Friday Morning = Bittwersweet

One more day to cram everything in that we haven't seen yet! I can't believe the trip is almost over already. It is true that you can never see 100% of Rome. There is always something else, something new that you haven't seen. It all gives me plenty of reason to go back when I have a chance. We'll be headed to the Piazza del Poppolo today to see a great view of the city. The piazza is north of the spanish steps and is on top of one of the 7 hills of rome offering great views. The piazza also is home to a church that has works by Carravagio and Rafaello in their collection. This should be a great way to cap off the trip before we celebrate with dinner tonight, the "Last Supper."

Yesterday after Borghese, James, Samone, Brian, John and I went and toured Palatine Hill and the Capitoline Museums. The view from Palatine Hill is stunning, looking back on the the many domes of the city and all the Roman monuments. The museum itself contains famous sculptures of ancient Rome that you can actually get close enough to reach out and touch, there are no barriers. The museum celebrates Roman history so it also has a great collection of paintings some of which are more than 2 stories tall. We finished the night by taking Fred Gruber and Brian Crowley out to dinner on us for the help they've given us navigating around the city. Thank you guys so much because we would have been SOOOOOOOO lost in this city without your help.

Many groups are in Assisi and Florence today and we're all anxious to see how their trips went tonight when everyone will be together for one last night in the eternal city.

Villa Borghese

I had the chance today to tour the Borghese Gallery. Borghese, for those who don't know, is a gold mine for famous art from the Rennaisance as well as many statues created by famous italian artists. There are few things more exciting than seeing a room full of the most famous pieces of art in history. The gallery is not large but one famous piece after another is displayed anywhere from walls to the ceilings. Absolutely beautiful. There are few words that can accurately describe this collection of the works of Carravagio, Michelangelo, Bernini, Rafaello, and Donatello among others. The gallery is also situated in the middle of a beautiful park which many of us had the chance to walk through yesterday. These gems are a bit of a change of pace from the bustling Rome we have been seeing but they are always welcoming to the eye whether you are an artist or not.

OK LET ME FINALLY POST

HEY GUYS!

LET ME FINALLY POST. I TRIED EARLIER BUT THE COMPUTER LOGGED ME OUT SO I AM GOING TO TRY ONE MORE TIME. THIS WILL TOTALLY BE SPARKNOTES VERSION....

SO ROME IS GREAT! I AM LOVING IT! THE TRIP WAS FAST! I GOT TO SIT WITH JOANNA & NANCY ON THE FLIGHT. WE SOMEHOW MADE IT ON TIME AND EVERYTHING. THEN ROME - WOW. THE WEATHER HAS BEEN GREAT THE FIRST TWO DAYS OF COURSE. LOTS OF SUNSHINE WHICH IS MY FAV! AND LETS SEE.....LOTS OF WALKING! WALKED TO THE VATICAN WHICH WAS THE MOST AMAZING THING ON EARTH. AND MY SLOW WALKING IN THE HUGE BOOTS LED A FEW OF US TO RUN INTO POPE BENEDICT THE SIXTEETH ACCIDENTLY! YEAH GUYS HE WAS DRIVING OUT OF HIS QUARTERS TO SAY A PRIVATE MASS AND WE RAN INTO HIM DRIVING....TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE. FIVE FEET FROM THE POPE - AWESOME! THEN ST. PETERS IS JUST BREATHTAKING. ITS SO BEAUTIFUL AND HISTORICAL! I LOVE BEING CATHOLIC! I CAN BLOG JUST ON THIS BUT I WILL STOP FOR NOW HAHA. LOTS OF PICTURES AND STUFF. I GOT TO STAY FOR MASS IN ST. PETERS. THEN THE POPE AGAIN. I WAS THE ONLY AMERICAN CHEERING FOR THE US! HAHAHAHA. SOME MORE WALKING. CHURCH TOURS --- CANT BELIEVE EVERY CHURCH IS SO BEAUTIFUL HERE! BUT MY BOOTS MADE MY FEET HURT LIKE WHOAH. AND ITALIAN FOOD IS LIKE WHOAH HERE. I LOVE HOW YOU CAN JUST DRINK WINE NO MATTER WHAT. IT IS SOLD EVERYWHERE. IT IS SO RANDOM. AND THE NEXT DAY WAS WONDERFUL TOO. WE GOT TO WALK IN THE VATICAN GARDENS WHERE PJPII WALKED AND LOTS OF OTHER POPES WALKED TOO. IT WAS SOOOOO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE WEATHER TOO! VATICAN MUSEUM TOUR. SISTINE CHAPEL TOUR. I MEAN IT CANNOT GET BETTER THAN THIS! THEN I WENT TO THE VERY TOP OF ST. PETERS. WOW GUYS. THE MOST AMAZING VIEW I HAVE EVER SEEN! OKAY THEN TO THE ORATORY. I MET AN ITALIAN ORATORIAN!!! IN HIS CONFESSIONAL. TOTALLY SWEET. HE DIDNT KNOW MUCH ENGLISH BUT I KEPT TALKING! HAHAHAHA. AND WE STAYED FOR MASS RIGHT WHERE ST. PHILLIPS BODY IS. COOLEST THING EVER. MORE WALKING. EATING. GELATO. AMAZING.

