Catch Up Day

Sorry I haven't been updating on full days recently! Our schedule is so busy that it's hard not to go straight to bed after the day's activities are over. But since today is our second free day, I'm going to try and power through a long post on what I've been up to here in Roma. 

Friday we went back to St. Peter's Basilica to learn more about the art inside. My favorite piece was Michelangelo's Pieta, which I wrote about for my first reflection. It's so overwhelming to look at the intricacy of the statue and realize he was only 24 when he finished it. I guess that gives me 3 years to master the art of sculpting! 

It's behind glass because some nut job in the '80's tried to use a pick axe to chip away at it. 

We also looked at lots of statues of saints that are places along the walls. I'm starting to recognize some of the images that are associated with different saints, which is kind of cool. The best saint was obviously St. Vincent DePaul! I almost wore my DePaul shirt that day, which would have been a cool picture. 

Vinnie!

The apse of the Basilica, with St. Peter's throne

After that tour, we had the chance to go up to the dome. After climbing a mountain the day before, I didn't think it would be too bad. Boy was I wrong. After an endless spiral staircase with no place to stop and rest, we went through hallway after hallway of slanty walls that felt like they were closing in on you. I only get claustrophobic in certain random places (like the front entryway of my apartment) but that was one of the worst. However, the view from the top was mostly worth it, and it was a much better journey down to the bottom. 

After a delicious and cheap lunch (the pesto above), we had a lecture, then got to go up into the American press box. This is where all of the reporters wait for news when the conclave is meeting to elect a new pope. There were more beautiful views from that angle, and it was a unique experience to get to be up there. 

(The grey or white smoke comes up from the buildings on the right)

Top floor, two windows from the right, is where the office of the old popes was. Now Francis lives behind St. Peter's. 

Then we went home, watched a movie on Michelangleo to prepare for seeing the Sistine Chapel, and went to bed. 

Yesterday we went to the Vatican Museum. The museum was started by Pope Julius II, and it was the first museum in the world. We saw artifacts from churches, temples, Ancient Greece, and of course the Sistine Chapel. I may have gotten caught taking pictures in the chapel (everyone else was doing it too!!!) but it was so beautiful. It was more three demensiomal than I had imagined, and it was truly wonderful to stand there and look up at it. Below are some pictures of other things we saw. 

After the museum, two of our Professor's friends came and sang us some traditional Italian music. Then we got to sing along with some of the verses. They were so talented, and it's always nice to sing. I'm definitely feeling the winter break InterChorus withdrawals. As a side note, I learned today that "a Capella" means "like chapel", because they would only sing, and not play instruments in chapels. This was because voices were considered the purest representation of God's gift. I always thought it meant "with voices", so it was cool to learn the real translation and the meaning behind it. 

Today is our free day, and I don't know what I'm going to do yet. The feast of the immaculate conception is today, so a lot of things are shut down. The Pope will be speaking at the Spanish Steps, but since we get to see him on Wednesday, I don't want to brave the crowds to hear him today. It's nice having a day to relax and recharge for the coming week. I can't believe our trip is over half way done! It's been fun, but I'm also ready to get home and rest. 

(I'm so bad at ending posts. Bye?)