Woke up early today. We hung out with Sabina and rode out to Pompeii. What can you say about Pompeii? It’s underneath Mt. Vesuvius which erupted in 79 B.C. burying the city and those around it in tons of volcanic ash. Years ago they found it and they have been excavating since. It’s intense. From looking at the city, one is supposed to be able to tell what Roman life was like. Some interesting things:
First of all, the Romans were obsessed with sex. Gaudy, public sex. There is a whole street of Red Light District. It was accepted that all men went there. If you weren’t sure where they are, no problem, just look to the road where carved out penises point the direction. There are penises on the wall that show vitality. If you go inside a brothel, you can pick your service by pointing to the appropriate painting (porn) that is above the room. The beds were made of stone, so things were hurried along. Ridiculous! Have the tour we talked about how baudy and constantly aroused the freakin Romans were. The other half was viewing the solidified bodies and looking at some of the architecture that was being excavated. There were some fascinating things besides the penises, I promise. For instance, the roads were built on an incline so that the water that would come with the rains would flow to the bottom. There were stepping stones that were put on all the streets so that when the water was flowing, you wouldn’t get your feet wet. Lol. They were all about their style and their clothing I guess. They loved to dress richly. They made the first carts and there were specific dimensions that are still used for railroads so that all the carts could make it through the stepping stones. They would put marble specs in the road, so that they would act like reflectors on dark nights. There were lanterns, but it wasn’t always safe on the main road, so they liked the reflectors to add a little light. They had fast food restaurants back then. They would store food in jars that would keep for the whole day and sell it for cheap. The people would nap in the middle of the day even back then, but they stayed up late as well.
The ruins are wonderful. It’s so intense to see how much they have excavated. There are full houses and different places that you can walk through. It was really pretty amazing.
After Pompeii, we went to Sorrento, which is where Sabina is from. This town was beautiful. We had lunch, which was nice, and then walked around the streets and shopping centers. There is a view of a beach there that give Capri some serious competition. We had twix flavored Gelato and bought some things. It was a nice place. After getting back to the boat, we had a nice little fourth of July barbecue (on the fifth, I know). Afterwards we studied for our test the next day, Global Studies. Napoli was nice. Different, but nice. The sights were amazing. Capri was great. Pompeii was awesome. I love Italia!
Overall thoughts on Italy (short):
I think that I like it a bit better than Spain. The history is so rich and the sights are amazing. The people are just like I’m use to (The Celenza’s are legit), and the way of life is a lot different but in a nice way. Oh. The most important thing. We all know that Bentley is a little smarty pants, but we didn’t know just how smart. We thought she was talking baby talk whenever she wants a drink of coke. We’re totally wrong. She’s just askin in Italian, Coka. ☺
Semester at Sea
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Napoli Day Two: Capri
What a day! We started out early again with Sabina as our guide. We headed straight to the pier and went off on a “Jet Boat” that lasted forty-five minutes to the island of Capri (it’s said a little strangely, CAP like a baseball cap then pri. You have to stress the cap part), which has to be the most tourist visited place near Naples. Ten thousand people were on the island and only four thousand live there. Someone said they saw Magic Johnson hanging out and we’re pretty sure that Bill Gates was there in a HUGE HUGE yacht. You can tell that the island is extremely wealthy. It’s so beautiful. The water there is crystal blue. It’s turquoise, it’s indescribable. We started the trip by going up on a chair lift to the top of the island. The chairs were little whicker things. They didn’t look too terribly sturdy, but they made it all right to the top. The sights were beautiful. I know I keep saying that, the same thing over and over, but this was legit. This was incredible. I’m sure that you can google it. Going up on the chairs, you can see the whole island. There are vineyards right underneath your feet and villas. It was a trip. After touring around AnaCapri, which is just the top of the island of Capri, we were treated to lunch at one of the island restaurants. Not good. But the company was, so it made it bearable.
We took a bus down to Capri and walked down the main street. Louis Vuitton, Guess, stores like that. We visited the Botanical Gardens that were there and saw more amazing sights. Capri is intense. Capri is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. It’s a paradise.
Right before we left, we walked down the main street back to the pier to take the Jet Boat back when we saw it. The store. The store to trump and trample ALL stores. A shoe store that makes shoes, to YOUR feet! We went it. I picked my style. I picked my color. Then they fit a leather sole to my feet. They measured where my toes were. The cut holes and nailed things in. Then they measured the leather laces to the size of my feet! They cut where my foot stopped and everything. My shoes are incredible, and the Italians are known for their leather. I didn’t get a leather purse, I didn’t get a leather coat, but I got some b.a. shoes made from leather that were custom fit for me. I showed EVERYone. It was AWESOME! Definitely an experience that I didn’t even know I had to have in life. I love them.
After Capri, we found a little internet café and did some catch up. We found another pizza place and had pizza WITH cheese, and then made it back home to the ship before dark.
