Giovedi 29.01.09

Left Arcobaleno at 9:30pm for an 11:30pm night train to Roma! Yes, you're thinking "Why so early? The train station is just a 20 minute subway ride away" but believe me, it's definitely necessary when you're traveling with 13 people and have never been on an Italian train before.

Arrived at the station without losing anyone but the trouble started early when we boarded the train. You see, we had "reserved" seats when we purchased the tickets from the automatic machine earlier in the week but when we arrived at our cabin, an Italian man had already made himself comfortable. It took two or three of us in 3 different languages to understand that he wasn't moving because apparently, the seat assignments aren't enforced. Matters were further complicated by the fact that the tickets we had purchased together (with the idea that this would facilitate sitting together) were all designated on one ticket instead of individual ones, meaning that people felt they would have trouble with the conductor if they weren't all sitting together. I knew that I would be able to explain that 3 of us were in one cabin and the rest were down the hall, but there were about 4 or 5 of our group who decided to throw a fit until the man finally moved, I'm sure cursing America under his breath (or perhaps out loud). While that was going down, myself, Michael, Sasha, Mandy, and Hilary found a cabin to share so we could get settled and also avoid being associated with the rest of our party.

There was one Italian woman occupying the sixth seat in our cabin and before we went to sleep, Michael and I were able to have a full conversation with her about where we were from and our plans for Roma. He is pretty much fluent and so did most of the talking, but I understood everything and interjected where I could. It was a very proud moment! Afterwards, we pulled the seats out to form one big bed and all cuddled up for an interesting night's sleep. We were a jumble of knees and elbows but surprisingly comfortable until various body parts started to fall asleep and tingle like crazy since we couldn't reposition very easily. I was the lucky one closest to the window who could enjoy watching the stars and phone lines zip by whenever I couldn't sleep.

Venerdi 30.01.09

7:30am - we arrived at a train station on the outskirts of Roma and took a short connecting train to Termini Stazione in the center of the city. One short metro stop later, we were strolling down the quaint streets of ancient Roma to our Hostel. Unfortunately, we arrived to find chains across the door and a sign that said something to the effect of "Water Main Break - closed until further notice"! There had been a separate group of our friends who had arrived the day before so I called them to find out where the HECK they had stayed. Luckily, we were able to drop our stuff off at their hostel across the street and pick it up later that evening after a day of sightseeing. Crisis averted.

We started by taking in the exterior of the Colosseum (it didn't open until noon) and taking a lap around Circus Maximus. Little known fact: The Colosseum only held approx. 55,000 people so the entertainment consisted of gladiator fights (gladiators were either crazy Romans who volunteered or slaves who were forced) against animals and each other. They also think that at one point the underground labyrinth where the lions were caged could also be flooded to have small boat races and battles. It was the Circus Maximus that was used for the persecution of Grecians as well as chariot races and other games because it held approx. 270,000 people.

We actually ended up taking a guided tour of the Colosseum and Palantine Hill for 7 euro per person in order to skip the lines and learn more of the historical facts. For example, the Colosseum is an amazing place from an architectural viewpoint because it would pretty much all still be in tact if it weren't for the Christians who stole the marble blocks from the side to build St. Peter's Basilica (This is also the case with the Palace and the Pantheon). The top part of the Colosseum fell during an earthquake only because the sun shone more on that southern side and weakened the stone. Similarly, one of the main reasons the Forum is in such ruin is because the Christians decided to pull down alll the pagan buildings, messing up the drainage system and allowing about 10 meters of soil to cover most of the Forum. Later, Napoleon had his soliders excavate it and ended up doing more harm than good.

Later than evening, we went to the Pantheon to see Raphael's tomb and admire the amazing skylight at the top of the dome. Then we crashed at the hostel to prepare for the next day after a dinner of homemade lasagna!

