I have been slacking in updating life in Europe lately- I don't think I realized how difficult it would be to keep up while traveling and trying to do homework and occasionally stopping to grab a bite of gelato .So let me start with where I left off:
First of all, within the first week of school I had traveled to the Spanish steps THREE TIMES. The Spanish Steps is a good thirty minute walk each way, and it wasn't even to see some pretty steps or a nice fountain in the middle of town or even the long road of designer shops like Louis Vuitton or Dolce and Gabana or Dior. It was TO GET BOOKS. That's right. The Ango- American bookstore where most of our books are sold is an hour trek. Granted, we could use the bus system or tram system to get there but I was not nearly comfortable enough to try to navigate the city on public transportation when I was just trying to get around on foot. Luckily the weather wasn't too awful and it's a great place for people-watching. (Especially watching the people who can actually make everyday purchases at places like Louis Vuitton).
My friend Sarah's parents came in around September 7, and they immediately welcomed me into their family plans for the weekend. This might sound weird, but because the town I'm in is full of younger people and students, it was nice to be around parents! Or at least older adults who had more of a sense of how to get around Rome. I was getting a little homesick and it definitely helped.
On the first night with the Jarvis family we went to a restaurant in Campo de' Fiori to have a drink before walking around town. I tried a Spritzer, which is essentially pear juice and champagne. It wasn't bad, but it was way too sweet (and surprisingly strong!) Later we went to a restaurant in Trastevere called Carlo Menta. It's popular around campus because you can get a personal pizza for 2 Euro and it's good too! I tried gnocchi for the first time and I liked it. I'm not a big pasta person but I have a feeling I'll become one by the time I leave here.
The next morning I got up early (okay so 10 am is not early but STILL) and Sarah and I met up with her parents to go to the Palatine hill and the Roman forum. We got super lucky because the last English-speaking tour of the day was at 11 and so we were able to skip the lines in order to go on the tour. Walking up the Palatine hill was similar to walking up Bascom- except it was about 30 degrees hotter than it usually is in Wisconsin and much more humid. Once we were able to get to the top of the hill the views were pretty and it was actually somewhat green. I don't think I realized how much I missed greenery until I was surrounded by dirt and cobblestones all the time. I was able to see the ruins of where chariot races were held, bits of marble floor from ancient temples, and I was even able to see where they suspect Romulus may have lived back in 753 BCE (but who knows for sure!)
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| Ancient Roman highway! |
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| View of the Colosseum from the Forum |
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| Entering the main area of the forum! |
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| Look who I found |
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| Temple dedicated to Caesar |
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| Trajan's market |
The weather was super hot and there was not any shade on the hill so after finding a nearby water fountain and some shade at the Roman forum, Sarah's mom got our her handy iPad that told you different facts about the Roman forum every time you clicked on where you were on the map. We got a few weird looks because we had a British man (complete with classical music in the background) talking out of an iPad and we all had our ears pressed up against it so we could hear what he was saying amidst the crowds. It was great to be able to sit and relax a bit and escape the heat.
There is so much to see in the Roman forum- we must have spent hours there. It's a bit hard to differentiate between the ruins ( I do not know that much about ancient history so it was a little more difficult for me) but it's incredible how temples and buildings that are thousands of years old have even columns that are still standing. I think I was most impressed by the temple of the Vestal Virgins- the courtyard right by it was still intact and you could see about twelve statues still surrounding the area. Apparently in that time if you were chosen to become a Vestal Virgin you were in charge of keeping the fires going inside the temple at all times. If they didn't keep these fires going, they would be buried alive with a loaf of bread! Creepy but interesting.
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| If you stand right here you only see one column instead of multiple rows on the building above! |
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| Bernini, who designed the Piazza San Pietro inserted the last stone of the Piazza. He carved his heart into the stone! ( I photoshopped it so it was easier to see- the original is above) |
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| kitty! |
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| The torso |
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| Tour guide pointed this out- it's Rocky! |
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| School of Athens |
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| Sistine Chapel fail |
After a break for a few hours to recuperate after being in the sun all day, I was lucky enough to go on an evening tour of the Vatican. I know a lot of people go for religious reasons, but there were so many amazing facts about the paintings and sculptures! We had an Irish tour guide (yes ironic that he was Irish and we are in Italy but he was INCREDIBLE) from a company called Angel Tours- I think his name was Stephen. He was so animated about all of the Vatican museum and he knew so many minute details. We spent over four hours in the museum because he was able to tell facts on just about anything. (I also didn't realize how many of the artists like Michaelangelo and Raphael were such smart alecs it was hilarious. For example, in "The Last Judgement" in the Sistine Chapel, Michaelangelo didn't get along with the Cardinal of the time so he painted the Cardinal as the god of the underworld. Or another funny one- Michaelangelo painted God from the back and made his cloak look like he was mooning everyone- pretty funny right?)
You're not supposed to take photos in the Sistine Chapel (our tour guide said it was because a Japanese tv channel actually owns the media rights and it's under copyright, not that it's necessarily a sacred place) but I was able to sneak in a few horrific photos. My finger is covering the lens because I was afraid to lift up my camera. My favorite photo is The Last Judgement- Michaelangelo had less of a budget for the picture so he was able to use the beloved lapis lazuli coloring to make the picture look like it was in the water. Religious connotation or not, it is a beautiful work of art.
We didn't leave the Vatican until after 11 but we were able to finish off the night with some gelato. I tried "kinder chocolate" gelato - it's a type of chocolate bar here. It was a little too sweet but still yummy!
The next morning we had a pass to go to the Colosseum (it comes with purchasing tickets for the Roman forum). We attempted to see if we could get passes to get a tour of the inside of the Colosseum as opposed to the outside but you had to reserve them ahead of time. The tour was alright- it was very difficult to understand the woman talking and I had a woman in my group who seemed to think that every time we stopped was an opportunity to model next to the tour guide, but other than that it was really neat to be able to see inside the Colosseum again. I had been there three or four years ago and I think it's impossible to not be amazed by the fact that it's still standing.
On Sunday my roommate and I went to a museum about 2 miles away (we walked!) because I needed to see a brooch for my class and it was also the site of the Baths of Diocletian. The museum was a bit of a disappointment- the Baths were only about a square since everything was under construction/blocked off. On the bright side, we were able to explore a different part of the city and got 4 miles worth of exercise there and back.
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| I'm such a tourist here |
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| Baths of Diocletian |
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| Inside of a tomb |
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| Inside of a tomb |
I'm not exactly sure how I would have been able to see so much in such a short period of time without allowing to tag along with the Jarvis family for the weekend! I'm glad I was finally able to take advantage of being in such a historically-laden city. Sometimes I forget I'm actually here.
