The Pantheon in Paris
Garden of Luxemburg!
At the Garden of Luxemburg!
Montmarte overlooking Paris!
At Montmarte overlooking Paris!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Paris!
6:15 pm
Bonjour everyone! I finally arrived in Paris around 9:30 on Saturday night and couldn't have been happier! As I was checking into my hostel, Abby walked in the door, thank goodness! It was so nice to see a familiar face! Luckily, I didn't have very much trouble getting myself through the Rome or Paris airports, but it was still nice to finally get here and see Abby. Saturday night we went to dinner at a place near my hostel - turns out French food isn't the best - there's lots of duck and seafood with the eyeballs still attached. No thanks. So Abby said they usually resort to Italian food... I can't complain about that! Sunday, we went to a fun district in Paris and shopped around and she showed me some of her favorite places to go. On Monday while Abby was in class, I borrowed Abby's map and found my way to the Pantheon in Paris - very cool! I also brought my book and went to the Garden of Lumexburg and wandered around for a while and read for a bit in the garden! Strangely enough, I had a man approach me while I was reading and tell me that I had the most beautiful toes he had seen in many many years. Toes, yes. How strange. That's the French for you, I guess. I was very proud of myself - instead of taking the Metro to meet Abby for lunch, I used a map and navigated myself to her dorm on foot... guess I'm not so directionally challenged, after all. Monday afternoon, we went to one of the most famous tea houses in Paris called Laduree - it was absolutely delicious! I had my first macaroon... huge success. I'd have to say that chocolate was my favorite, no surprise there, but my second favorite was Abby's recommendation, the orange blossom. Tuesday, I explored my area of Paris while Abby was in class, and then met at another of her favorite restaurants for lunch. Today, we had the lovely task of shipping suitcases home - which takes about an arm and a leg to do - we even had to fill out a piece of paperwork on just our shoes that we were shipping home. Ridiculous. We had sandwiches from one of her favorite places to eat lunch, and then spent our afternoon at Montmarte - where Mom, Dad, MB, and Maggie - the 3 of us had our portraits done when we came to Paris a few years ago! It was a really cool area and had the beautiful Basillica of the Sacred Heart and a great view of the city! Tomorrow, we leave for Prague on a 9:50 flight, so it will be an early night for us tonight! Meeting Abby at 7:00 am for the airport... yuck. I will update on Prague when I can - again, not sure of my internet situation in each city. Cross your fingers! Only 13 days until we return to the States - can't believe it! Love ya'll!
Corinne
Bonjour everyone! I finally arrived in Paris around 9:30 on Saturday night and couldn't have been happier! As I was checking into my hostel, Abby walked in the door, thank goodness! It was so nice to see a familiar face! Luckily, I didn't have very much trouble getting myself through the Rome or Paris airports, but it was still nice to finally get here and see Abby. Saturday night we went to dinner at a place near my hostel - turns out French food isn't the best - there's lots of duck and seafood with the eyeballs still attached. No thanks. So Abby said they usually resort to Italian food... I can't complain about that! Sunday, we went to a fun district in Paris and shopped around and she showed me some of her favorite places to go. On Monday while Abby was in class, I borrowed Abby's map and found my way to the Pantheon in Paris - very cool! I also brought my book and went to the Garden of Lumexburg and wandered around for a while and read for a bit in the garden! Strangely enough, I had a man approach me while I was reading and tell me that I had the most beautiful toes he had seen in many many years. Toes, yes. How strange. That's the French for you, I guess. I was very proud of myself - instead of taking the Metro to meet Abby for lunch, I used a map and navigated myself to her dorm on foot... guess I'm not so directionally challenged, after all. Monday afternoon, we went to one of the most famous tea houses in Paris called Laduree - it was absolutely delicious! I had my first macaroon... huge success. I'd have to say that chocolate was my favorite, no surprise there, but my second favorite was Abby's recommendation, the orange blossom. Tuesday, I explored my area of Paris while Abby was in class, and then met at another of her favorite restaurants for lunch. Today, we had the lovely task of shipping suitcases home - which takes about an arm and a leg to do - we even had to fill out a piece of paperwork on just our shoes that we were shipping home. Ridiculous. We had sandwiches from one of her favorite places to eat lunch, and then spent our afternoon at Montmarte - where Mom, Dad, MB, and Maggie - the 3 of us had our portraits done when we came to Paris a few years ago! It was a really cool area and had the beautiful Basillica of the Sacred Heart and a great view of the city! Tomorrow, we leave for Prague on a 9:50 flight, so it will be an early night for us tonight! Meeting Abby at 7:00 am for the airport... yuck. I will update on Prague when I can - again, not sure of my internet situation in each city. Cross your fingers! Only 13 days until we return to the States - can't believe it! Love ya'll!