Let me tell you about the Gillespies. I could wait one, but I won’t. The Gillespies are a couple who are both teachers on the ship. They’re theater teachers. We spent every day in Naples with them, and by the end, they loved us. I have to say, I love them too. They’re a little older, but they’re SO sweet. Capri was the first day that we really talked to them a lot. Mrs. Gillespie pulled me aside when we were waiting to meet with the group near lunch time, and she said, “You two are a wonderful couple. He treats you so well, and I can tell you’re just the nicest couple. I’m glad you’re together.” No joke! How freakin nice?! I was like, “Thanks!....wow. Thanks”. Or something awkward, I didn’t even know what to say. Since then we’ve been buddies. We walk around with them. We’ve had breakfast. They’re really nice, and they like us a lot I think. Another couple we found are the Barazas. Joe is the security officer on the ship. He walks the halls at night and is a retired LADP officer. His wife is named Susie. We ended up walking with them on the way from a restaurant one night. Somehow we got to talking about China, and by the end of the conversation, they pretty much told us they could get us a teaching job with crazy pay and nice living arrangements! It sounds like a sweet deal, and if we could do it, it’d be perfect. We’ve seen them quite a few times since then too, and I think we’re building a good rapport. Another example is the Daneyshares (or some other crazy spelling). Dr. D is our international trade teacher, and his wife is named Kathleen. Dr. D likes us because we pay attention in his class and we’re polite. We’ve talked a few times outside of class. Yesterday he told us that if he had grandchildren, he hoped they were just like us and that we were the nicest couple he’d met on the ship. His wife agreed.
Old people like us. Plain and simple. I think it’s because they can tell that we’re old spirits. We’re young, but we make old people decisions and we want to SEE things rather than just party every night. We haven’t gone out. One time. We’re polite. They can tell that we’re into the school portion of the trip too. They like us, and it’s funny. But at the same time, we like them too. We can relate to them. Makes me want to laugh a little.
Sorry for the aside. Just another passage to show how lame-ish we are for our age. Haha. Incredible day I’d say. Capri is intense.
We took a bus down to Capri and walked down the main street. Louis Vuitton, Guess, stores like that. We visited the Botanical Gardens that were there and saw more amazing sights. Capri is intense. Capri is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. It’s a paradise.
Right before we left, we walked down the main street back to the pier to take the Jet Boat back when we saw it. The store. The store to trump and trample ALL stores. A shoe store that makes shoes, to YOUR feet! We went it. I picked my style. I picked my color. Then they fit a leather sole to my feet. They measured where my toes were. The cut holes and nailed things in. Then they measured the leather laces to the size of my feet! They cut where my foot stopped and everything. My shoes are incredible, and the Italians are known for their leather. I didn’t get a leather purse, I didn’t get a leather coat, but I got some b.a. shoes made from leather that were custom fit for me. I showed EVERYone. It was AWESOME! Definitely an experience that I didn’t even know I had to have in life. I love them.
After Capri, we found a little internet café and did some catch up. We found another pizza place and had pizza WITH cheese, and then made it back home to the ship before dark.
Let me tell you about the Gillespies. I could wait one, but I won’t. The Gillespies are a couple who are both teachers on the ship. They’re theater teachers. We spent every day in Naples with them, and by the end, they loved us. I have to say, I love them too. They’re a little older, but they’re SO sweet. Capri was the first day that we really talked to them a lot. Mrs. Gillespie pulled me aside when we were waiting to meet with the group near lunch time, and she said, “You two are a wonderful couple. He treats you so well, and I can tell you’re just the nicest couple. I’m glad you’re together.” No joke! How freakin nice?! I was like, “Thanks!....wow. Thanks”. Or something awkward, I didn’t even know what to say. Since then we’ve been buddies. We walk around with them. We’ve had breakfast. They’re really nice, and they like us a lot I think. Another couple we found are the Barazas. Joe is the security officer on the ship. He walks the halls at night and is a retired LADP officer. His wife is named Susie. We ended up walking with them on the way from a restaurant one night. Somehow we got to talking about China, and by the end of the conversation, they pretty much told us they could get us a teaching job with crazy pay and nice living arrangements! It sounds like a sweet deal, and if we could do it, it’d be perfect. We’ve seen them quite a few times since then too, and I think we’re building a good rapport. Another example is the Daneyshares (or some other crazy spelling). Dr. D is our international trade teacher, and his wife is named Kathleen. Dr. D likes us because we pay attention in his class and we’re polite. We’ve talked a few times outside of class. Yesterday he told us that if he had grandchildren, he hoped they were just like us and that we were the nicest couple he’d met on the ship. His wife agreed.
Old people like us. Plain and simple. I think it’s because they can tell that we’re old spirits. We’re young, but we make old people decisions and we want to SEE things rather than just party every night. We haven’t gone out. One time. We’re polite. They can tell that we’re into the school portion of the trip too. They like us, and it’s funny. But at the same time, we like them too. We can relate to them. Makes me want to laugh a little.
Sorry for the aside. Just another passage to show how lame-ish we are for our age. Haha. Incredible day I’d say. Capri is intense.
First Day In Naples 7-3
Naples: “The Arm Pit of Italy” to some. I personally wouldn’t agree, but it ain’t no Rome. I’m somewhere in the middle I think.
