rome day three

We started our third day in Rome at Vatican City. As you can see, the line to get in was an absolute joke (and it kept going and going past this picture in both directions, plus a whole heap of people inside going through security). But once again, just like at the Colosseum, we didn't have to wait in the line because our tour guide had already bought tickets. Hallelujah! Talk about feeling like a VIP. 

We got through security and when we emerged to see the light of day, we ended up right here:

Kind of a fantastic view, I know. It was followed up by a number of amazing pieces of art in the Vatican museums (which was, not surprisingly, swarming with people and not air-conditioned). 

Busts of famous people--probably popes.

The map room,

Hogwarts hallways,


and other beautiful things that I can't remember the names of.

The most famous thing we saw was the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately you can't take pictures inside the chapel. You get yelled at just for whispering too loudly--and boy do I mean yelled at. I'm pretty sure the word silencio has never been used so hypocritically. Anyway, the most amazing thing for me was picturing Michelangelo flat on his back painting that entire ceiling. It's absolutely incredible that he had the vision to map all of that out and it's even more brilliant that he actually did it, especially when it was so physically demanding. 

Overall, the Sistine Chapel is beautiful and impressive, but my favorite part of our time at the Vatican was probably St. Peter's Basilica. 

This entrance to the basilica is called The Holy Door. It is cemented closed on the inside except during Jubilee, which occurs for a year every 25 years (the last one was in 2000), when the pope "opens it" to pilgrims. Our tour guide explained it this way: if you come during a jubilee year and enter the basilica through this door, all of your sins will be forgiven and you'll go to heaven. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. Who's up for an Italy trip in 2025?

The basilica as a whole is stunning because of its size and contents. Everything from the floors and the walls to the sculptures and the statues inside are beautiful, 

(Michelangelo's "Pieta")

unbelievable,

(Bernini's baldacchino, which stands at 98 feet tall and is made with an insane amount of bronze)

downright impressive,


or all of the above.

And the same goes for the Vatican guards, known as the Swiss Guard, who have such brilliantly colored uniforms.

The nuns in the area are also quite fun to watch, especially with their flirtatious umbrellas that say "Kiss Me BABY" on them. Love it.

This is St. Peter's Square behind us,


and then a photo of the whole family in front of the basilica.

On another note, one of the greatest things about Rome is the fountains. They pop up spontaneously and the water that spouts out of them is cold and drinkable. It's those aqueducts again! Let's just say that water is a hot commodity in the neighborhood. 

After our tour through Vatican City, we went to lunch at a small, nearby place (oh man, the pizza was great), and then we stopped by the Pantheon. We'd been in the neighborhood before for our family photo shoot, but the doors were locked for some reason and after hours of walking and smiling we weren't really in the mood to admire the Pantheon. 

It's a very interesting building, especially because the back half of the outside is made of brick and looks old and run down. But then you see the front and it looks like a Greek temple (apparently we were over the whole "take pictures of the front of the Pantheon" idea after our family pictures because we don't have any). And once you go inside it's even nicer. 

It has amazing marble and detail and it is in great condition. The few things that aren't perfectly polished are still beautiful. This niche in the wall contained a work of art that had partially crumbled away so you could see the original brick behind it. Pretty neat.

And apparently there are a few important people buried there. 

One of whom is constantly guarded. A king, if I remember correctly. 

After the Pantheon, we headed out to find the Sainta Maria della Vittoria church, which is featured in the book Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (along with some of the other sites we visited). The chapel features a very famous sculpture by Giovanni Bernini called "The Ecstasy of St. Theresa."  

Next we ventured to the Galleria Borghese to see an incredible art exhibit. The building doesn't look like much from the outside, but it's deceiving.

I was a bit skeptical myself, but Ron was excited about it, so we went, and I was extremely glad we did. Inside the Borghese, I discovered some of my absolute favorite sculptures, and interestingly enough, my top three were all created by Bernini. Unfortunately photography was not allowed inside the museum, but I found these pictures on Google to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

One of my favorites was Bernini's "David," 

as in David and Goliath.

I love this sculpture because you can actually tell that this is David because of his sling and the armor on the ground behind him. I'll be the first to say that Michelangelo's David is incredible, even though I didn't see him in person like my mom or the Crabtrees did, but I feel like he could be any guy. If I didn't know who Michelangelo's David was supposed to be, I would have no idea. Bernini's David makes sense to me. It's obvious that this is David from the Bible. And I absolutely love that you can see how much concentration and effort he is putting into slinging that rock--it clearly shows on his face. He's beautiful.

Next, I loved Bernini's "Apollo Chasing Daphne." Daphne doesn't want to be caught by Apollo, so right before he reaches her, she turns herself into a tree. In this sculpture, she is in the process of becoming a tree. Her fingers sprout branches and leaves, her toes sprout roots, and bark starts to surround her body. The detail is unreal and you forget for a moment that this is carved out of stone. It looks too precise and delicate and malleable, like it couldn't possibly be stone.

My other favorite was Bernini's "The Rape of Proserpina." Obviously I don't like it for its happy theme, although I do think in this case "rape" is more like "kidnap," but I love this sculpture so much for two reasons: the emotion it evokes in me and the details it has. This sculpture makes me think about what I would do and how I would feel if I were Proserpina in this situation, and I immediately feel fear and frustration and an urgency to get away. There are very few pieces of art that make me feel so strongly, one way or another.

Once I push my emotions aside and focus on the sculpture itself, it amazes me that any artist (Bernini in this case) has the skills to make it look like marble is easily being pressed against and indented (not to mention the detail in the hair and muscles on both Pluto and Proserpina). Bernini makes Proserpina look so fragile and Pluto look so powerful and strong without either of those characteristics being overly done or unrealistic. They look real. I love that.

After our jaunt through the Borghese for a couple of hours (there is a time limit for how long you can stay), we worked our way around the beautiful city of Rome until we got back to our hotel. 

We took a rest while we decided where we were going to eat, but we were out on the road again before too long and off to eat some Asian food (obviously we were yearning for a little variety in our diet at this point). On the way to the restaurant, we saw this fantastic mannequin. You'd think it'd be more realistic to see one of these in the U.S. than in Europe . . . or at least I would.

I'm not positive about the name of the place we went to, but I feel like it was something along the line of Mr. Cho's. It had good reviews online, so we went for it. After looking through the menu, we realized why the reviews were so great! Mr. Cho (or whatever his name was) offered a delicacy that I hadn't seen anywhere else. Feast your eyes on menu item 26, my friends.

This is what I mean when I preach to you about how everyone needs an editor. It's okay though--they figured it out. One of the employees had taken a pen and written the letter u over the letter i in "dick." But I guess he missed a couple of menus . . .

Dinner was followed by gelato, of course, and it was the perfect way to conclude our last day in Rome.