Corinne
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Last Day
9:30 am
Wow. I can't even begin to describe the experience that I've had here and the people I've met. Margaret and I have been a wreck for 2 straight days having to say bye to our new "family." I don't know how these past 5 weeks got away from me so quickly. I can honestly say that this trip has been hands down the best experience I've ever had in my life. Yesterday Joe was the first person to leave, and I kept looking at him with tears in my eyes saying, "How did this happen? How did we get so close, so fast, and how is it already over?" My four best friends, Margaret, Joe, Jonathan, and Steve are four of the best, most genuine people I've ever met, and it absolutely amazes me how well we meshed so quickly and easily. I have been literally sick to my stomach as I say bye to each of them, Margaret being the last. Good news is, I'm going to hop on a plane to Paris late this afternoon and finally get to see Abby! It will be so nice to spend time with someone from home, a nice comfort. I will be in Paris until June 30, then we will travel to Prague, Innsbuck, Munich, and Amsterdam - 3 days in each city. I know my travels through Europe will only add to this incredible experience I've had. Mom and Dad - I can't thank you enough for letting me have this time here, because it has been 100% amazing. I don't know what our internet situation will be in each city, so I will update my blog whenever I have the chance! I miss everyone so much and can't wait to see you on July 12th when I return to the lovely state of Georgia! PS - Mom and Dad - remember the rules... Chick-fil-a immediately upon my return. Not an option. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Talk soon! Love to everyone!
Wow. I can't even begin to describe the experience that I've had here and the people I've met. Margaret and I have been a wreck for 2 straight days having to say bye to our new "family." I don't know how these past 5 weeks got away from me so quickly. I can honestly say that this trip has been hands down the best experience I've ever had in my life. Yesterday Joe was the first person to leave, and I kept looking at him with tears in my eyes saying, "How did this happen? How did we get so close, so fast, and how is it already over?" My four best friends, Margaret, Joe, Jonathan, and Steve are four of the best, most genuine people I've ever met, and it absolutely amazes me how well we meshed so quickly and easily. I have been literally sick to my stomach as I say bye to each of them, Margaret being the last. Good news is, I'm going to hop on a plane to Paris late this afternoon and finally get to see Abby! It will be so nice to spend time with someone from home, a nice comfort. I will be in Paris until June 30, then we will travel to Prague, Innsbuck, Munich, and Amsterdam - 3 days in each city. I know my travels through Europe will only add to this incredible experience I've had. Mom and Dad - I can't thank you enough for letting me have this time here, because it has been 100% amazing. I don't know what our internet situation will be in each city, so I will update my blog whenever I have the chance! I miss everyone so much and can't wait to see you on July 12th when I return to the lovely state of Georgia! PS - Mom and Dad - remember the rules... Chick-fil-a immediately upon my return. Not an option. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Talk soon! Love to everyone!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Pictures from lately
Fountain that was used to bring in water from the countryside - overlooking Rome
Vatican Museum!
Vatican Museum!