On the first day, we slept in a bit. We really needed it. We were so exhausted from the heat from the day before. Before we headed out, James’ roommate came in. He’s been gone for a few days. I guess that he went on some wine tour of a vineyard in Florence, and on the way there, the van driver hit an old lady going 50 miles per hour. He said that it was pretty gorey and she had a bone sticking out! An ambulance finally got to her after two hours, but she was breathing when she left! CRAZY!!! He was a little shaking up, you could tell. Who wouldn’t be!?
Anyway, we barely made it to our one o clock city tour. The tour was amazing. We had a guide named Sabina, who was absolutely wonderful. We ended up having her all three days, and she was so great. She was loud, and excited and she knew her stuff you could tell. She was pretty too, as James liked to continually point out, but I liked her so much. We had a few good conversations with her over the three days. The first day was awesome. We started by viewing an opera theater that is in the wealthy shopping district in town. I never really thought that I would be too interested in something like that, but you’d have to be nuts not to think it’s amazing. It’s all done in red and gold, and the thing is shaped like a horseshoe. We got to go in the king’s box and see the stage. It’s one of the oldest in Europe, so when I say King’s box I mean it literally. That’s where the king went to see the theater. Very impressive, and the guide was a cutie pie. Her English was impressive.
Afterwards we took a panoramic tour of the city. I have to admit, from the outside looking in, Naples is beautiful. The beaches are really only big rocks, but the water is incredible. There are villas on the outskirts that would blow your mind and boats that are in the dock that have to be worth millions. Everything is done in a certain architectural style, so while the buildings of the city differ to a certain degree, they’re all similar enough to have a cool effect. The city was wonderful, and it was a good introduction to our stay there.
There are four major castles in Naples, and they’re legitimate. They’re huge buildings with the ramparts and the draw bridges. It was interesting to see. That was definitely something that I was NOT expecting to see there. We visited two cathedrals as well. They were nice, though not the most impressive. I think it’s going to be hard to compare after St. Peter’s. One of them was a Jesuit cathedral that was still an active church. I don’t know much about confession, but they do theirs in public. There is no little box. The people are right outside talking to the priests. Interesting I thought.
The rest of the night was taken up with us finding a place to eat. On the way there, we saw why Naples is called the armpit. It’s a little sketchy, a LOT dirty, and a little scary to tell you the truth. We made a decision the first day that we would be inside the boat by nightfall every night. We figured it’d be safer. And the mob is totally there. No myths. They run the place.
We have ate nothing but pizza every meal in Italy. We had lasagna once, and it was great! But man. We’re into pizza, and Naples is supposed to be the best. Funny story. Our first meal on our own there, we go into this place, get some incredible bread and then order a Pizza Napoli (Naples in Italian). Turns out that that particular kind of pizza is one without cheese. No joke, a pool of sauce, that’s what we ate. Haha. Serve us right for not looking close enough. It was interesting, and I’m sure that if it had cheese on it, it might have been one of the best I’ve ever had. It was an interesting day.
On the first day, we slept in a bit. We really needed it. We were so exhausted from the heat from the day before. Before we headed out, James’ roommate came in. He’s been gone for a few days. I guess that he went on some wine tour of a vineyard in Florence, and on the way there, the van driver hit an old lady going 50 miles per hour. He said that it was pretty gorey and she had a bone sticking out! An ambulance finally got to her after two hours, but she was breathing when she left! CRAZY!!! He was a little shaking up, you could tell. Who wouldn’t be!?
Anyway, we barely made it to our one o clock city tour. The tour was amazing. We had a guide named Sabina, who was absolutely wonderful. We ended up having her all three days, and she was so great. She was loud, and excited and she knew her stuff you could tell. She was pretty too, as James liked to continually point out, but I liked her so much. We had a few good conversations with her over the three days. The first day was awesome. We started by viewing an opera theater that is in the wealthy shopping district in town. I never really thought that I would be too interested in something like that, but you’d have to be nuts not to think it’s amazing. It’s all done in red and gold, and the thing is shaped like a horseshoe. We got to go in the king’s box and see the stage. It’s one of the oldest in Europe, so when I say King’s box I mean it literally. That’s where the king went to see the theater. Very impressive, and the guide was a cutie pie. Her English was impressive.
Afterwards we took a panoramic tour of the city. I have to admit, from the outside looking in, Naples is beautiful. The beaches are really only big rocks, but the water is incredible. There are villas on the outskirts that would blow your mind and boats that are in the dock that have to be worth millions. Everything is done in a certain architectural style, so while the buildings of the city differ to a certain degree, they’re all similar enough to have a cool effect. The city was wonderful, and it was a good introduction to our stay there.
There are four major castles in Naples, and they’re legitimate. They’re huge buildings with the ramparts and the draw bridges. It was interesting to see. That was definitely something that I was NOT expecting to see there. We visited two cathedrals as well. They were nice, though not the most impressive. I think it’s going to be hard to compare after St. Peter’s. One of them was a Jesuit cathedral that was still an active church. I don’t know much about confession, but they do theirs in public. There is no little box. The people are right outside talking to the priests. Interesting I thought.
