This past week, I took a week off of school to attend my friend Jennifer C's wedding, which I will now call the "wedding of all time" (WOAT). However, I sandwiched my attendance at the wedding with a couple days in Rome at the beginning and a couple of days in Bologna before I flew home.
Before I begin, a shout out to Mom and Dad for cashing in miles to get me to Rome without having to dish out any money. The bonus was I got to fly KLM through Amsterdam, instead of an American carrier.
I arrived in Rome and was landed in the Rome Central Train Station with no idea where or how to get to the B&B at which I made reservations. First thing I did? Have some gelato. That was the theme of my trip, when it down, gelato makes things better.
I eventually found my way to the B&B, which was located near the Ponte Sisto and Campo de Fiori. The next morning, I have reserved a spot on a tour of the Vatican. Now the Vatican tours are so large these days, that each different tour company hands out it's members a headset so one can hear the guide as he/she speaks into a microphone. My group was limited to six guests and was lead by an ex-pat New Zealander who was living in Rome working on his PHD. It was quite a different experience. Our small, agile, group, was able to dart in dart around the massive groups to see things up close, spend time at things we found particularly interesting and ask questions.
I respected the wishes of the Vatican to not take pictures so none are posted. But I did love the Map Room and found the Sistine Chapel to be quite remarkable. Having each and every one of the frescos explained to me, made it quite that much more amazing. Michelangelo was quite the force.
After the Vatican, I took the Metro over to the Colosseum. This time, I took one of the tours where I wore the headset to listen to the guide.
After the Colosseum, I walked through the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. This time, I finished the trifecta of tours, but using one of the hand held, self-guided ear pieces to walk around.
The next morning, Saturday October 6th, I spent the morning working my way towards the bus pickup location for the days festivities at the wedding.
First stop, the Pantheon
A couple minutes away.....Trevi Fountain
The important information revealed by this "signage" about the fountain
This last picture summarizes what I learned over the course of the day in Rome as well as something valuable I learned/realized during my Vatican tour. First, I realized that back in the days before print media and television, these public pieces of art WERE a form of entertainment. Popes and patrons would commission these works and then when put on display were, for the masses, more than just art, it was a way to understand history and to be stimulated.
I learned from my Vatican guide to always look at the beauty of the art, but to also look for clues as to who commissioned it. You'll see in the last picture the popes head piece at the top, with two crossing keys. The seal of each and every pope has that as it's papal sign, but the crest below it is individual to each pope. You'll see that Pope Clement II is the one who had the Trevi Fountain built. I found it cool to be able to use clues like this to figure out who gets credit for what. Throughout Rome, one would see these signatures on buildings and pieces of art. I love how the citizens of Rome live in and amongst these famous historical items.
Neptune, he owns Bologna's Piazza Maggiore
After the wedding, I took the train up to Bologna to hang with former student Ari K. Those of you HRS readers can follow his adventures as a student abroad in Rome on Ari's blog. We spent a day just walking around, catching up. I even attended one of his classes with him. Man, was it boring to sit through a lecture in Italian on the role of Women in Greek and Roman life. I applaud myself for NOT falling asleep.
I spent the afternoon in the Piazza just enjoying the weather and sitting around me were these three men. I think I've seen my future.
Before I begin, a shout out to Mom and Dad for cashing in miles to get me to Rome without having to dish out any money. The bonus was I got to fly KLM through Amsterdam, instead of an American carrier.
I arrived in Rome and was landed in the Rome Central Train Station with no idea where or how to get to the B&B at which I made reservations. First thing I did? Have some gelato. That was the theme of my trip, when it down, gelato makes things better.
I eventually found my way to the B&B, which was located near the Ponte Sisto and Campo de Fiori. The next morning, I have reserved a spot on a tour of the Vatican. Now the Vatican tours are so large these days, that each different tour company hands out it's members a headset so one can hear the guide as he/she speaks into a microphone. My group was limited to six guests and was lead by an ex-pat New Zealander who was living in Rome working on his PHD. It was quite a different experience. Our small, agile, group, was able to dart in dart around the massive groups to see things up close, spend time at things we found particularly interesting and ask questions.
I respected the wishes of the Vatican to not take pictures so none are posted. But I did love the Map Room and found the Sistine Chapel to be quite remarkable. Having each and every one of the frescos explained to me, made it quite that much more amazing. Michelangelo was quite the force.
After the Vatican, I took the Metro over to the Colosseum. This time, I took one of the tours where I wore the headset to listen to the guide.
After the Colosseum, I walked through the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. This time, I finished the trifecta of tours, but using one of the hand held, self-guided ear pieces to walk around.
The next morning, Saturday October 6th, I spent the morning working my way towards the bus pickup location for the days festivities at the wedding.
This last picture summarizes what I learned over the course of the day in Rome as well as something valuable I learned/realized during my Vatican tour. First, I realized that back in the days before print media and television, these public pieces of art WERE a form of entertainment. Popes and patrons would commission these works and then when put on display were, for the masses, more than just art, it was a way to understand history and to be stimulated.
I learned from my Vatican guide to always look at the beauty of the art, but to also look for clues as to who commissioned it. You'll see in the last picture the popes head piece at the top, with two crossing keys. The seal of each and every pope has that as it's papal sign, but the crest below it is individual to each pope. You'll see that Pope Clement II is the one who had the Trevi Fountain built. I found it cool to be able to use clues like this to figure out who gets credit for what. Throughout Rome, one would see these signatures on buildings and pieces of art. I love how the citizens of Rome live in and amongst these famous historical items.
After the wedding, I took the train up to Bologna to hang with former student Ari K. Those of you HRS readers can follow his adventures as a student abroad in Rome on Ari's blog. We spent a day just walking around, catching up. I even attended one of his classes with him. Man, was it boring to sit through a lecture in Italian on the role of Women in Greek and Roman life. I applaud myself for NOT falling asleep.
I spent the afternoon in the Piazza just enjoying the weather and sitting around me were these three men. I think I've seen my future.
No comments:
Post a Comment