My favorite painting at the Vatican Museum - the Wall of Philosohpy by Raphael
Vatican Museum
Wall of Theology by Raphael at the Vatican Museum
At the Coliseum - Steve, me and Joe
Coliseum sideways
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel
4:15
So today I got a lot of Roman things accomplished. I got lost. Twice. I took the wrong bus. Twice. And I explored the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. First of all, imagine me literally sprinting down the street in my Sistine Chapel-appropriate long pants and covered shoulders outfit, trying to navigate to the Vatican from streets where I've never been and not be late for my class. And it's about 8:15 in the morning. I'd been up since 6:30. As we like to say, "no bene" or "not good." But I made it. Breathless and unhappy. But let me tell you, it was totally worth it. The giant Vatican Museum was full of incredible ceilings, sculptures, and paintings in literally every direction you look. Thankfully, I've been learning about some of the art that's in the Museum, so I was able to better appreciate what I was looking at. As cheesy as this may be, it really does make a huge difference to know details about the art instead of just admiring the colors and shapes without any of the meaning behind it. Some of my favorite things I saw in the Museum was the Wall of Philosophy painted by Raphael for Pope Julius II - we discussed it for an extended period of time in class, and I know why. It's an incredible painting to see, especially in person. While I obviously didn't know about a lot of the things I saw, just because of the things I've learned from my teacher in this one class, I was at least able to recognize some details. When we were standing in the Julius II's library, I even had a woman come up and ask me a question about the Wall of Theology. And I answered her. Correctly. Hey Mom and Dad, looks like I am good at this whole school thing, huh? The Sistine Chapel goes without saying, but it was absolutely beautiful. We learned about each scene on the ceiling, the painting of The Last Judgement, and a few scenes about Jesus and Moses that appear on the walls. While there were quite possibly one million people in there and about 50 large tour groups, we were able to enjoy the art for a while and see in person what we've been discussing for weeks. My friend, Megan, and I were talking about our favorite scene on the ceiling, the scene where Adam and Eve are being sent away from the garden by God, and one of the professional "shh-ers" as we like to call them, came and "shh-ed" us because you're not supposed to talk. Oops? Anyway, it's fair to say that it was a amazing experience that I'll never forget. I'm not finished yet though. So I go to leave, and a girl in my class tells me to take bus 23 back to our area of town. I should've realized it was a bad idea when I didn't really recognize any of the stop names at the bus stop, but I did it anyway. And I rode that bus in the complete wrong direction for an hour until it circled back to the Vatican. That was fun. I decided to ditch the bus idea and just walk. In my pants. In Rome. In June. Hot doesn't begin to describe it. Needless to say, I was speed walking so I could get back that much sooner, and was a hot mess when I met Margaret for lunch. No bene once again. It also led me to a giant nap and a large bottle of water. Thank goodness for free water refills all over the city of Rome due to an endless supply of free fountains! I'm now off to finish studying for my Italian test tonight, but I will post the few pictures that I took today soon - my camera died halfway through. Of course. Anyway, ciao for now! Love ya'll!
Corinne
So today I got a lot of Roman things accomplished. I got lost. Twice. I took the wrong bus. Twice. And I explored the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. First of all, imagine me literally sprinting down the street in my Sistine Chapel-appropriate long pants and covered shoulders outfit, trying to navigate to the Vatican from streets where I've never been and not be late for my class. And it's about 8:15 in the morning. I'd been up since 6:30. As we like to say, "no bene" or "not good." But I made it. Breathless and unhappy. But let me tell you, it was totally worth it. The giant Vatican Museum was full of incredible ceilings, sculptures, and paintings in literally every direction you look. Thankfully, I've been learning about some of the art that's in the Museum, so I was able to better appreciate what I was looking at. As cheesy as this may be, it really does make a huge difference to know details about the art instead of just admiring the colors and shapes without any of the meaning behind it. Some of my favorite things I saw in the Museum was the Wall of Philosophy painted by Raphael for Pope Julius II - we discussed it for an extended period of time in class, and I know why. It's an incredible painting to see, especially in person. While I obviously didn't know about a lot of the things I saw, just because of the things I've learned from my teacher in this one class, I was at least able to recognize some details. When we were standing in the Julius II's library, I even had a woman come up and ask me a question about the Wall of Theology. And I answered her. Correctly. Hey Mom and Dad, looks like I am good at this whole school thing, huh? The Sistine Chapel goes without saying, but it was absolutely beautiful. We learned about each scene on the ceiling, the painting of The Last Judgement, and a few scenes about Jesus and Moses that appear on the walls. While there were quite possibly one million people in there and about 50 large tour groups, we were able to enjoy the art for a while and see in person what we've been discussing for weeks. My friend, Megan, and I were talking about our favorite scene on the ceiling, the scene where Adam and Eve are being sent away from the garden by God, and one of the professional "shh-ers" as we like to call them, came and "shh-ed" us because you're not supposed to talk. Oops? Anyway, it's fair to say that it was a amazing experience that I'll never forget. I'm not finished yet though. So I go to leave, and a girl in my class tells me to take bus 23 back to our area of town. I should've realized it was a bad idea when I didn't really recognize any of the stop names at the bus stop, but I did it anyway. And I rode that bus in the complete wrong direction for an hour until it circled back to the Vatican. That was fun. I decided to ditch the bus idea and just walk. In my pants. In Rome. In June. Hot doesn't begin to describe it. Needless to say, I was speed walking so I could get back that much sooner, and was a hot mess when I met Margaret for lunch. No bene once again. It also led me to a giant nap and a large bottle of water. Thank goodness for free water refills all over the city of Rome due to an endless supply of free fountains! I'm now off to finish studying for my Italian test tonight, but I will post the few pictures that I took today soon - my camera died halfway through. Of course. Anyway, ciao for now! Love ya'll!