The rest of the night was taken up with us finding a place to eat. On the way there, we saw why Naples is called the armpit. It’s a little sketchy, a LOT dirty, and a little scary to tell you the truth. We made a decision the first day that we would be inside the boat by nightfall every night. We figured it’d be safer. And the mob is totally there. No myths. They run the place.
We have ate nothing but pizza every meal in Italy. We had lasagna once, and it was great! But man. We’re into pizza, and Naples is supposed to be the best. Funny story. Our first meal on our own there, we go into this place, get some incredible bread and then order a Pizza Napoli (Naples in Italian). Turns out that that particular kind of pizza is one without cheese. No joke, a pool of sauce, that’s what we ate. Haha. Serve us right for not looking close enough. It was interesting, and I’m sure that if it had cheese on it, it might have been one of the best I’ve ever had. It was an interesting day.
Last Day in Rome! 7-2
Today’s the day. Our last day in Northern Italy. We wanted to make the most of it, so we woke up pretty early. 6:30! Woop. We headed down to the train station and waited around in Civ till 7:30 when the train got there. We ended up in Rome at about 9am. We hit the ground running. We went straight to the metro again and stopped off at the exit to the Vatican. We had heard the other day that the line to get in was three hours long! So we wanted to beat as much as the crowd as we could. We ran off the metro and headed straight to what we thought was the Vatican Museum. The line was long, but not terribly so. It took us about twenty minutes to get to St. Peter’s Basilica. We saw the Swiss Guard on the way, which was exciting. We learned later that the Swiss Guard are young men who serve as the guard to the Pope and the Vatican for a period of five years. They have to be single, and they have to be dedicated. They’re outfits are pretty nuts. You should google them. They look a little like clowns, but at the same time, they all stand to stoically and they have these crazy hook things that they carry around. All quite interesting. As well, we learned that the whole reason for the Vatican’s location is that it is location that many believe is the burial place of the Apostle Peter, himself. It’s called St. Peter’s because it’s supposed to be where he’s buried, somewhere underground.
St. Peter’s Basilica is intense. Going inside is like walking into a gilded cathedral full of marble and windows that shine the lights throughout and the marble busts are insane. There are wax bodies of old popes, and there is a huge chapel that you can see and walk up to. There was a room we went into that is just for praying and the busts are absolutely beautiful. There are huge marble sculptures and the ceilings are insane. I haven’t seen anything like it. I would have to say that it’s the craziest thing I’ve seen yet. The dress code there is really strict too. Really, it is for Europe in general. If you have a sleeveless shirt or your shorts aren’t long enough, then they won’t let you in. It’s pretty intense, but it’s really a respect thing. I didn’t want to take any risks, so I wore some long pants and a shirt that was a little thicker that had longer sleeves. It was hot, but I wasn’t getting turned away.
After awhile, we realized that we weren’t anywhere near where we thought we were. We needed to get to the Vatican Museum, not just St. Peter’s. We asked a nice chubby little priest where we should go, and he gave us some good directions only at this point it was already ten thirty, and any line that we had originally tried to beat was in full force. We saw it, and we realized it was a good two hour wait. So! We cheated. We bought a guided tour throughout the Vatican Museum. They told us we’d only wait twenty minutes or so, but with all things in Italy, you have to double the time they say. Well, triple more like it. We were able to stop and sit down for a bit though. We had some croissants (which I’m totally a fan of now), and waited for our tour guide to come. She ended up being a British red headed woman who was a little spicy to say the least. She made quite a few sexual jokes, but eh. When in Rome and all that. They’re all like that.
We finally made it in. When you get a guide, you get to skip the whole line and walk right in. It’s pretty nice, and I’d say that it’s totally worth it. Once we got into the museum, the guide took us aside and explained in detail the Sistine Chapel. Everyone’s heard of the Sistine Chapel, everyone’s seen the Adam creation painting. It’s in Michelangelo’s in Tucson on the ceiling. I’ve read about Michelangelo in school and I’ve even seen a few of his sculptures in books. I really didn’t understand though. This man was a genius. Pure and simple. Here’s an example. When you look at a painting from someone like Raphael, or anyone else from that time period, the bodies of the people in the painting look like “painting” people. This is hard to understand. For instance, people’s knees. They look like smooth joints, smooth knees. When you look at a Michelangelo’s paintings, the knees look like knees. There are lines where the cap is. There are joints. When there is a painting of someone’s chest, there are muscle groups. We learned from our tour guide that Michelangelo knew about muscle groups that physicians didn’t know about for a full two hundred years. The man was brilliant, and he showed off his brilliance through his works. The man was also crazy. He learned all the stuff from dissecting people. Ya. Gross. Still, you can’t deny his genius.
