Hey,
Today we toured at the Vatican. We went in the back entrance and walked quickly through the museum (which was fine by me... and most everybody else in the group.) and straight into the Sistine Chapel. I imagined it differently but it was still AMAZING. The ceilings was so high up, I can't imagine Michelangelo actually laying there and painting every stroke. It was beautiful. I secretly snapped a couple of pictures too. The coloring was really good too. We read that while the ceiling has been restored, they have managed to make the coloring almost exactly as it was originally. The blues were very blue, the skin tones were just perfect and the detail was AMAZING. It's also amazing to think of how massive the figures must be for them to be so clear from the floor.
Once we left the chapel we decided not to go take a closer look at the museum and went to St. Peter's Basilica. We first took a tour through the catacombs where past popes were buried. We saw Pope John Paul II's tomb. It wasn't as decorative as many of the others, just a simple slanted slab of marble. There were flowers there and some people were standing around and crying. It was so sad and amazing at the same time- to think how people are effected so much by one man. I was really irritated though when one of the girls said something about not understanding why they were crying (but in a snotty way...) seriously, even if you're not catholic you should be able to at least open your mind to the idea that some people are and this is something that meant a lot to them.
We also saw the tomb of Saint Peter- it is located directly under the alter. That was very cool even though it was behind a lot of glass.
After that we went into the Basilica. It was massive. Near the domed roof there is lettering which is 7 feet high, but from where you're standing on the floor it looks like normal print. I believe they said it was the largest church in the world. It reminded me of a stadium. They also had several niches where smaller mass services were held (they were having mass while we were there at one of them) There were also tombs of popes. One was encased in bronze and one was one of the more recent popes and he was preserved- you could see him through the glass. I also saw the Pieta which was created by Michelangelo. It was a statue of Mary holding Jesus after he was crucified. The Pieta was one of the things I was dying to see so that was awesome.
Then, as a group we decided to walk up half a billion stairs into the dome of St. Peter's. Dad wouldn't have liked this much... It was a trek but we got to look down inside the basilica from the domed roof. Then, we climbed a billion and a quarter stairs into the TOP of the dome and got to see the entire city of Rome. It was amazing. It wasn't a super clear day but the weather was beautiful and you could see everything. I'm so glad we decided to make the trek.
After that we went out into St. Peter's square outside the basilica and looked around. We saw a crazy woman feeding the pigeons. They were flying onto her and everything. Then we went out of the central Vatican area and ate lunch and sat for a bit. On our way home we stopped at a couple of stores and then split up. The group I went with ended up stopping and getting some really good gelato (ice cream but better) and we ate it at the Trevi fountain. It was wonderful.
Now we're all back at home. Everybody is napping but I don't really nap so here I am. Tonight I think we might either try to visit the Spanish Steps (supposedly cool and close by) or go to a bar which is completely made out of ice which sounds like fun. Tomorrow we have to be up earlier again for a museum visit. We're getting close to midterm time though so I think we're going to start studying for that too.
Oh, and I bought a cool picture of the Trevi fountain, a bunch of post cards so I can show people everything I've seen (better quality than my pictures) and I bought grandma a pretty rosary at the Vatican- literally from on top of the dome! Shhh don't tell her though. I'm still working on other souvenir ideas. I think I'll get the majority of stuff in Florence and Venice.
That's about it. This computer is really slow so it's literally taken me about 20 mins to write this. I hope everybody is well!
I love you all!
Ash
3 comments:
Ashley, while I have very little desire to travel abroad, I find this totally awesome! It is a trip of a life time, I would guess. I am so glad your doing this while you’re young. I had a chance to go to Europe when I was 20, with a girl I had met. She was a hippie, and FUN! She wanted me to go with her and tour all around Europe for 3 months. She ended up going alone, as I was to chicken and RESPONSIBLE to quit my job and do the backpacking thing. I do regret having made the wrong decision at the time. It would have cost us about $1,000 at the time. I actually had the money. She bought a used VW and drove all over that part of the world. She was such a free spirit. I wonder whatever happened to her.
Well, I better run, it is raining in Phoenix today. I heard a big truck come down my street and saw it was a Fire Truck. They went to the Ministers house. The young couple that had the Christmas party last year. I hope everything is alright. Chris and Rachael have three kids now. They have Sofia and also Twin boys. I said a little prayer. I am hoping things are fine, no ambulance was called. Scooter, you take care and stay safe. Dad
Weren't they the ones who had piano catch on fire last time too? hmm... coincidence? I hope they're alright though!
Yeah - they had the piano fire too. For Christmas next year, you should get them "His & Hers" fire exstiquishers - and mini ones for the kids.
Scooter ~ This is all SOOOO Cool!!! I love it!! Thanks for the details, that really helps. I'm not very 'European' minded. So I don't know a lot of this. It's very cool to hear about. I can't wait for pictures!! Also, now we'll have more of an idea of what we are looking at when we see pictures, so that's really cool!!
I love you!! Miss you!!!
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