PART I: ROME

Disclaimer to the Disclaimer: I decided to break this very very long post into a couple different ones. I got a little carried away. I realize that nobody has this kind of time to read, but I couldn't stop writing.

Disclaimer: This has potential to be a very long post. I’ll try my best to give the condensed version, but as a warning, I tend to be very long winded… (No way!) I suggest that you grab a snack, get comfy, and prepare to go to Italy.

PART I: ROME (Wednesday-Sunday)

Kelly, Sarah and I took the night train to Paris last Tuesday evening and stayed the night at Kelly’s cousin’s apartment. Our plane to Rome was the following night, so we spent the day in Jardin Luxembourg and pretty much just wandering around Paris in total anticipation for our trip to come. To make a long and not particularly interesting story short, we flew Ryanair and arrived in Rome at around midnight. We were whisked away by a taxi driver who spoke no English at all and who proceeded to get us lost, running the meter all the while. When the meter reached 60 euros, we told the taxi driver to pull over and we’d have our friends come pick us up (we stayed with my roommate from Kalamazoo, Whitney, and other K people studying in Rome). I was so pissed and I didn’t even know the right words to tell the guy so. We couldn’t argue the price, so we bucked up and paid it, even though my roommate and her housemates told us that they’ve never had a taxi driver who didn’t know how to find their apartment, and that the flat rate from the airport to their apartment is 30 euros. We made it to the apartment at around 1 am and stayed up talking with our friends, which was unfortunate because they had midterms the next morning… They must love us :)

The next day, Kelly, Sarah and I decided to attack ancient Rome. This included the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. I could have spent much more time exploring all three places, but that was enough to fill an entire day. The following day, we hit the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, the Spanish steps, Via Condotti (home of all Italian designers), Via del Corso (much less expensive shopping), the San Callisto catacombs of the Appian Way, as well as San Giovani in Appia, a church just outside of the old city walls. Saturday was devoted to the Vatican. Sarah, Kelly and I were joined by most of the K kids studying in Rome, which was really fun, especially since they were mostly Classics or Art History Majors. The first thing we did was hit the museum where we saw just the beginning of all the renaissance masterpieces that we would see during the week! This included walking through the Pinacoteca (Picture Gallery), the Raphael Rooms (which included The School of Athens), and of course, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. It’s amazing when you see pictures in textbooks, but when you see the chapel in person you realize that someone actually painted it with their own two hands, or in Michelangelo’s case, lying on his back, several meters off of the ground. Now that’s a labor of love. All I have to say is, not bad for someone who didn’t want to paint it in the first place. I guess when the Pope asks you to paint his chapel you don’t deny him, even if you consider yourself a sculptor first. Afterwards, Sarah, Kelly and I headed to St. Peter’s, which is equally captivating. We spent some time in the basilica, toured the tombs, and then climbed the 545 steps to the top of the cupola for a fabulous view of the city. Thus concludes Rome.