We went throughout the Vatican museum for about 3 hours before we made it to the Sistine Chapel. Once we were inside, it was so intense. More so than I thought. It’s almost overwhelming. The painting on the side of the wall of the chapel was almost just as intense. There’s a picture of Jesus right in the center, which was the first time that someone had done that in a famous painting of significance. One of his hand is lifting up, the other is pushing down. On the one side he is rising the good up into heaven. On the other he is banishing the others to hell. It’s an intense painting, well wall really. The whole of the museum was intense. There are like miles of hallways and different places. Artifacts upon artifacts upon artifacts. But it’s hot. Like, no ac in the middle of the summer in Rome hot. HOT.
Afterwards, we headed over to the OldBridge Gelato place. SOO good! Gelato is awesome because it really doesn’t get to my stomach! It’s not necessarily icecream, and I haven’t had any problems with it! Which is super nice. My nose found it too. We were passing it (though we didn’t know it at the time), when I said out of the blue: “Man, we forgot to go to that Gelato place the interport student told us about”. I turned my head and there it was! Bang! Super exciting. James’ nose has been guiding us this whole trip, so my nose had it’s own experience too.
After the Vatican and OldBridge, which took five hours, we headed over to the Pantheon. Unfortunately, it was under construction, so it looked a little interesting, and the inside is now a church….but it’s still cool to say we’ve been there, I guess? I was a little surprised to say the least. But I’m glad that we went. I was expecting something more like the Acropolis, but we’re going there too, so it’ll be ok. Afterwards, we walked to the city’s supposedly best square of bars and restaurants: Campo di Fiori. We didn’t eat there, though we did look at the score of the world cup game that was playing.
As we were walking to find a place to eat, I had an experience. I’ve lived in the desert my whole life. I know what heat stroke is, and I know how it feels. Well. This time, I was a little unprepared. Usually you get a head ache, or a little achey in general. I went from a little warm, to dizzy as heck to muddled thoughts. It was horrible. James’ was talking to me, but I wasn’t sure what he was saying, and it wasn’t until he turned back to look at me that he realized that I was in trouble. James’ really saved the day. He took control right away, and took care of me. We walked me to a store where he bought me a water and sat me down. We started for the train station so we could get home, and he made me stop every once in awhile and rest. He took pretty good care of me to say the least. It would have been horrible if I’d passed out in the middle of Rome….We made it to the train station. Got on one going home, and made it a ok. We got some snacks so we weren’t dying and waited till we got home to go to a little pizza joint to eat. What a day.
All in all, I loved Rome. It was amazing. The sights, the people. My favorite part was that there are trees there. Huge Cyprus trees, and these other ones that are super tall with leaves only at the top. It’s green. It’s SO green. I know it prolly sounds weird, but it really struck me. I loved it. Rome was incredible. Prolly my favorite place so far. One could spend days there and not see it all. The sights and the history make Rome a pretty rich place. I feel lucky to have been there.
St. Peter’s Basilica is intense. Going inside is like walking into a gilded cathedral full of marble and windows that shine the lights throughout and the marble busts are insane. There are wax bodies of old popes, and there is a huge chapel that you can see and walk up to. There was a room we went into that is just for praying and the busts are absolutely beautiful. There are huge marble sculptures and the ceilings are insane. I haven’t seen anything like it. I would have to say that it’s the craziest thing I’ve seen yet. The dress code there is really strict too. Really, it is for Europe in general. If you have a sleeveless shirt or your shorts aren’t long enough, then they won’t let you in. It’s pretty intense, but it’s really a respect thing. I didn’t want to take any risks, so I wore some long pants and a shirt that was a little thicker that had longer sleeves. It was hot, but I wasn’t getting turned away.
After awhile, we realized that we weren’t anywhere near where we thought we were. We needed to get to the Vatican Museum, not just St. Peter’s. We asked a nice chubby little priest where we should go, and he gave us some good directions only at this point it was already ten thirty, and any line that we had originally tried to beat was in full force. We saw it, and we realized it was a good two hour wait. So! We cheated. We bought a guided tour throughout the Vatican Museum. They told us we’d only wait twenty minutes or so, but with all things in Italy, you have to double the time they say. Well, triple more like it. We were able to stop and sit down for a bit though. We had some croissants (which I’m totally a fan of now), and waited for our tour guide to come. She ended up being a British red headed woman who was a little spicy to say the least. She made quite a few sexual jokes, but eh. When in Rome and all that. They’re all like that.
We finally made it in. When you get a guide, you get to skip the whole line and walk right in. It’s pretty nice, and I’d say that it’s totally worth it. Once we got into the museum, the guide took us aside and explained in detail the Sistine Chapel. Everyone’s heard of the Sistine Chapel, everyone’s seen the Adam creation painting. It’s in Michelangelo’s in Tucson on the ceiling. I’ve read about Michelangelo in school and I’ve even seen a few of his sculptures in books. I really didn’t understand though. This man was a genius. Pure and simple. Here’s an example. When you look at a painting from someone like Raphael, or anyone else from that time period, the bodies of the people in the painting look like “painting” people. This is hard to understand. For instance, people’s knees. They look like smooth joints, smooth knees. When you look at a Michelangelo’s paintings, the knees look like knees. There are lines where the cap is. There are joints. When there is a painting of someone’s chest, there are muscle groups. We learned from our tour guide that Michelangelo knew about muscle groups that physicians didn’t know about for a full two hundred years. The man was brilliant, and he showed off his brilliance through his works. The man was also crazy. He learned all the stuff from dissecting people. Ya. Gross. Still, you can’t deny his genius.
