Visitors!
This past Thursday, my dad and Maureen came to visit me in Rome! They arrived here Thursday, and we walked over to the Castel Sant'Angelo and walked all around (in the crazy strong and cold wind) the castle. There were many rooms dedicated to the different people who lived there, including information about when the Pope escaped from the Vatican (I don't remember the details, sorry!) via the wall connecting the two, and stayed until it was safe for him to return. We ventured to the top of the castle, where the view of the ENTIRE city was fantastic. We got there a few minutes before the sun set over the Vatican, creating a colorful aura around it from where we stood. SO cool.
After the wine tasting on Friday, we strolled to the places closest to my school; the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, as well as the Piazza del Popolo (Plaza of the People). Afterwards, we took the stairs up to an over-look over the Piazza in the Villa Borghese Park. We climbed the steps, and at the top marveled at the view over the Piazza all the way to my favorite building (the Vittorio Emanuele Monument), and down to the Vatican. It was incredibly beautiful, especially almost at sunset. We walked around the park for a bit, but after a long day at the vineyard and wine tasting (rough, I know), we headed back without much venturing through the park.
That night, I came back to my apartment to take a quick nap while they went our amazing market right across the street to get some food to make here at my apartment! It worked out well that ALL of my roommates were gone to Venice for the annual festival called Carinvale for the weekend, so we had the place to ourselves for a quite, and delicious meal of fresh salad, spaghetti with red sauce and sausage, and a glass of wine. We sat and talked and ate and planned the rest of the weekend.
Saturday was a very full day, walking a LOT. My dad had gotten out a Frommer's Rome book, as well as a Rick Steve's Guide to Rome book, and both mapped out a few walks through different parts of the city, taking you to many interesting places. We started from the Castel Sant'Angelo, walked through a few piazzas, past a few churches (that were closed, unfortunately for them), and to the Pantheon! If you ever go to Europe, a cheaper way of getting information without paying for a guided tour is to download Rick Steve's podcasts for free! We listened to the 35 minute podcast in the Pantheon, and learned things that you would otherwise not know from just walking in and looking around by yourself. Victor Emanuel (who's monument is the Vittorio Emmanuele) is buried there as the first Italian king, as well as his son and daughter-in-law. His daughter-in-law's name was Margherite, who's name was used to name the well-known pizza (simple pizza with tomato sauce, and mozzerella chese). Really cool! That night we went to dinner, then did the same walk during the night time, because everything looks so different/better at night with the lights.
Sunday was VERY tiring. We arose at the wee hour of 7am to be at the Vatican Museum at 7:30... AM! On the last Sunday of every month, the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel are free to get into. Because it is free, people flock to get in in time, so we had to get there and wait 2 hours before we got in to take advantage of the free entrance. The museums went through Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art, sculptures, etc. We strolled through the Hall of Tapestries, depicting great religious events. The most amazing part was seeing a few sculptures and paintings that I had studied in Art History in High School, and loving them even more in person. These include Laocoon and the Sistine Chapel, among MANY others. I'm not sure I should be sharing this, but despite the strict rules against photography in the Sistine Chapel, I was able to snag a picture of the ceiling. SO amazing, your neck hurt after your visit to the Chapel, but it was WELL worth it. We got out from the long trek through the museum and the Chapel just in time to hear the Pope speak! Every Sunday at noon, the Pope makes an appearance at his window, and speaks in 6 languages to bless the square, and say a prayer. It was a really cool thing to see; SO many people from different countries, speaking all different languages, from all different religions, just to see this. Really really cool. After our excinting day, a 4-hour nap was on the menu (as well as homework, unfortunately) so dad, me and Maureen met for dinner, and parted ways as the weekend came to a close.
However, the amazing-ness of the Vatican did not stop there, for on Monday after I was done with my one (yes, ONE) class and some homework, we went to St. Peter's Basilica, marveled at the inside for a brief time, then climbed the copula!! This was super cool, and a little nerve-racking, because the stairs were entirely too narrow, and it was a 320-stair climb only AFTER taking an elevator ride up that same distance (yes, we splurged the 2 euro to save our energy). The view from all the way up was SO cool. We were able to see almost all (or what I imagined was all) of Rome, with St. Peter's Square looking just as big as my fist. We were so close to the statue of Jesus you can see from the square, which was so phenomenal. Overall an awesome experience, and I would definately do that every day if I could!
So much for a short post; always trying to keep you informed! (Photos soon to come)
xoxo Erica
No comments:
Post a Comment