and St. Peter’s Basilica, made me think about Angels and Demons...I’m so glad I read that book before this trip because I’m finally seeing the places and pieces of art that were mentioned in that book. It’s pretty cool. (plus, our tour guide Paula keeps talking about it. ha)
The Colosseum and The Roman Forum are both parts of Ancient Rome. Visiting those ruins was remarkable; it’s hard to believe those structures have been around as long as they have, and are still standing. Visiting those places today reminded me of walking through all of the ancient temples in Egypt, and it still seems impossible that those structures can still be sturdy enough to let people visit.
St. Peter in Chains church was really amazing as well, because it is where Michelangelo’s Moses, as well as the actual relic (the chains that bound St. Peter in different locations that were confiscated by the Pope and, when left together for a night, magically fused together into one chain) are housed. Standing feet away from an actual holy relic is pretty stinkin’ awesome, if you ask me. Seriously...coolest thing ever.
After we visited Vatican City, Ancient Rome, and Peter in Chains, we went to Piazza Campo de’ Fiori for dinner and a little free time. We had delicious pizza last night, so we opted for a nicer pasta dinner tonight. I had my first glass of wine in Italy (followed promptly by my second) and it was delicious. Even the Vino de la Casa (House Wine) tastes excellent! As we were finishing up our meal, two British men, Adam and James, sat at the table next to ours. Being the friendly people that we are, we struck up a conversation. We talked about texas, accents, politics, dirty jokes, and a number of other, rather random, subjects...they even offered me a sip of their 60 Euro/per bottle wine (it was phenomenal, by the way)! After we were finished eating and their food had arrived, we left to get some gelato. We headed to the gelato place that Adam and James had recommended, and gelato in hand, I headed back to the restaurant to get Adam’s email address because I had been too stupid to ask for it before. He must have been thinking the same thing, because when I got back to the restaurant (after asking to taste my already-licked on gelato) he asked for my name and email address so he could look me up on Facebook so we could, and I quote, “talk, flirt some more, and then get married”. haha. I love Rome.
For your viewing pleasure...more to come later :)
(The Colosseum)
(Michelangelo's Moses)
(St. Peter's Chains)
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