We went throughout the Vatican museum for about 3 hours before we made it to the Sistine Chapel. Once we were inside, it was so intense. More so than I thought. It’s almost overwhelming. The painting on the side of the wall of the chapel was almost just as intense. There’s a picture of Jesus right in the center, which was the first time that someone had done that in a famous painting of significance. One of his hand is lifting up, the other is pushing down. On the one side he is rising the good up into heaven. On the other he is banishing the others to hell. It’s an intense painting, well wall really. The whole of the museum was intense. There are like miles of hallways and different places. Artifacts upon artifacts upon artifacts. But it’s hot. Like, no ac in the middle of the summer in Rome hot. HOT.
Afterwards, we headed over to the OldBridge Gelato place. SOO good! Gelato is awesome because it really doesn’t get to my stomach! It’s not necessarily icecream, and I haven’t had any problems with it! Which is super nice. My nose found it too. We were passing it (though we didn’t know it at the time), when I said out of the blue: “Man, we forgot to go to that Gelato place the interport student told us about”. I turned my head and there it was! Bang! Super exciting. James’ nose has been guiding us this whole trip, so my nose had it’s own experience too.
After the Vatican and OldBridge, which took five hours, we headed over to the Pantheon. Unfortunately, it was under construction, so it looked a little interesting, and the inside is now a church….but it’s still cool to say we’ve been there, I guess? I was a little surprised to say the least. But I’m glad that we went. I was expecting something more like the Acropolis, but we’re going there too, so it’ll be ok. Afterwards, we walked to the city’s supposedly best square of bars and restaurants: Campo di Fiori. We didn’t eat there, though we did look at the score of the world cup game that was playing.
As we were walking to find a place to eat, I had an experience. I’ve lived in the desert my whole life. I know what heat stroke is, and I know how it feels. Well. This time, I was a little unprepared. Usually you get a head ache, or a little achey in general. I went from a little warm, to dizzy as heck to muddled thoughts. It was horrible. James’ was talking to me, but I wasn’t sure what he was saying, and it wasn’t until he turned back to look at me that he realized that I was in trouble. James’ really saved the day. He took control right away, and took care of me. We walked me to a store where he bought me a water and sat me down. We started for the train station so we could get home, and he made me stop every once in awhile and rest. He took pretty good care of me to say the least. It would have been horrible if I’d passed out in the middle of Rome….We made it to the train station. Got on one going home, and made it a ok. We got some snacks so we weren’t dying and waited till we got home to go to a little pizza joint to eat. What a day.
All in all, I loved Rome. It was amazing. The sights, the people. My favorite part was that there are trees there. Huge Cyprus trees, and these other ones that are super tall with leaves only at the top. It’s green. It’s SO green. I know it prolly sounds weird, but it really struck me. I loved it. Rome was incredible. Prolly my favorite place so far. One could spend days there and not see it all. The sights and the history make Rome a pretty rich place. I feel lucky to have been there.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Orvieto! 7-1
We woke up super early today! Got right on a bus and headed off to Orvieto! This is a nice little town outside of Civ. That is basically a little tourist city. It’s very quaint, very adorable. You’ll have to see the pictures. I felt like I was in a movie walking down the streets. The bus ride up was terrifying as you go up a cliff, but we’re getting used to that. Our bus driver looked like Santa Clause, we have a good picture. Check it out.
There’s also an awesome Cathedral right in the middle of town, a HUGE cathedral. Right smack dab in the middle. We went inside, and it was breathtaking. We couldn’t take pictures, but it was wonderful. There are two different rooms with frescos inside that are supposedly the inspiration for Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. They were scenes from Revelations. In the center there is a small little chapel. We sat and prayed for awhile, and it was nice. The cathedral is strange because it’s striped. Not kidding. There’s a few pictures from the outside and the inside is the same scheme. It’s striped white then green, but the green is faded so it looks like an off black. Interesting aesthetic. The majority of the tour involved walking through the underground caves of Orvieto. There is literally of framework of caves that go underneath the city and people use them for cellar type things and also for tourism. They were pretty insane. The caves are hundreds of years old but they’ve been used throughout the ages for different things including bomb shelters and the like. The tour guide spoke great English and it was absolutely fascinating. If you’re claustrophobic though, they’re not for you.
From Orvieto, you can look down and see the whole of the Italian countryside in that area. It’s so intensely beautiful, I wish I could describe it adequately. There are rolling hills and it’s super green. There are little vineyards splattered here and there and lots of hay bales that are wheel like rather than little hay bales. My favorite part were the animals though. We’d be driving along and we’d see a little packet of horses here, or some cattle there. I’m not joking. Trees, trees, hills, little lake, packet of horses, trees, villa, hay. I could have lived there, it was so beautiful.
