The following is my documentation of Friday & Saturday in Venezia, during my last weekend in Italia. Enjoy!
22/6/07 - "The Blind Leading the Blind"
Our trips always prove to be interesting, yet this is the largest, non-organized by school trip. There were 16 of us: me, Erika, Ashley, Erika, Tiffany, Val, Carrie, Paul, Andrea, Adam, Jimmy, Jackie, Gina, Lauren K., Lauren D. and Nicole - all taking the same flight to Venezia, via Ryan Air. The cab arrived for the 6 girls at our apartment at 4:15am to bring us to Ciampino Airport in Roma. When we got to the airport it was very similar to that of T.F. Green, in the sense that it was much smaller than Fuimicino, which we had landed in on May 28. However, if you are traveling through Europe and want cheap flights, I highly recommend Ryan Air. We paid 70 euro each, roundtrip from Roma to Venezia and the flight was under an hour and such a comfortable ride...granted, we all fell asleep immediately as soon as our 7am flight took off. When we got to the airport we had to take an hour bus ride to the water taxis which would then transport us to Venice. Again, we took an extra long time to actually locate the bus which we needed to take, and Gina supplied us a great line, "this is like the blind leading the blind". We al fell asleep on the bus and for awhile, Paul and I joked around on the bus until we successfully fell asleep listening to our Ipods. When we got to the water taxis it was like nothing I had ever seen before. It's amazing to think how different Venezia's way of life is versus our American way of life. We finally got to San Marco and took in all of the sights, sounds, smells and pigeons (ugh, so many!) before we went with the other 10 to check into their hostel on the island. We are staying off the island because it is cheaper and more convenient to the airport. We ate lunch at a typical Italian restaurant, which I will miss immensely about Italia. The cuisine is delicious and I love eating with so many friends all in one spot. We did a but of shopping after lunch and then split up because we wanted to do some sightseeing. We went to Murano and Burano and saw glass being blown. It was amazing and I found a ring for myself which I ended up purchasing. It is baby blue glass with royal blue and gold paint on it. Just something to remember my trip to Venezia by. After that, we traveled by water taxi to Burano, where all of the buildings are painted in bright, Caribbean-esque colors. when we finally checked into the hostel, we were pleasantly surprised (and relieved!!) to find a full-blown campground complete with campers, tents, a clean and gorgeous heated, infinity-edged pool and jacuzzi, 3 restaurants, a mini mart, 2 bars and great nightlife. This was ashjock and by far the best hostel yet. If you ever know someone traveling to Venezia and doesn't mind staying on the mainland, let me know so I can refer them to this fantastic accomodation.
xo,
Kristen
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Out of Order
Leaving Roma today is sad and bittersweet all at the same time. The trip has been a shmorgashboard of emotions (haha) but I had the time of my life here.
Arrivederci, Roma!
The city of warm embraces
The city that I love!
xoxoxo
See you in the States!
Kristen
ps I will update on Venezia when in New York
Arrivederci, Roma!
The city of warm embraces
The city that I love!
xoxoxo
See you in the States!
Kristen
ps I will update on Venezia when in New York
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Nothing like needing to be awake in 4 hours...
Four hours from this very minute I will be waking up (if in fact I decide to go to sleep) to get on a plane from Ciampino to Venezia (Venice)!! I'm so excited, I've always wanted to go on a gondola ride in Venice and I've heard the glass blowing there is amazing.
Tonight we went down to Piazza Navona and ate at a little restaurant and it reminds me of the Billy Joel song which has become our anthem of sorts. Then we wandered around the Piazza where they sell the fake Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Guess, Fendi, etc...bags...I bought a Prada bag for 20 euro and it's huge so it will help me transport souveneirs back to the States.
I come home in a week and that is crazy to me. I feel like I just got here and I really love Roma so much. AMO ROMA!! It's going to be sad to leave, we don't even like to talk about it. We've made friends and just have had a great time. I wouldn't have changed any of this for the world. It's been a heck of an experience.
