Food, Churches, and Art (what else is new?)

I've fallen a bit behind on my travel blogging, because I've been focusing first on my reflection blogs for class. So this is mostly going to be a photo log of what I've done the past few days, with captions for clarification. Enjoy!

Sunday was our second free day, so we travelled to find the gelato place recommended by two of my friends. It was every bit as good as I imagined!

Calzone by the Vatican! Then we wandered the shops to buy souvenirs for people back home. 

Amazing pesto pizza in this cute little cafe we found by the gelato place. I also got strawberry tiramisu that was super good, but I was too full to eat much of it.  

Monday we went to two baroque churches to discuss the Counter- (or Catholic) Reformation. There was a lot of gorgeous artwork because the idea was to amaze the viewer with a "surround sound" experience. 

Hot chocolate from some famous cafe. But not famous enough that any of us had ever heard of it so...

Much like the coliseum the first night, we just happened to walk across the pantheon on the way to the next church. Rome is so cool. 

3D lookin' ceiling in the second church. 

Santa band by the Spanish steps (where I finally decided to buy a knock off purse that I've been condidering all trip). 

I wish we had these in America. Water fountains everywhere!

Beautiful sunset walking out of the metro. 

Today we presented in groups about paintings by Caravaggio, then walked around Rome to the various churches that hold them. This was in the first church, with The Calling of Saint Matthew, The Inspiration of Saint Matthew, and The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew. We actually started in a museum of Capuchin artifacts, which included a crypt of bones displayed in artful arrangements. It was super fascinating, but we weren't allowed to take pictures. 

Apse of the first church

Piazza del Popolo (which is really fun to say). This is the first thing visitors from the north would see when they entered Rome. A lot of emphasis is placed on symmetry. 

This is the painting I was assigned to The Conversion of St. Paul. It's inside the Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo, which was absolutely gorgeous. The Martyrdom of St. Peter was hanging opposite. 

Apse of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo. I'm pretty sure the cross was crooked. 

The archway to Rome (back in the day at least) that looked into the Piazza del Popolo. 

And we ended the day with caico e pepe at the restaurant Caico e Pepe. Apparently some food or travel network guy went there and really liked it. It was surprisingly good despite the fact that I don't like pepper. 

We are waking up at 6 tomorrow to go see the Pope, so it's time for bed! Good night!