Lunch was expensive, and not terribly good, but it was ok. It’s Italy. Nothing is THAT bad. We ended up walking around the city for awhile with a kid who’s been to Rome before. We talked about different things till it was time to go, all the while walking down whatever little ally way we thought looked quaint.
When we got home, we ate dinner at the little restaurant next to the one the night before. Wait staff definitely not delicious, but we ate with another SASer that James knows who’s from Texas. He thinks a lot like us, so we had some great conversation over dinner. Stopped for some Gelato, got back to the ship, watched the end of the incredible, and then went off to sleep!
One more day in Italy! Tomorrow we're off to Rome!
There’s also an awesome Cathedral right in the middle of town, a HUGE cathedral. Right smack dab in the middle. We went inside, and it was breathtaking. We couldn’t take pictures, but it was wonderful. There are two different rooms with frescos inside that are supposedly the inspiration for Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. They were scenes from Revelations. In the center there is a small little chapel. We sat and prayed for awhile, and it was nice. The cathedral is strange because it’s striped. Not kidding. There’s a few pictures from the outside and the inside is the same scheme. It’s striped white then green, but the green is faded so it looks like an off black. Interesting aesthetic. The majority of the tour involved walking through the underground caves of Orvieto. There is literally of framework of caves that go underneath the city and people use them for cellar type things and also for tourism. They were pretty insane. The caves are hundreds of years old but they’ve been used throughout the ages for different things including bomb shelters and the like. The tour guide spoke great English and it was absolutely fascinating. If you’re claustrophobic though, they’re not for you.
From Orvieto, you can look down and see the whole of the Italian countryside in that area. It’s so intensely beautiful, I wish I could describe it adequately. There are rolling hills and it’s super green. There are little vineyards splattered here and there and lots of hay bales that are wheel like rather than little hay bales. My favorite part were the animals though. We’d be driving along and we’d see a little packet of horses here, or some cattle there. I’m not joking. Trees, trees, hills, little lake, packet of horses, trees, villa, hay. I could have lived there, it was so beautiful.
Lunch was expensive, and not terribly good, but it was ok. It’s Italy. Nothing is THAT bad. We ended up walking around the city for awhile with a kid who’s been to Rome before. We talked about different things till it was time to go, all the while walking down whatever little ally way we thought looked quaint.
When we got home, we ate dinner at the little restaurant next to the one the night before. Wait staff definitely not delicious, but we ate with another SASer that James knows who’s from Texas. He thinks a lot like us, so we had some great conversation over dinner. Stopped for some Gelato, got back to the ship, watched the end of the incredible, and then went off to sleep!
One more day in Italy! Tomorrow we're off to Rome!
Republica Boy’s Home 6-30
Today was a Civitavecchia day! We woke up and went to a SAS service visit. We went to a transition home for boys and girls that was set up by a cardinal 70 years ago. The owners gave us a tour of the grounds and we were able to see the 23 boys and a couple girls who live there. It wasn’t really an interaction type thing, more of a tour, but it was still cool to see a place that takes care of the children of that country. The kids were cute.
Afterwards we went down to the city center of Civ. And found a little pizza parlor. It was SO fantastic. They gave us garlic smothered bread and then panne pomodorro (bread and chopped up tomatoes on top). The pizza was amazing, and the company was nice! We saw a legitimate Italian exchange while we were there. The owner of the restaurant got in a….fight? Altercation? It was almost exciting. I felt like I was home almost (Lexee and Dad). ☺
We spent the day around Civ, really. It’s a nice little time. Nice people, and nice shops. We asked for things and everyone was super accommodating. We found this nice little grocery store that sells HUGE cans of soda for super cheap, which was great because we’re running low and we can’t have bottled soda. Suh-weet!
Dinner was nice. We ate at a nice little restaurant with the most…how to say this delicately….hmmm…..delicious food, and delicious wait staff…. ☺ Great experience.
Anyway. I’m jealous for all of you who are watching Eclipse right now! It’s here, but we can’t find it in English yet. We’re working on it. Well. I am. James is adamantly against it, but I know if I can find it in English, he’ll go. He’s awesome like that.
Afterwards we went down to the city center of Civ. And found a little pizza parlor. It was SO fantastic. They gave us garlic smothered bread and then panne pomodorro (bread and chopped up tomatoes on top). The pizza was amazing, and the company was nice! We saw a legitimate Italian exchange while we were there. The owner of the restaurant got in a….fight? Altercation? It was almost exciting. I felt like I was home almost (Lexee and Dad). ☺
We spent the day around Civ, really. It’s a nice little time. Nice people, and nice shops. We asked for things and everyone was super accommodating. We found this nice little grocery store that sells HUGE cans of soda for super cheap, which was great because we’re running low and we can’t have bottled soda. Suh-weet!
Dinner was nice. We ate at a nice little restaurant with the most…how to say this delicately….hmmm…..delicious food, and delicious wait staff…. ☺ Great experience.
Anyway. I’m jealous for all of you who are watching Eclipse right now! It’s here, but we can’t find it in English yet. We’re working on it. Well. I am. James is adamantly against it, but I know if I can find it in English, he’ll go. He’s awesome like that.