Corinne
Friday, June 10, 2011
Week 3
9:00 am
Early morning today! Margaret's family is going on a Mediterranean cruise this weekend so she had an early train this morning... she is going to meet them for the night - what will I do without my companion? Maybe I'll be able to survive on my own for the 24 hours she'll be gone. Only maybe. So it turns out Rome isn't as big as I thought... last night my friends are I were walking around an area called Campo di Fiore. We're standing outside talking to each other, and I hear someone call my name. Turn around and who do I see but Mary Rabun! For those of you who don't know, Mary's one of my best friends from high school. I knew she was going to be in Rome this weekend, but I hadn't talked to her yet, and we just happened to bump into her! Needless to say, my new friends got to see a very excited Corinne. Small world. Besides that, my week has been fairly low key. The other day, Margaret and I woke up with no plans for the day, so we decided to just start walking around. We walked in an area that we had never been to before, and came across a huge, beautiful fountain on a hill that over looks the city of Rome. I asked my art history teacher about it, and he said that the fountain was used to bring water into the city from the countryside and fill all the fountains within the city. He told me that it was a beautiful place to go at sunset because "the city turns gold." Will I be returning there soon? Without a doubt. How cool is it that I can just step outside my door and find a place like that? Yesterday in my art history class, we talked about the Sistine Chapel for FOUR hours. Don't get me wrong, it was incredibly interesting to learn about all the insane details of the ceiling and the Last Judgement, but 4 hours was a little lengthy. Now that I know a little more about the actual paintings and the reasoning behind them, I can't wait until my class gets to visit the Sistine next Thursday! I'm very thankful that I get to take this class, and as my teacher says, not act like a typical tourist and "pivot around" the artwork staring, not knowing what you're looking at. We're planning to stay in Rome this weekend - everyone is starting to get sad because we're into the second half of our session, and no one wants to leave, because we've grown to love Rome too much! I think we will have an exploration day today - the best way to discover the "hole in the wall" places in Rome that you wouldn't normally think to visit - and go to the beach for the day tomorrow! I'm excited to see another beach and compare it to Capri - I'm sure there will be no comparison, but hey, the beach is the beach. In Italy. I can't complain. Until next time! Love ya'll!
Corinne
Early morning today! Margaret's family is going on a Mediterranean cruise this weekend so she had an early train this morning... she is going to meet them for the night - what will I do without my companion? Maybe I'll be able to survive on my own for the 24 hours she'll be gone. Only maybe. So it turns out Rome isn't as big as I thought... last night my friends are I were walking around an area called Campo di Fiore. We're standing outside talking to each other, and I hear someone call my name. Turn around and who do I see but Mary Rabun! For those of you who don't know, Mary's one of my best friends from high school. I knew she was going to be in Rome this weekend, but I hadn't talked to her yet, and we just happened to bump into her! Needless to say, my new friends got to see a very excited Corinne. Small world. Besides that, my week has been fairly low key. The other day, Margaret and I woke up with no plans for the day, so we decided to just start walking around. We walked in an area that we had never been to before, and came across a huge, beautiful fountain on a hill that over looks the city of Rome. I asked my art history teacher about it, and he said that the fountain was used to bring water into the city from the countryside and fill all the fountains within the city. He told me that it was a beautiful place to go at sunset because "the city turns gold." Will I be returning there soon? Without a doubt. How cool is it that I can just step outside my door and find a place like that? Yesterday in my art history class, we talked about the Sistine Chapel for FOUR hours. Don't get me wrong, it was incredibly interesting to learn about all the insane details of the ceiling and the Last Judgement, but 4 hours was a little lengthy. Now that I know a little more about the actual paintings and the reasoning behind them, I can't wait until my class gets to visit the Sistine next Thursday! I'm very thankful that I get to take this class, and as my teacher says, not act like a typical tourist and "pivot around" the artwork staring, not knowing what you're looking at. We're planning to stay in Rome this weekend - everyone is starting to get sad because we're into the second half of our session, and no one wants to leave, because we've grown to love Rome too much! I think we will have an exploration day today - the best way to discover the "hole in the wall" places in Rome that you wouldn't normally think to visit - and go to the beach for the day tomorrow! I'm excited to see another beach and compare it to Capri - I'm sure there will be no comparison, but hey, the beach is the beach. In Italy. I can't complain. Until next time! Love ya'll!
