Saturday, November 21, 2009

Ten Days in Italy, Part 2: Rome and the Vatican

OOPS! I just realized I made a pretty big error in my last post: by the time we got back from Pisa on Saturday, it was pretty late and still pouring, so we just went back to the hotel. Those pics atop the hill were taken on Sunday, not Saturday, and we left for Rome on Monday, not Sunday. *headdesk* Sorry about that. We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog...

We arrived in Rome around noon on Monday (the 9th). Once we got settled, a group of us set out to find the Trevi Fountain, one of the most famous fountains in Rome. I got several pictures, but unfortunately the fountain is so big (and the area around it so bloddy crowded) that it was impossible for me to get a picture of the whole thing. So, courtesy of Wikipedia, here you are:



According to legend, if you toss a pair of coins over your left shoulder with your right hand into the fountain, then you will fall in love with the next single Italian woman (or, if you're a woman, the next single Italian man)you meet, and she (he) will also fall in love with you. It doesn't work; I tossed in said coins using the proscribed method, met plenty of single Italian women, and none of them fell for me. Which was just as well, because I didn't fall for any of them either.

Anyway, the rain we thought we'd left behind in Florence caught up with us, so we went back to the hotel.

Tuesday, we went to the Archaeological Zone. Got to see the Colosseum, as well as ruins of the Roman Forum, Domus Aurea, Domus Flavia, as well as what's left of the Circus Maximus (which sadly isn't much).









Wednesday, the whole group spent Wednesday in Vatican City, which as many of you know is the home of the Pope. In fact, we all had invitations to a Papal Audience that day, which was pretty cool.

Here's some pictures of St. Peter's Square:





The Papal Audience was... interesting. First, we had to get through security, which took about an hour and a half (thank God we got there so early), and consisted mainly of us being jam-packed in a crowd like sardines in a can that slowly pushed its way towards a row of metal detectors and x-ray machines. I swear I will never, ever complain about airport security after that again. Anyway, then we were jam-packed into a giant auditorium with a couple thousand other people. When the Pope entered the room, the place went nuts. I tried to get some pictures of him, but we were seated way towards the back of the room, and my camera has a crappy zoom, so they didn't really turn out that good, but even so... (the Pope's the guy dressed all in white, btw)





Anyway, the Audience itself consisted of about a half-dozen archbishops reading a passage from the book of Psalms (each archbishop spoke a different language; I picked up English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German, but there were others), and then pointing out various groups of pilgrims and visitors who spoke their same language. When a group was called, they would all stand up, cheer, and wave signs, flags, and banners while the Pope acknowledged them by waving at them. Honestly, it felt a little like I was at some kind of sporting event.

After the Audience ended, we walked around to the other side of the Vatican and checked out the Vatican Museum, which includes the legendary Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately, photos were once again absolutely forbidden. Sorry.

Thursday, we left for Naples. That'll be tomorrow's post, but just as a preview, we didn't spend much time in the city itself; we toured the ruins of Pompeii and saw a small coastal town called Sorrento.

So, until tomorrow, peace.

-Raptor

Friday, November 20, 2009

Ten Days in Italy, Part 1: Florence & Pisa

I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to star getting the Italy pics up. Don't even have that big paper to use as an excuse anymore, it was due this past Tuesday.

Anyway, we we spent most of Thursday (November 5), on trains from Salzburg to Florence, which was our first stop. The Alps are supposed to looks spectacular, but I honestly wouldn't know; most of the trip through the mountains was spent going through tunnels, and the few views that I could have gotten were all obscured by clouds.

So, Friday we visited the two big art museums in Florence, the Uffizi and the Accademica. Uffizi was put together by the Medici Family, who ruled the Florentine region for centuries. It houses several famous works, including Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. Likewise, the Accademica is home to Michelangelo's famous statue of David. Unfortunately, neither museum will let you take pictures inside (they're really strict about that). I was able to take some pics of the city itself, though. Here's a few of those.









Saturday, the 6th, we took the train out to Pisa. I'm pretty sure everyone reading this already knows about that little town's claim to fame, but just in case you've forgotten, here it is:



We all took gag shots of ourselves in front of the Tower. Here's mine:



Unfortunately, it soon began raining pretty hard, so we took the train back to Florence. Sadly, the rain didn't let up at all on Sunday, so we didn't do that much. One thing we did do, bizarrely, was hike to the top of a hill that was completely on the opposite side of the city, getting ourselves thoroughly drenched in the process. On the plus side, I was able to get some really awesome shots of the city.







Sunday, the rain stopped, but unfortunately for us, by the time it did, we were already on the train to Rome. That part of my adventure will go up tomorrow. Until then, peace.

-Raptor

Monday, November 16, 2009

Home Again, Home Again

I'm back from Italia! Four days in Florence, Three days in Rome, A day and a half in Naples, and a day in Venice. Had a great time. Unfortunately, I probably won't have time to post pictures for another day or so, as I have a big paper for my Contemporary Issues in Europe Class due tomorrow (can you believe they gave us homework over our vacation?) For now, I just wanted y'all to know I'm back safe and sound.

Until then, peace.

-Raptor