As far as this blog goes, I think it's been a decent way of keeping you up to date on my life and happenings in Italia and hopefully you aren't upset with the lack of captions on my Webshots photos...slowly but surely they will get done, but I will probably finish when I am back in the States. I do a little bit everyday but I really don't want to spend too too much time on them with it being my last week here. Sunday will be a great opportunity to get some more pictures uploaded from this weekend and add some more captions, as we will be returning to Roma at around 10am.
Stay tuned for more!
Buono sera! Ciao!
xo,
Kristen
Tonight we went down to Piazza Navona and ate at a little restaurant and it reminds me of the Billy Joel song which has become our anthem of sorts. Then we wandered around the Piazza where they sell the fake Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Guess, Fendi, etc...bags...I bought a Prada bag for 20 euro and it's huge so it will help me transport souveneirs back to the States.
I come home in a week and that is crazy to me. I feel like I just got here and I really love Roma so much. AMO ROMA!! It's going to be sad to leave, we don't even like to talk about it. We've made friends and just have had a great time. I wouldn't have changed any of this for the world. It's been a heck of an experience.
As far as this blog goes, I think it's been a decent way of keeping you up to date on my life and happenings in Italia and hopefully you aren't upset with the lack of captions on my Webshots photos...slowly but surely they will get done, but I will probably finish when I am back in the States. I do a little bit everyday but I really don't want to spend too too much time on them with it being my last week here. Sunday will be a great opportunity to get some more pictures uploaded from this weekend and add some more captions, as we will be returning to Roma at around 10am.
Stay tuned for more!
Buono sera! Ciao!
xo,
Kristen
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
A (comedic performance in the) typical day in the life of yours truly...
9:00 wake up because it's too blistering hot in my room to continue to sleep
9:30 go online to find that Mark is still online and it's 3:30 your time
10:00 get ready for school/do laundry/hope the washer functions properly
11:00 wake Vanessa up because she always sleeps through her alarm
12:00 start walking to school or wait for the bus in hopes it will come...but it probably won't because nothing runs on a schedule here
1:00 new product development (marketing) class...which I enjoy very much and I got an A- on my last pop quiz...not bad if I do say so myself!
3:20 marketing ends and Jon and I go to Gli Archi, the bar on the corner by school where we usually get a salad and then finish off our lunch hour with either a cappucino or caffe fredo (cold coffee...no ice! Dunkin Donuts, our relationship will continue to go strong once I return to the States...you have no conceptual idea as to how much I miss you)
4:00 personal finance class begins...6 people in the class, I'm the only girl. it's always an interesting couple of hours.
5:00 ten minute break from class where the 6 of us discuss how we are nervous to get our exams back...I got a B, second best grade in the class. Again, not bad if I do say so myself.
6:20 personal finance ends and the mental debate with myself as to whether I should walk home or take the bus.
6:25 I am walking home. the 710 Via Lenin bus never comes anyway...I take 710 Via Carini to school...it is the most annoying bus in the world to try and catch.
6:50 I finally arrive back at my apartment...I'm probably dripping in sweat at this point, as the temperatures here have risen into the mid -90's with high humidity...my curly hair can't withstand the humidity and neither can my body.
6:51 I feel like I am suffocating, my apartment is just as blistering hot as it was in the morning when I woke up and just as blistering as it was outside.
7:00 Erika and I are hungry. where is Vanessa?
7:30 Vanessa gets back from her on-site class, Art of Rome...we scrounge up something for dinner
7:35 nothing to eat. we can either, a) make peanut butter and nutella sandwiches or, b) go to the SMA Gianicolense (market) before it closes at 8:00
7:40 we're in the market, peanut butter and nutella is good, but we eat it almost everyday...and if nothing else, we need bread
7:55 the lights go out in SMA Gianicolense. they are closing and instead of making an announcement, they just turn off the lights. that's your cue to get to the register
8:00 we leave SMA Gianicolense (which is right next door to our apartment, thankfully)
8:15 we are eating bread and dipping it in oil and pepper. it's delicious. it may be the single handed thing I will miss about Italia the most.