Corinne
Monday, June 6, 2011
Coastal Pictures!
Bodies in Pompeii
Pompeii ruins
Ruins
Ruins
Capri!
Margaret, Katie, and I during our first night in Ischia!
The Mediterranean!
Margaret and I on the boat inside a cave!
Everyone swimming in the Mediterranean!
Caves during our boat tour!
Beautiful Capri!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Pompeii and Capri!
4:00 pm
Hi everyone! I'm just in from our weekend on the coast! It was super fun, but absolutely exhausting! Let's count the number of different types of transportation I've used since Friday: 4 trains, 2 trams, 5 boats, 2 buses, and walking. Cities I've been in: Rome to Naples to Pompeii back to Naples to Ischia to Capri to Ischia back to Naples again to Rome. Wow. SO much traveling! Pompeii was pretty cool - the ruins are crazy... they even have molds of peoples bodies that have survived all this time - it was very strange, and slightly unnerving! Naples was not my favorite place in the world... it's easily the dirtiest city I've ever been to - thankfully we were only there for a short period of time while waiting to catch our ferry. After starting our travels at 8:00 am, spending all day in the hot sun in Pompeii, and navigating ourselves through the dirty streets of Naples, we were a tired bunch. When we finally got on our ferry, though, everyone immediately perked up. The Mediterranean is insanely beautiful - the bluest blue I've ever seen! We stayed on a small island called Ischia - it was a tiny little town, but it had so much character! We ate dinner overlooking a gorgeous sunset and the Mediterranean and had a great time just enjoying our view. The entire weekend, everyone just kept saying "This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my life." Saturday was my favorite day I've had so far in Italy! We took a ferry over to Capri and took a boat tour around the island! Our guide spoke very broken English, but took us to see some awesome caves, and parts of Capri that I never would have seen otherwise. We got to swim through one of the caves, and we only had one casualty - Sean got stung by what we think was a jelly fish... yuck! As we were swimming through the cave, I hear Margaret screaming behind me, because the water was so clear that we could see the jelly fish swimming near us - kind of cool, but also scary! The boat ride was 100% worth while and one of the coolest things I've ever done! Saturday night we ate a yummy dinner and walked around Ischia... very relaxing! We also majorly lucked out with our hostel... it was actually pretty nice, and they had breakfast for us in the morning - thankfully our travel agent/roommate, Margaret, does a good job! Just in case you were wondering, yes even in tiny Ischia, they are terrible drivers. I think that is one aspect of Italy that I will never get over. When we were riding the bus to get to our port yesterday, I was actually afraid the bus driver was going to run into the cliff on the side of the road - it is absolutely unbelievable. Anyway, I'm about to nap off all this traveling and go eat a yummy dinner later on! Pictures soon! Love ya'll so much!
Corinne
Hi everyone! I'm just in from our weekend on the coast! It was super fun, but absolutely exhausting! Let's count the number of different types of transportation I've used since Friday: 4 trains, 2 trams, 5 boats, 2 buses, and walking. Cities I've been in: Rome to Naples to Pompeii back to Naples to Ischia to Capri to Ischia back to Naples again to Rome. Wow. SO much traveling! Pompeii was pretty cool - the ruins are crazy... they even have molds of peoples bodies that have survived all this time - it was very strange, and slightly unnerving! Naples was not my favorite place in the world... it's easily the dirtiest city I've ever been to - thankfully we were only there for a short period of time while waiting to catch our ferry. After starting our travels at 8:00 am, spending all day in the hot sun in Pompeii, and navigating ourselves through the dirty streets of Naples, we were a tired bunch. When we finally got on our ferry, though, everyone immediately perked up. The Mediterranean is insanely beautiful - the bluest blue I've ever seen! We stayed on a small island called Ischia - it was a tiny little town, but it had so much character! We ate dinner overlooking a gorgeous sunset and the Mediterranean and had a great time just enjoying our view. The entire weekend, everyone just kept saying "This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my life." Saturday was my favorite day I've had so far in Italy! We took a ferry over to Capri and took a boat tour around the island! Our guide spoke very broken English, but took us to see some awesome caves, and parts of Capri that I never would have seen otherwise. We got to swim through one of the caves, and we only had one casualty - Sean got stung by what we think was a jelly fish... yuck! As we were swimming through the cave, I hear Margaret screaming behind me, because the water was so clear that we could see the jelly fish swimming near us - kind of cool, but also scary! The boat ride was 100% worth while and one of the coolest things I've ever done! Saturday night we ate a yummy dinner and walked around Ischia... very relaxing! We also majorly lucked out with our hostel... it was actually pretty nice, and they had breakfast for us in the morning - thankfully our travel agent/roommate, Margaret, does a good job! Just in case you were wondering, yes even in tiny Ischia, they are terrible drivers. I think that is one aspect of Italy that I will never get over. When we were riding the bus to get to our port yesterday, I was actually afraid the bus driver was going to run into the cliff on the side of the road - it is absolutely unbelievable. Anyway, I'm about to nap off all this traveling and go eat a yummy dinner later on! Pictures soon! Love ya'll so much!
