Yes, 3 weeks after our return from Italy, I'm finally ready to take on the final set of posts. I've been procrastinating because I have a giant folder of photos that I know will take a couple hours, at least, to get through and properly document. Some of these will be re-hashes of stuff I've already posted, but with more photos and junk... so heeeere we go:
We took a quick panorama (where I take a series of pics in a circle) of a park we walked through that overlooked the Colosseum (click and drag your mouse to move the picture) It was quick because the corner where I was standing smelled like the unofficial toilet for the local homeless:
On our way to Assisi we took a look out the train window next to the train platform and noticed just how popular cigarettes are in Italy:
At Assisi, we stopped to buy some Nativity sets at the local shops (since St. Francis invented the modern idea of the Nativity). This couple was really cool and chatted with us for quite a while while we were buying nativities from them. The guy is a painter and had his little easle and paints set up and talked our ear off about how much he loves art. Seeing touristy stuff is always cool, but my favorite moments of the trip always involved interacting with Italians and getting a real taste for their culture and personality:
Here's "Fontana Di Trevi" one of the coolest piazzas in Rome. It was packed so we only stayed for a few mins. It's one of those places you have to see at least once, but once you've taken it all in, there's not much point in hanging around all day:
We took an afternoon for shopping and wandered aimlessly around Rome looking for shops. This was a beautiful hill leading up to an antique bookstore where Circle bought a copy of Dante's "Divina Comedia" and Bocaccio's "Decamerone." They're not super ancient printings, but have beautiful illustrations and very antique looking covers that really make our bookshelves look classy.
Shortly after Circle's purchase I decided to splurge on some nice ties and an Italian pair of shoes bought from a pair of Israeli immigrants who have had shops in Rome for 20 years.
This is a quick panorama of the line we had to wait in to get into the Vatican Museums. We waited in line from about 9:30 am until 11:00 (click and drag the photo to move around) We chatted up a young couple from Padova behind us in line and Circle was forced to admit that the northern accent is much cleaner and more beautiful than the slurred Roman accent:
Here's the entrance to the Vatican Museums. The Papal crest quickly became a huge annoyance to me for many reasons, the biggest being that much of Rennaisance art and architecture was built right on top of ancient Roman stuff with little regard for the perversion of history and meaning they were imposing...besides a big ugly beehive hat with keys hugging it is so ugly:
The incredible thing about the Vatican Museums is the amount of history the artifacts within it span. The church has acquired many items, and many have been donated. The first rooms we went into had authentic things from the egyptian era (many centuries B.C.)
Here's a Mummy very well preserved, they say with salt and other embalming fluids...this photo does not do its grotesqueness justice...though I can't help wondering if it tastes like salted beef jerky:
Here is a marble sarcophagus:
This statue was funny. It's a representation of a goddess of fertility. Those are all breasts [insert crude commentary here]:
This colossus is made of bronze and about 18 feet high. It's from ancient Roman times and was struck by lightning and therefore considered cursed. It was found buried in an upside down position apparently to counter the curse:
This is a pic of the mosaic tile work on the floor of one of the rooms in the Vatican Museums. Some incredible detail shots follow:
Ancient Romans...early Nazis?
Who knew that Rodin's "The Thinker" was in the Vatican Museums? I think this might be one of his bronze studies, but we were so tired of listening to the crappy audio guide and standing on sore feet that we snapped a few pictures and moved on before fully investigating:
In the hallways of the Vatican Museum there were some incredible tapestries. They were over 12 feet tall and sometimes twice as wide. Really impressive when you consider they were hand-woven. Here's an example:
I should mention here that, after many hours in the Vatican Museums, we finally arrived at the main reason we went there: The Sistine Chapel!
It was truly spectacular for me because Michaelangelo is my favorite rennaisance artist. His mastery of form and the way he flaunts it with twisting bodies impresses me to no end.
We were one of the only groups that respected the Sistine Chapel rule of not taking any photographs or video. We wouldn't be able to do it any more justice than a simple google image search would do so I'm leaving it out of this post as a matter of tourist principle.
After we spent all morning and into the afternoon in the Vatican Museums we grabbed some pizza in their eateria which looked over a nice vatican garden:
St. Peters is just a short walk down the street from the Vatican Museums, so we headed there next.
Now, where in Hell is St. Peter's?
Here I am enjoying the Pope's embrace:
Here's Circle in St. Peter's square (see what I did there?):
Here's a big old obelisk in St. Peter's:
Inside St. Peter's:
Here is the famous "Pieta" by Michaelangelo. It was kind of disappointing because it's behind a bunch of glass and sectioned off so you can't even get close to it.
After visiting St. Peters we glanced back on its splendor and saw what can only be interpreted as a heavenly invitation to convert:
Next stop, the Pantheon!
Here's some famous bridge across the Tiber river that we crossed on our way from St. Peters to the Pantheon:
On our way to the Pantheon there was a cool little shop where they sell hand-made marble fruit. Yes, all that fruit is made out of Italian marble! (I found out the HARD way)
Here's the Pantheon, one of the oldest structures in Rome:
Here's what we ate outside of a little cafe next to the Pantheon (that's Mozzarella di Buffalo -- yes, BUFFALO cheese...it is one of the greatest delicacies Italy has to offer):
That's all the blogging I can handle for today. Stay tuned for Pompeii!
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