Yesterday I woke up to the serene sound of car horns and alarms blazing, roughly around 8:00 in the morning next to my Mexican roommate who knows next to know English. Such is the life of a world-wide sojourner. Anyway, I said "Adios" to Moises (my roommate), who was leaving anyway at 9:30, and I headed down to the Termini train station to do some errands, get some groceries, etc. I picked up my newfound favorite meal - bread and cheese - and also some other things.
My camera broke yesterday (something about the batteries running out when the lens was still out, which meant that the lens could never close even when I had replaced the batteries) so I rushed downtown by using the Metro, hopefully to try and get a new camera quickly before my noon appointment with...*drumroll* the Vatican Museum!
Luckily enough, I was able to find a kind of cheap digital camera for 89 Euros - okay, so not that cheap, but it was the cheapest one they sold. After charging it and testing it out in a Burger King upstairs room, I ran to Vatican City with the reservation I had printed out and paid for the day before.
I made it in time, luckily, and was finally able to see the Vatican after all these years of waiting.
The museum didn't disappoint, with some of the most amazing art I've ever seen, though it was a little touristy at times.
I made my way through the many art exhibits, taking my time even though I really just wanted to get to the Sistine Chapel. They put all the other displays in side rooms and on the way to the Chapel, knowing that it is probably the only way people will visit them, since most people are mainly there to see the famed Sistine Chapel. However, I'm glad they did it, because I was able to see some amazing artwork that was really moving.
(By the way, the picture of the man dying isn't Jesus, it's actually a character from Mythology - just so you know)
It was awe-inspiring to see how the actions of the life of Jesus had inspired such work, such art, such human ingenuity and beauty. God constantly draws the best from us and he accepts nothing less than our best effort in creating something beautiful.
Finally, I made it to the Sistine Chapel and while it was impressive, I was actually kind of disappointed. First of all, the most famous picture in the Sistine Chapel, of God reaching his hand out to man, was actually a lot smaller than I expected it to be. In fact, it is just "one picture" out of many. Still, it is amazing to see the story of man's fall and redemption so beautifully portrayed - even if there are about a thousand other tourists crowding you in like a sardine.
Oh, and no pictures were allowed in there so I wasn't able to get any.
I made it out of the museum and made my way towards St. Peter's - except I accidently turned the wrong way out and ended up walking around the whole other end of Vatican City, which is surrounded by a giant wall!
A good forty minutes later, or something like that, I finally made it to St. Peter's, which actually exceeded all my expectations for it. It was simply amazing. My favorite part was seeing the Pieta - beauty and sorrow so intricately wound, and the love between a mother and her son (for more pictures, check Facebook).
The rest of the night was pretty boring - I went out to eat at a small Italian place, where the chef served me up some pasta, lasagna and a glass of the house wine. It was my first taste of red wine and I probably prefer white as of now, but then again, it was my first taste.
I decided to rest for the night of Christmas Eve, watched a little bit of the Denver Broncos game online and then slept in until 1:00 this morning - it was the first time I didn't have to check out of a place the next morning or get up early, so I took advantage of it.
Plus, everything is closed today, so I haven't really done anything at all!
However, I'm actually really excited - I just planned the most epic walk of the century. It's a two-hour (though probably will take more like 4-6 hours) walk to almost every important place in Rome east of the Tiber river. Here are the places I will be covering, in order of appearance:
1. Piazza della Republica
2. Palazzo delle Esposizioni
3. Foro Traiano (Trajan's Forum)
4. The Coliseum
5. The Forum
6. Arco di Constantino
7. Circo Massimo
8. S. Maria in Cosmedin (Cathedral)
9. Teatro Marcello
10. Monumente a Vittorio Emanuele II
11. Campo de Fiori (where Caesar was assassinated)
12. Piazza Navona
13. The Pantheon
14. S. Ignazio di Loyola (Cathedral)
15. Palazzo Colonna
16. San Carlo Quattro Fontane (Cathedral)
17. Fontana del Trevi (the Trevi Fountain)
18. Trinita del Monti (where the Spanish Steps are)
Anyway, I'm going to be busy doing that for the next few hours, so "Caio!"
Your Uncle Brendan and I walked around the Vatican on our honeymoon. It almost killed me. Why didn't you go to Midnight Mass with the Pope?
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of impossible to get in without a ticket...I found another cathedral though the next morning. There are like a billion in Rome.
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