Corinne
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Quick Update!
Thursday, June 2. 4:45 pm
Hello to everyone at home! Today is the anniversary of the day that Italy changed from a monarchy to a republic, so it's kind of like their 4th of July - it's been a crazy day! There was an abnormally huge crowd at the Vatican, and instead of the roads being full of the crazy Italian drivers, they are pretty bare and most stores are closed. We had the day off from classes for the holiday, so we spent our morning at the Vatican -- WOW! It is so beautiful! We went inside the Basillica and saw the unbelievably decorated ceilings and beautiful sculptures of all the past Popes, Jesus, Moses, and Mary. It was so cool! We stayed in the Basillica for a while, and then climbed to the top of the dome - 551 stairs later - and were over looking Vatican City and Rome! It was so cool! It's hard to decide which view I liked better - the one in Rome or in Florence! After that, it was definitely time to stop for lunch... we were absolutely starving after going up and down over 1,000 steps. There were even a few children who were going to the top with their parents - yikes! Not something I would've enjoyed at age 7, I don't think. After we ate lunch, we decided that the line was too long to get into the Sistine Chapel so we decided to go to the Roman Forum instead. My Art History class takes a trip to the Sistine Chapel, so I will get to see it in a few weeks anyway! We had to take the Metro from the Vatican to the Forum - luckily 2 of the guys in our group are from New York and were able to push us through the crowds and get us through the Metro station quickly. After all the walking and climbing stairs we did, we are all absolutely exhausted! We leave early tomorrow for Pompeii! I'm super excited! We're going to be in Pompeii for about half a day and then we're staying on a small island on the coast. This island is a short ferry ride away from Capri, so we're planning to rent a boat in Capri and spend our morning relaxing and looking out onto the Mediterranean! We're going to try to make it to Sorento on Saturday too, but we'll see how that goes. I will post pictures of my trip to the Vatican and from my weekend on Sunday! Have a great weekend, everyone! Love ya'll!
Corinne
Hello to everyone at home! Today is the anniversary of the day that Italy changed from a monarchy to a republic, so it's kind of like their 4th of July - it's been a crazy day! There was an abnormally huge crowd at the Vatican, and instead of the roads being full of the crazy Italian drivers, they are pretty bare and most stores are closed. We had the day off from classes for the holiday, so we spent our morning at the Vatican -- WOW! It is so beautiful! We went inside the Basillica and saw the unbelievably decorated ceilings and beautiful sculptures of all the past Popes, Jesus, Moses, and Mary. It was so cool! We stayed in the Basillica for a while, and then climbed to the top of the dome - 551 stairs later - and were over looking Vatican City and Rome! It was so cool! It's hard to decide which view I liked better - the one in Rome or in Florence! After that, it was definitely time to stop for lunch... we were absolutely starving after going up and down over 1,000 steps. There were even a few children who were going to the top with their parents - yikes! Not something I would've enjoyed at age 7, I don't think. After we ate lunch, we decided that the line was too long to get into the Sistine Chapel so we decided to go to the Roman Forum instead. My Art History class takes a trip to the Sistine Chapel, so I will get to see it in a few weeks anyway! We had to take the Metro from the Vatican to the Forum - luckily 2 of the guys in our group are from New York and were able to push us through the crowds and get us through the Metro station quickly. After all the walking and climbing stairs we did, we are all absolutely exhausted! We leave early tomorrow for Pompeii! I'm super excited! We're going to be in Pompeii for about half a day and then we're staying on a small island on the coast. This island is a short ferry ride away from Capri, so we're planning to rent a boat in Capri and spend our morning relaxing and looking out onto the Mediterranean! We're going to try to make it to Sorento on Saturday too, but we'll see how that goes. I will post pictures of my trip to the Vatican and from my weekend on Sunday! Have a great weekend, everyone! Love ya'll!
Corinne
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)