This past weekend I got the chance to see the eternal city... Rome. It was incredible! Man, it truly is a beautiful city! It was fun roaming around and checking out all the sights and truly being a tourist again! Around every conner there was something new to see! All the buildings were so architecturally beautiful, I was in awe the entire time! Then we got in on Thursday night and we met my friend Chad who is studying there. That night Kristen and I wondered around the Tiber River area while we waited for Chad to get out of class. While we were waiting we decided to try the famous Italian pizza and oh man it is delicious! YUM! It was so good! Once Chad got out of class he took us around the city that night and showed us some of the sights, The Pantheon, The Fountain of Four Rivers and Bernini's Trevi Fountain. It was gorgeous! Its grandeur and its beauty overwhelmed me! I still can't believe that Bernini created such an amazing fountain! It was beautiful! We also had some delicious Gelato in front of the fountain it was delicious! That night Chad took us out to a little local restaurant that was hidden in the stereotypical alleyways of Italy. The ravioli was SO GOOD! YUM!
Friday morning we woke up early and spent almost the entire day at the Vatican. I could have spent three days there! It was incredible! We started off in the Museums, checking out all the artwork there. Every room is so decorated in detailed in gorgeous frescos, it was beautiful! I was in complete awe! There was so much to see! I even got to see the famous School of Athens by the talented Raphael. It was incredible! I loved that I could rack my brain and pull out information from my art history classes from back at DU. I was able to look at picture and decipher it and even pinpoint who was who in the fresco. It was a good feeling! It was so beautiful! But my favorite piece was by far the Sistine Chapel! It was INCREDIBLE! I am still in awe of Michelangelo's talent. I cannot believe how detailed and how beautiful both the ceiling and the wall of The Last Judgement were. And again I was able to recall everything from my art classes! It was so cool to be the "tour guide" for Kristen and Chad and tell them the history behind the art, how Michelangelo completed the his work, the symbolic references and so much more. I am still in awe of how beautiful the chapel was. It was breathtaking. I never would have thought while I was actually studying this stuff last year that I would actually be seeing the best art of the world with my own eyes. It was amazing!
After the Vatican Museums we ventured over to Saint Peters Cathedral. Again, I was in awe! It was incredible! So much went into the building of the cathedral and it is incredible! The entire inside was beautiful frescos! And the Michelangelo's famous Pieta was there as well. Another incredible piece by the famous sculpture/painter! I was so in awe of how much beauty surrounded the church. The alter piece that stands right above the Apostle Peter's grave was huge and so detailed! But what was even more incredible was actually seeing the tomb of Peter. We went down to the Catacombs of St. Peter's and got to see his grave. It was so unreal to see the tomb of someone that I've read about so much in the bible, it made it all come to life. Not only did I see Peter's grave sight, but I also got to see the tomb of Pope John Paul II, where still to this day many people come to pay their respect to one of the greatest Popes of all time. It was such a moving experience.
That night Chad decided to show off his Italian cooking skills and he cooked Kristen and I dinner (which was delicious!). We had to go to the grocery store and get some last minute ingredients and that is when I finally realized I was in Italy! They had a whole isle dedicated strictly to pasta... it was so funny, and kinda overwhelming! But our best find in the grocery store were chocolate euros! It was an epic find and probably the best ,90 euros I've ever spent!
Saturday we decided to conquer the forum and colosseum. Luckily we had Chad and he was an excellent tour guide so we learned so much about the forum and how it served as the "city center" of ancient Rome and even hosted many palaces there. It was beautiful! And so big! Next we moved to the Colosseum and that was awesome! It didn't look real, it looked like a desktop background or something! It was beautiful, such an amazing building! I was so tempted to start fighting like the gladiators back in the day, but Kristen and I resisted, it was hard though!
That day Chad's parents got in town so we all went and ate at a little taverna in front of the Pantheon. It was so cute and quaint! After lunch we went and wondered back to the Trevi Fountain and threw in a penny! Then we went and saw the Spanish steps. That night we went to one of Chad's favorite local restaurants and had a delicious four course true Italian meal! It was so good!
Sunday was our last full day in Rome and it was one of the bests! We started at the national Cathedral of Rome in Giovanni Square. It was a beautiful church with gorgeous frescos! We then went and got some pizza and suplli. Suplli was SO good, I have no idea what it was but it was delectable. We headed back to Giovanni Square and actually saw and climbed the same steps Jesus climbed when he was condemned by Pontius Pilate. Constantine's mother ordered the steps be moved to Rome and it was an incredible experience. Jesus climbed those steps, knowing full well that he was going to be sentenced to death. He suffered beatings and whippings and then walked down those same steps to the cross. It was such an overwhelming experience, but it was incredible. We had to climb up the stairs on our knees and the entire climb was such an experience and allowed me to spend some quality God time. My knees where in so much pain, but I know it was nothing compared to what Jesus went through when he climbed those same steps. It was an incredible experience.
After climbing the steps we headed to St. Peters to attend mass. I don't know much about Catholic Mass, but it was still incredible. It was a beautiful service spoken in both original Latin as well as Italian. It was amazing to experience God in a totally different light and in a beautiful Cathedral where the head of the Catholic Church is based. It was so interesting.
That night Kristen and I decided to do a little girl shopping adventure and let Chad have some time with his family. We ventured over by the Pantheon where we heard some Italian opera singing going on in the square. We went to check it out and saw a crowd gathered around some guy who was the source of the singing. It was BEAUTIFUL! He was just belting it out and I was so impressed. The whole ambiance was amazing as well, we were in this beautiful square with a fountain and the Pantheon while this Italian guy belted out serenading all those around him with gorgeous Italian music. I think I fell in love that night... it was awesome and that kind of stuff really does happen in Italy... I love that country!
Rome was an incredible city, and truly the eternal city. I am so glad I got to see and experience everything I did, both from a spiritual side and artsy side. It was beautiful and such a fun trip, but I was very glad to come home to Athens where I definitely missed good 'ol gyros!
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