Sabato 31.01.09

Woke up at 8:00am so that all 13 of us could be ready to leave by 9:30am for a day at the Vatican. Anybody that has known me for 5 minutes knows that #1 I am a fashionista who likes to have her hair/makeup done to accompany a great outfit each day and #2 I am not a morning person. Not only did we not have hot water because of the earlier plumbing issue, but I managed to only bring one backpack and no purse on the trip with me. That meant that I wore the same jeans and tennis shoes three days in a row and only brought one nice outfit to wear to dinner and Mass. Are you shocked? I was. And disappointed that I wasn't dressed to meet my own Gregory Peck on my own Roman Holiday. I was also a little grumpy because all 7 girls were up and the lights were on the chatting had started immediately. Oh well, I got used to it. Sorry to those who had bets going at home :)

Anyway, Saturday was spent at the Vatican and we could have probably spent everyday for a week there and not seen everything. Also, a tip for anyone who is planning on going: bring Advil. You will need it because your neck will ache from walking around all day looking up. Believe me, there is no where else you would rather be looking and sometimes, you think your eyes can't even possibly convey all the wonder and beauty to your brain in adequate fashion.

When we entered St. Peter's square, all I could do was picture it filled with pilgrims for Christmas and Easter. In fact, they still had the Christmas tree and a gigantic creche standing in the center next to the obelisk. We moved on through security to tour the interior of St. Peter's Basilica. In contrast to Milan's gothic Duomo, it is glistening with gold, rubies, and sunshine. The Pieta is in an alcove to the right and inspires an atmosphere of soft reverence amidst vomitotious opulence. From an artistic and architectural perspective, the Basilica is an unbelieveable marvel of talent and engineering. From a faith perspective, I'm torn between being impressed by what faith can inspire and being disgusted that it was built to demonstrate religious and temporal power. I was able to find peace however, on the top of the dome, looking out over the city. We climbed 551 steps, which were about 1 ft. wide and sometimes slanted at an unnatural angle, to see the best views of Roma.

This is the point where the group of 13 turned into smaller groups of 3 to 5. Everyone had different priorities and amounts of time they wanted to spend at each site. It's just as well because there's no way I was being rushed through the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel. Hilary, Joey, Chantal, and I bought the audioguide tour and listened to the descriptons/explanations of the Gallery of Sculpture, Gallery of Maps, Raphael Rooms, Collection of Modern Religious Art, and each section of the Sistine Chapel. My favorite was obviously the Sistine Chapel and probably my favorite part within it was the wall depicting the Last Judgement. The colors are still so vibrant and Michelangelo painted such emotion on the faces of each of the human souls that I spent a good amount of time studying each one and how they were relating to one another and also how they were reacting to Christ who is gesturing some up to Heaven and the others down to Hades. (Note to Mr. Robb: I was so glad I had read Dante's Inferno before seeing this. I recommend that your students also read Paradiso and Purgatorio because knowing his view on religion is integral to understanding Michelangelo's interpretation) I also found the connections between the paintings depicting Moses' journey and Christ's journey immensely fascinating, especially since I'm not as familiar with the stories.

In the evening, most of the group went on a pub crawl but myself, Joey, Hilary, Chantal, and Ben had a wonderful dinner at a sidewalk cafe, shared a bottle of chianti, and then ate gelato after we had made our wishes at the Trevi Fountain.

Domenica 01.02.09

Not surprisingly, we were the ones who made it to Mass at St. Peter's Basilica. I would estimate that there were approx. 150 people in attendance. It was given at the main altar at the top of the basilica and was mainly in Italian with some Latin. After only two weeks of study, I could understand pretty much the entire thing, including the homily! It was another proud moment and made the experience even more special, helping me to feel the strength of the congregation's faith.

Immediately following, we toured the catacombs and then moved on to the square to hear the Pope's Sunday address. He did it in five languages from his little window - Italiano, French, English, German, and Spanish. Then we took the metro to the Spanish Steps to do some shopping before we left on the evening train.

Unfortunately, the train was an hour late and so our plans to watch the SuperBowl, as well as the number of people wanting to go, were impacted severely. The only true Americans ended up being myself and Hilary. We took a very expensive cab ride at 12:30am to get to the bar and stayed until 4:30am cheering on the Steelers (Though I was mainly there to see Bruce!!!) It made for a looooong day but we had a blast.