There ya have it! That's pretty much what I do everyday, give or take. I'm going to miss so much about Italia. I'm starting to pick up on the language, but it's difficult being that I am surrounded by only Americans (pretty much) for 8 hours each day, at least. Hope everything at home is molto bene (very good) and I will be sure to update soon.
Grazie mile (thanks a million) for reading
Ciao ciao,
Kristen
xo
9:30 go online to find that Mark is still online and it's 3:30 your time
10:00 get ready for school/do laundry/hope the washer functions properly
11:00 wake Vanessa up because she always sleeps through her alarm
12:00 start walking to school or wait for the bus in hopes it will come...but it probably won't because nothing runs on a schedule here
1:00 new product development (marketing) class...which I enjoy very much and I got an A- on my last pop quiz...not bad if I do say so myself!
3:20 marketing ends and Jon and I go to Gli Archi, the bar on the corner by school where we usually get a salad and then finish off our lunch hour with either a cappucino or caffe fredo (cold coffee...no ice! Dunkin Donuts, our relationship will continue to go strong once I return to the States...you have no conceptual idea as to how much I miss you)
4:00 personal finance class begins...6 people in the class, I'm the only girl. it's always an interesting couple of hours.
5:00 ten minute break from class where the 6 of us discuss how we are nervous to get our exams back...I got a B, second best grade in the class. Again, not bad if I do say so myself.
6:20 personal finance ends and the mental debate with myself as to whether I should walk home or take the bus.
6:25 I am walking home. the 710 Via Lenin bus never comes anyway...I take 710 Via Carini to school...it is the most annoying bus in the world to try and catch.
6:50 I finally arrive back at my apartment...I'm probably dripping in sweat at this point, as the temperatures here have risen into the mid -90's with high humidity...my curly hair can't withstand the humidity and neither can my body.
6:51 I feel like I am suffocating, my apartment is just as blistering hot as it was in the morning when I woke up and just as blistering as it was outside.
7:00 Erika and I are hungry. where is Vanessa?
7:30 Vanessa gets back from her on-site class, Art of Rome...we scrounge up something for dinner
7:35 nothing to eat. we can either, a) make peanut butter and nutella sandwiches or, b) go to the SMA Gianicolense (market) before it closes at 8:00
7:40 we're in the market, peanut butter and nutella is good, but we eat it almost everyday...and if nothing else, we need bread
7:55 the lights go out in SMA Gianicolense. they are closing and instead of making an announcement, they just turn off the lights. that's your cue to get to the register
8:00 we leave SMA Gianicolense (which is right next door to our apartment, thankfully)
8:15 we are eating bread and dipping it in oil and pepper. it's delicious. it may be the single handed thing I will miss about Italia the most.
There ya have it! That's pretty much what I do everyday, give or take. I'm going to miss so much about Italia. I'm starting to pick up on the language, but it's difficult being that I am surrounded by only Americans (pretty much) for 8 hours each day, at least. Hope everything at home is molto bene (very good) and I will be sure to update soon.
Grazie mile (thanks a million) for reading
Ciao ciao,
Kristen
xo
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Post-Siena/Firenze
Ciao!
This weekend was phenomenal and I LOVED Tuscany! The wine tasting at Traquanda at 11:00 in the morning on Friday was intense and it was so fun. We really got to spend a lot of time together as a group just hanging out and enjoying the Italian culture. We also met a lot of people from other schools which is a plus side and the main objective in studying abroad. Traquanda was a quaint town in Tuscany about an hour away from Siena and 2 hours away from Firenze. It was great and we got a tour of the winery and information on what it takes to make the wines, etc. I also bought a couple of bottles and need to now figure a way to get them on the plane.