Rome Day One! 6-29
And so it begins! We started out as the first kids off the ship. We knew that we’d get off early, so we were super prepared. We walked out into the Italian air and had our first glimpses of Civitavecchia (said Chiv-a-ta-veck-i-a). We made it to the train station by pure chance, bought our round trip tickets and we were off. We made the train at the last second (though it was there the whole time we just didn’t know it was that one). The train ride was ok! It only lasted an hour and a half and we slept the majority of the time. We made it to Rome, the capital city of Italy! We walked right into the Roma Termini station. The station is the equivalent to Grand Central station. It’s huge! It takes five minutes just to find the area where the metros are, not just to get out. We hopped right on a metro and headed to the Coliseum and the Roman Forum. It’s funny, because the metro stop for the Coliseum is called Colloseo, so it’s not too hard to figure out. We thought we were all prepared with our little map and everything. Figures. The subways are a little scary in Rome, not gonna lie. I liked Barthelona (lisped) much better, though we did some crazy turbaned guy in a Spain metro that freaked us the freak out, but that’s besides the point. Anyway. We made it to the Colloseo exit. We walked up the stairs out to the street and BANG! There it is, right smack in front of us: The Coliseum. Right there. Shock of the day. Haha. I really wasn’t expecting that. We walked down the road and followed the signs to the Roman Forum. We had gotten a travelers tip from our Italy for Dummy’s book, so we knew to buy our tickets for everything at the Roman Forum, where the line was five minutes long. When you buy a ticket, you buy it for everything: The Colisum, The Forum, and Palatine Hill. Lots of people go straight to the Coliseum, but the line is anywhere from an hour to two. We were SO glad we bought our tickets at the Forum!
So in we went. The Forum is amazing. Here’s some background just in case you haven’t studied it. The Forum is basically a city block of ruins. There are temples, and building and the remains of the Roman Forum that was in effect two thousand years ago. You are basically walking down their main square. We walked throughout the whole thing, looking at the remains of the temples and the different buildings. We went inside the “Curia”, which was the Senate building that the Romans used. We took lots of pictures in front of the Temple of some emperor and the Vestal Virgins’ Temple, which had unique architecture for its time. It was cool because I took a quick course right before, so I was like a mini tour guide for James. I thought the class was stupid when I took it, but I was so glad! I love love LOVE the Forum. The sights are amazing, and there is a garden at the top that you can walk through and then look out over the whole square. It’s nuts to think that James and I walked through the same streets that the Roman Emperors did, that Julius Caesar did, and all the other’s who created architectural marvels years before other cultures had moved beyond grass huts.
After the Forum, we walked over to the Coliseum. I liked it. The building was grand and it was interesting to think of what it would have been like back when they held gladiatorial matches. We walked through it and went as high as we could. We took THE picture that everyone else has who’s been there and enjoyed it in general. We didn’t spend as much time here, but it’s not as large. Afterwards we walked around to find some sustenance. We were STARVING. We’d had breakfast on the ship, but it wasn’t…good. We found this awesome pizza joint where we ate SUPER cheap. Afterwards, we walked around the Coliseum to the Palatine Hill. This is a hill that is connected to the Roman Forum. It overlooks it and you can climb up to the top where there are ruins and see the entire city. We were able to see the Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica! It was an incredible view of Rome!
Afterwards, we did some walking around. We found a shopping street: Via del Corso, which is an entire BLOCK of stores. Greatest thing of all! I found shoes! Two pairs, some Nikes and another pair of Okisatka Tigers that are white and purple. Love them!!! We’ve been looking for shoes since Spain, so it was definitely a relief to find some good ones! James was super cute about it. He helped me pick some out (but not in a gay way, in a “Jack was getting frustrated because they didn’t have sizes in the ones that I wanted and he needed to mollify me type way”, lol). Super cute. After the shoes, which I wore out of the store, we walked till we found the Fountain di Trevi! This was incredible! It’s a gigantic structure with huge marble busts and different sculptures throughout this huge fountain! It was absolutely breathtaking. We found it after turning around the corner and it absolutely shocked us. That’s the thing about Rome, you turn a street corner and BOOM, there’s something else that’s nuts. Oh look, another huge memorial out of marble. Oh look, a huge obelisk in the center of some random square. There ‘s another one. Dang. Lol. It’s like that everywhere!
That night we ate at a little hole in the wall restaurant called La Botte, or something like that. We had some lasagna and watched part of a world cup game. It was absolutely delightful. SO good. On our way to the train station, we found a little bakery where I bought an Italian crepe too. Strawberries and strawberry sauce. It was pretty good, but the ones in China were better. Gotta admit.
We hit the train coming home and had a little experience. The train went the wrong direction for about twenty minutes. Haha. Not joking. Everyone on the train was freaking out. Our Italy preport lecturer said that transportation in Italy was a little sketchy, and he was totally right.
When we got home, we relaxed for a bit. It wasn’t super late, but it wasn’t early. We turned on the tv while we were unwinding and Aladin was on! So we had to watch that one and then off to bed! Thank goodness. Rome is awesome!
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