For the record, it is very bizarre (and flattering) for me to think that people are actually reading these. I don’t want to be so bold as to assume that my writing is exceptional or that I have anything particularly interesting to say. This blog is really more of a cathartic release of creative energy and a genuine expression of how AMAZING the places I’ve visited are. I think everyone should travel, and this blog is primarily a journal of sorts so that I never forget to continue exploring.
As many of you know, I spent the entire month of April travelling throughout Europe with a friend of mine. The next several posts will be all about my trip and the specific places I visited. On with the blogging.
A blonde flight attendant murmurs a parting “Ciao Bella” and I step off the plane into a gust of warm air, finding myself back in beautiful Rome after 6 years. Rome is one of those cities, like London and Paris and New York that you can visit one hundred times and still not see everything the city has to offer.
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| The Spanish Steps |
I was fortunate enough this time around, to be able to get in to see the Sistine chapel and I have to admit that I was shaken to my core. I have honestly never seen a more incredible piece of art in my entire life, and I’m sure the thousands of other people crammed into the room with me would agree. I could have spent hours traversing the room methodically and admiring individual aspects of the painting if left to my own devices, but as the tour moved quickly I will have to be satisfied with the photos I took. I hate to be cliché, but the iconic “Making of Man” image was by far the most powerful and evokes an actual visceral reaction in the viewer. It is virtually at the exact center of the room and there is perpetually a tightly packed group of tourists stood awe-struck beneath it, necks craned backwards and jaws dropping open, including a little boy quietly tracing the outlines of the figures with his fingers in the air.
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| The Colosseum! |
This particular tour guide who accompanied us was not only incredibly descriptive of the art and the painters, she also kept us entertained by pointing out the odd intriguing detail about the paintings. For example, a large painting by Raphael in what would have once been a study contains the images of Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and himself, depicted as philosophers and members of the crowd. In the Sistine chapel, Michelangelo painted the likeness of the man who continuously hounded him whilst he was working, closely shadowed by the image of death as a page. I found this quite funny and I appreciate the steps Michelangelo took to immortalize his unique brand of humor.
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| The "Making of Man" |
The next day was spent on the hop on hop off bus (I recommend these for anyone who is traveling ANYWHERE! They go everywhere you could want to go as a tourist and the commentary is interesting and descriptive). We braved the lines at the Colosseum, navigated back streets in search of the Pantheon (which we found), and threw pennies into the Trevi Fountain for good luck. We kept ourselves going with Italian pastries and afternoon gelato, before settling in for traditional Italian pizza from a tiny place near our hostel for dinner.
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| I couldn't resist. So many fabulous hats! |
On our last day in Rome, we decided to explore a large park in the north of Rome and maybe hit a big celebrity shopping street and doing dinner at a nice restaurant. The weather stayed beautiful for our walk through the park, and we all but stumbled right into St. Peter’s Square where a nice Bangladeshi man gave us roses and string bracelets. We continued on to the Spanish steps before finishing off the day at the shopping street enjoying a nice dinner out (the gnocchi gorgonzola was INCREDIBLE). Also, for those of you concerned by the title of this post, my beloved teddy bear Snowball was accidentally removed from my room here with the laundry and went on a little adventure. Not to worry though! Thanks to the valiant efforts of a nice man named Lorenzo, he is on his way home now!
Ciao xx
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| St. Peter's Square |