We checked into the hotel (Best Western in Siena) around 18:00 and took an hour nap so we could be ready for dinner at the hotel with the entire group at 20:00. Sadly, the dinner we had at the hotel was not even comparable to the lunch we had in Traquanda. The lunch was so insanely delicious that Ashley and I felt the need to photo document each course as well as the wine, so you will see these on my Webshots account very, very soon. After dinner, Stefano and Chiara (our chaperones from AUR staff) arranged for the bus that we took to Tuscany to take us into the town of Siena. When we got to Siena, it was nothing that we had expected. Being used to Roma and all of it’s liveliness, Siena was far from this life that we live in the city. There was little to nothing open and we were only in search of a bar or a restaurant that was open that we could sit at and enjoy each other’s company. After 20 minutes of walking, the huge group stumbled upon an Irish pub and we sat for awhile talking and just spending low-key time together. We were way too tired at this point to go out and party and had absolutely no intentions to do so.
We got back to the hotel at 23:30, which is a very early night for us, and passed out as soon as our heads hit the pillow. We were all so burnt out from the traveling and wine tasting that we were excited to be able to sleep. My accommodations in the hotel room were hilarious. The mattress was ridged, so basically, if I was laying on my stomach, which is how I generally sleep, there were parts in the mattress (just from general wear and tear) that my legs fit right into. Talk about an old mattress! Oh, and it was a cot, which was fine. It was just the worst mattress known to mankind.
The next morning it was rise and shine at 7:00 in order to eat breakfast and be on the bus to Firenze. It was roughly a 2 hour ride and we slept and listened to our ipod’s the entire way. Thank God for the ipod; I would be lost without it. When we got to Firenze we had a 2 hour guided tour with expert tour guides who took us to all of the main sites in Firenze. Firenze is such a beautiful city, however I am very happy to be studying in Roma vs. Firenze. Firenze is a tad too quiet for my liking and much too touristy. It’s funny because I pictured Roma to be much more tourist oriented than Firenze, but it is very far from that. In Roma, your tourists are few and far between compared to the masses that were in Firenze. Upon the conclusion of our guided tour, we found a restaurant and Piazza San Marco and had some lunch. I split a Marinara pizze with Ashley and it was delicious! After lunch we climbed to the top of the Duomo, did some more sightseeing and picture taking and then did some shopping. I bought a few cute things for myself and some things for others. The straw markets are a GREAT place to shop, you just need to be careful of the pick-pockets in them. It’s a very crowded area and prime spot for the thieves.
Firenze was a great city and hopefully someday I will make it back. We definitely could have spent much more time there and we all wished that we were staying over in fun Firenze versus mildly dull Siena. We went out after dinner on Saturday night in Siena. We followed the entire AUR Study Abroad group to this bar where typically many Americans hang out and it was just that. It’s always so comforting to have Americans around you; it’s a sense of strange security, or what have you. The bar was very fun until it was time to go home. At 3am we lef the bar and tried to hail a cab. Needless to say, no cabs were running at this hour. Now, this is unheard of. There is no way that there were no cabs running at this hour – we think they did not want to pick up Americans because they assumed we were going to be loud and boisterous. After about an hour of sitting at the Piazza trying to get a cab, we all just decide to walk, except no one knows how to get back to the hotel. Long and short of the story is that we had to call some of our friends who were already back at the hotel because we needed them to give us directions. The concierge at the front desk of the hotel was assisting in the direction process and 20 of us walked from the bar to the hotel. All in all it was about an hour walk. We didn’t get back to the hotel until around 5:00am. We went to bed and then woke up at 7:50. Shy of three hours of sleep does not cut it for me.
Today, we had a walking tour of Siena bright and early and then had free time to ourselves to do whatever. We did some more sightseeing and grabbed lunch with all of the girls and some boys we met from the University of Maryland. The entire bus ride back to Roma (all 5 hours of it) was spent catching up on sleep from the night before, or lack thereof.
I will write soon.
Ciao ciao ciao!
This weekend was phenomenal and I LOVED Tuscany! The wine tasting at Traquanda at 11:00 in the morning on Friday was intense and it was so fun. We really got to spend a lot of time together as a group just hanging out and enjoying the Italian culture. We also met a lot of people from other schools which is a plus side and the main objective in studying abroad. Traquanda was a quaint town in Tuscany about an hour away from Siena and 2 hours away from Firenze. It was great and we got a tour of the winery and information on what it takes to make the wines, etc. I also bought a couple of bottles and need to now figure a way to get them on the plane.
