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