We checked into the hotel (Best Western in Siena) around 18:00 and took an hour nap so we could be ready for dinner at the hotel with the entire group at 20:00. Sadly, the dinner we had at the hotel was not even comparable to the lunch we had in Traquanda. The lunch was so insanely delicious that Ashley and I felt the need to photo document each course as well as the wine, so you will see these on my Webshots account very, very soon. After dinner, Stefano and Chiara (our chaperones from AUR staff) arranged for the bus that we took to Tuscany to take us into the town of Siena. When we got to Siena, it was nothing that we had expected. Being used to Roma and all of it’s liveliness, Siena was far from this life that we live in the city. There was little to nothing open and we were only in search of a bar or a restaurant that was open that we could sit at and enjoy each other’s company. After 20 minutes of walking, the huge group stumbled upon an Irish pub and we sat for awhile talking and just spending low-key time together. We were way too tired at this point to go out and party and had absolutely no intentions to do so.
We got back to the hotel at 23:30, which is a very early night for us, and passed out as soon as our heads hit the pillow. We were all so burnt out from the traveling and wine tasting that we were excited to be able to sleep. My accommodations in the hotel room were hilarious. The mattress was ridged, so basically, if I was laying on my stomach, which is how I generally sleep, there were parts in the mattress (just from general wear and tear) that my legs fit right into. Talk about an old mattress! Oh, and it was a cot, which was fine. It was just the worst mattress known to mankind.
The next morning it was rise and shine at 7:00 in order to eat breakfast and be on the bus to Firenze. It was roughly a 2 hour ride and we slept and listened to our ipod’s the entire way. Thank God for the ipod; I would be lost without it. When we got to Firenze we had a 2 hour guided tour with expert tour guides who took us to all of the main sites in Firenze. Firenze is such a beautiful city, however I am very happy to be studying in Roma vs. Firenze. Firenze is a tad too quiet for my liking and much too touristy. It’s funny because I pictured Roma to be much more tourist oriented than Firenze, but it is very far from that. In Roma, your tourists are few and far between compared to the masses that were in Firenze. Upon the conclusion of our guided tour, we found a restaurant and Piazza San Marco and had some lunch. I split a Marinara pizze with Ashley and it was delicious! After lunch we climbed to the top of the Duomo, did some more sightseeing and picture taking and then did some shopping. I bought a few cute things for myself and some things for others. The straw markets are a GREAT place to shop, you just need to be careful of the pick-pockets in them. It’s a very crowded area and prime spot for the thieves.
Firenze was a great city and hopefully someday I will make it back. We definitely could have spent much more time there and we all wished that we were staying over in fun Firenze versus mildly dull Siena. We went out after dinner on Saturday night in Siena. We followed the entire AUR Study Abroad group to this bar where typically many Americans hang out and it was just that. It’s always so comforting to have Americans around you; it’s a sense of strange security, or what have you. The bar was very fun until it was time to go home. At 3am we lef the bar and tried to hail a cab. Needless to say, no cabs were running at this hour. Now, this is unheard of. There is no way that there were no cabs running at this hour – we think they did not want to pick up Americans because they assumed we were going to be loud and boisterous. After about an hour of sitting at the Piazza trying to get a cab, we all just decide to walk, except no one knows how to get back to the hotel. Long and short of the story is that we had to call some of our friends who were already back at the hotel because we needed them to give us directions. The concierge at the front desk of the hotel was assisting in the direction process and 20 of us walked from the bar to the hotel. All in all it was about an hour walk. We didn’t get back to the hotel until around 5:00am. We went to bed and then woke up at 7:50. Shy of three hours of sleep does not cut it for me.
Today, we had a walking tour of Siena bright and early and then had free time to ourselves to do whatever. We did some more sightseeing and grabbed lunch with all of the girls and some boys we met from the University of Maryland. The entire bus ride back to Roma (all 5 hours of it) was spent catching up on sleep from the night before, or lack thereof.
I will write soon.
Ciao ciao ciao!
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Under the Tuscan Sun
It is 5:43am my time right now and most of you have probably gone to bed, accounting for the time difference. I am up because I need to be at school by 7am to leave for Tuscany (Siena and Florence). I'm anticipating the trip will be a great time and I'm very excited to be able to report back to you on Sunday when I return.
I apologize for not putting captions on all of my Webshots photos yet. It may be difficult (and painful) to look through them but I promise they will get done sooner or later, most likely this week because it is much less busy on the school front.
Some pretty crazy things have been happening recently and just as an American may begin to feel as though he/she fits into the Italian culture, they do not. A boy in my marketing class was jumped the other morning in broad daylight at 6am and the story is nothing short of bizarre. A group of guys were laughing and joking around when one of them threw a coin in front of an acquaintance of mine, Alex. Alex goes to Salve Regina and has the typical personality of many people and did not see this as a threat. When he went to pick up the coin for the group of guys, he figured he was doing them a favor. He was and they started kicking him in the face and eventually did enough damage to send him to the hospital for an overnight stay. He was with Mike, a guy who lives with my friends Jon and AJ. No one would really mess with Mike....he's about 6'8" weighing in at probably a bit over 200lbs. He's not joking around. One guy out of the group was distracting Mike to the point that he actually didn't even see his friend getting beat up. The fools didn't take anything from Mike or Alex, they just beat Alex up and then left. Imagine that.
People say that the City is bad, that Los Angeles is bad, that even Providence you need to watch yourself, but it is so much easier for the people here who want to attack others. Americans stick out like sore thumbs for many reasons and if people want to profile others, it is simple and does not really take much effort at all. A scary story that teaches you that you can never be too cautious.
On that note, I had my second finance exam yesterday and hopefully that went well. My finance class is cancelled on Monday so I will have all afternoon to sightsee and I'm thinking I am going to head down to the Colosseo and go inside. We shall see.
Have a great weekend!
Ciao ciao!
xo,
Kristen
I apologize for not putting captions on all of my Webshots photos yet. It may be difficult (and painful) to look through them but I promise they will get done sooner or later, most likely this week because it is much less busy on the school front.
Some pretty crazy things have been happening recently and just as an American may begin to feel as though he/she fits into the Italian culture, they do not. A boy in my marketing class was jumped the other morning in broad daylight at 6am and the story is nothing short of bizarre. A group of guys were laughing and joking around when one of them threw a coin in front of an acquaintance of mine, Alex. Alex goes to Salve Regina and has the typical personality of many people and did not see this as a threat. When he went to pick up the coin for the group of guys, he figured he was doing them a favor. He was and they started kicking him in the face and eventually did enough damage to send him to the hospital for an overnight stay. He was with Mike, a guy who lives with my friends Jon and AJ. No one would really mess with Mike....he's about 6'8" weighing in at probably a bit over 200lbs. He's not joking around. One guy out of the group was distracting Mike to the point that he actually didn't even see his friend getting beat up. The fools didn't take anything from Mike or Alex, they just beat Alex up and then left. Imagine that.
People say that the City is bad, that Los Angeles is bad, that even Providence you need to watch yourself, but it is so much easier for the people here who want to attack others. Americans stick out like sore thumbs for many reasons and if people want to profile others, it is simple and does not really take much effort at all. A scary story that teaches you that you can never be too cautious.
On that note, I had my second finance exam yesterday and hopefully that went well. My finance class is cancelled on Monday so I will have all afternoon to sightsee and I'm thinking I am going to head down to the Colosseo and go inside. We shall see.
Have a great weekend!
Ciao ciao!
xo,
Kristen
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
God is our potential.
Ciao...
Today, I woke up at 6:30 to the cheery alarm noises that dear Siemens provides on their A70 model. Vanessa and I were going to meet Jon, AJ, Dominique and Laura on Via Trastevere - the street that they live on. We figured if we never woke up today then we would never make it to the destination - The Vatican.
As we trucked down Via Trastevere and stumbled onto the 8 tram in desperate need of espresso and a croissant, we made it just in time to meet the rest of the group and head to Vatican City. When we arrived at the Vatican it was around 7:30 and it doesn't open to the public until 10:00. We waited in line for awhile and enjoyed breakfast there against the enormous brick walls that encase Vatican City. We were finally let in around 10:15 and made our way to the lines upon lines of people waiting to enter. We bought tickets, traveled up possibly the longest escalator I have ever been on and then waited in even more lines to finally arrive upon the Sistine Chapel.
The Sistine Chapel was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was painted by Michaelangelo in what seemed to be a rush job of 4 years. The Pope at the time wanted it to be completed as quickly as possible and this was a demand. Michaelangelo was 62 years old when he began painting the Sistine and was working with 20 apprentices. The Chapel was beautiful and pictures will be posted on my Webshots account very soon (p.s. pictures are prohibited in the Sistine....AJ and I took our flashes off of the camera and were able to catch a few photos and a couple of videos).
After the Sistine we ventured on through shops along the way and other artwork that adorns that walls, ceilings, and every other flat surface in sight. We then came to St. Peter's Basilica which we spent 4 Euro to climb the 700-ish steps to the top. The views from the top of Vatican City and almost all of Rome were incredible. Vanessa, Jon and I went into a special section of the Basilica that is designated only for prayer. It was amazing and the amount of cardinals and nuns that are swarming the Vatican is intense and somewhat intimidating, yet very cool all the same. The Vatican is absolutely crowded with tourists from all over the world and it is amazing to hear so many different languages spoken in such close proximity to each other - almost like Manhattan!
All in all our trip this morning was fabulous and I plan to do it again. Either tomorrow or next Wednesday, Vanessa and I are going to wake up early and get to the Vatican in order to listen to the Pope speak. We will see what time brings.
Hope all is well.
Ciao for now!
Today, I woke up at 6:30 to the cheery alarm noises that dear Siemens provides on their A70 model. Vanessa and I were going to meet Jon, AJ, Dominique and Laura on Via Trastevere - the street that they live on. We figured if we never woke up today then we would never make it to the destination - The Vatican.
As we trucked down Via Trastevere and stumbled onto the 8 tram in desperate need of espresso and a croissant, we made it just in time to meet the rest of the group and head to Vatican City. When we arrived at the Vatican it was around 7:30 and it doesn't open to the public until 10:00. We waited in line for awhile and enjoyed breakfast there against the enormous brick walls that encase Vatican City. We were finally let in around 10:15 and made our way to the lines upon lines of people waiting to enter. We bought tickets, traveled up possibly the longest escalator I have ever been on and then waited in even more lines to finally arrive upon the Sistine Chapel.
The Sistine Chapel was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was painted by Michaelangelo in what seemed to be a rush job of 4 years. The Pope at the time wanted it to be completed as quickly as possible and this was a demand. Michaelangelo was 62 years old when he began painting the Sistine and was working with 20 apprentices. The Chapel was beautiful and pictures will be posted on my Webshots account very soon (p.s. pictures are prohibited in the Sistine....AJ and I took our flashes off of the camera and were able to catch a few photos and a couple of videos).
After the Sistine we ventured on through shops along the way and other artwork that adorns that walls, ceilings, and every other flat surface in sight. We then came to St. Peter's Basilica which we spent 4 Euro to climb the 700-ish steps to the top. The views from the top of Vatican City and almost all of Rome were incredible. Vanessa, Jon and I went into a special section of the Basilica that is designated only for prayer. It was amazing and the amount of cardinals and nuns that are swarming the Vatican is intense and somewhat intimidating, yet very cool all the same. The Vatican is absolutely crowded with tourists from all over the world and it is amazing to hear so many different languages spoken in such close proximity to each other - almost like Manhattan!
All in all our trip this morning was fabulous and I plan to do it again. Either tomorrow or next Wednesday, Vanessa and I are going to wake up early and get to the Vatican in order to listen to the Pope speak. We will see what time brings.
Hope all is well.
Ciao for now!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