THEN TODAY IT RAINED A LOT. A LOT A LOT A LOT. WENT TO THE HOLY STAIRS. ATTEMPTED TO GET ANOTHER TOUR FOR THE ORATORY WHICH WAS A FAIL. SOME MORE CHURCHES. OLD TOMBS AND POPES GRAVES. AHHHHH JPII GRAVE WAS BEAUTIFUL AND SUPER HOLY. ALL THE POLISH PPL HAHAHAHA. AND YEAH SOME SHOPPING FOR MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS. LOVING ROME GUYS. SORRY ITS IN ALL CAPS BUT ITS EASIER FOR ME WITH THIS DIFFERENT KIND OF KEYBOARD. PRAYING FOR YOU ALL!

Nick's First Post

Even with the weather feeling a lot like Pittsburgh (cold rain and grey) the Eternal City is beautiful. Today was a pretty easy going day with the tour of the tombs of St. Peter and Pope JP2 among others. Even with the rain there was so much to enjoy with a couple trips to coffee shops and other stores. The most beautiful parts of the trip for me so far have been climbing to the top of St. Peter's dome and touring the Vatican Gardens. Even in the late winter, the gardens are full of green grass and flowers in bloom. It's such a beautiful place to walk and is one of the most peaceful places in all of the city. Among all the wonderful tours I can't help but notice the color of Rome. The color that you see here is incredibly pleasing and brilliant. The colors of all the buildings perfectly complement each other and make the city look beautiful. These last 3 days have been so surreal and I can't wait for the papal audience tomorrow.

Ciao!

Last post deleted....

I lost the last long post I wrote up due to a computer error.

Here are the cliffnotes:

I DID know where I was going when guiding the detachment to the pizzeria. I just didn't take the quickest route. There was no deception intended.

Fun stuff. All is well.

More later.

Ok. To explain Aimee's post, let me just say that I went the wrong way around the Vatican. Big deal. I knew where the place was, I knew how to get there, I just didn't choose the fastest route.

As we aproached the pizzeria (one I was set on returning to when I came to Rome five years ago), these thoughts crossed my mind: It's Monday, at 3pm - there's a good chance that the place is closed, and it's been five years since I ate there, the pizzeria could very well have closed up for good since then. Needless to say I was praying pretty intensely that I'd come across the restaurant soon. I committed myself to entering the nearest open eatery and claiming that it was the actuall destination. The next place was THE place... by the Grace of God.

Today was swell. Touring the crypt of St. Peters, and seeing his relics. Pretty awesome.

More tours of Rome courtesy of Brian Crowley. Fun as ussual.

Time's running out for my computer rental, so this is all for now!

Gelato, rose wine, and O Sole Mia (pizza) + awesomest tours of all time

So today we went SO MANY PLACES!

We started off the day with quick impromptu breakfast at McDonalds... yes... they have pastries and yummy muffins and donuts at McDonalds here... no McGriddles or any American-type shenanigans. Then we ran/rode across town to the Vatican Museums, where we toured the Vatican Gardens and Museums. Within those spaces alone are enough SRZBZNS beautiful awesome rooms that I could go on for hours. Unfortunatley, I have 10 minutes left on this computer. maybe.

So... we went to see the Gardens. They were BEAUTIFUL. And from every angle you could see the dome of St. Peters! There were parrots and beautiful pathways and fountains and just so many beautiful little pieces of nature among the huge sprawling city.

Afterward, in the museum we got to see many many sarcophagi and tapestries and paintings. But the most stunning of all was easily THE SISTINE CHAPEL. I have no way to put completely into words the beauty of this space. Michelangelo transformed the potentially dull barn of a church into something that has yet to be rivaled (and which I doubt will ever be).

St. Peter's was so much more than what I expected, and I was so happy to see the Bernini Holy Spirit altar '-- most beautiful in the world, I tell you.

Also. We took a horrendously long walk ALL THE WAY AROUND the perimiter of the Vatican. Basically, some of us wanted to strangle James by the end, but out of mercy and love and charity and all that wonderful virtuous stuff that we've been praying for this whole time, we didn't.

Catherine and I went to a gelato place and look at some of the shops in the Termini after dinner today, and then ended up trying to get 'just a small pizza' and had a pizza each and rose wine. BTW, my pizza had egg on it. YES.

I have to say, I'm glad that I'm trying to fit in as much as possible from the city here, but i really feel like I haven't done as much as I could, and that I won't do as much as I should while I'm here. Oy. But it's beautiful, and such a wonderful experience.

Oh -- and in case you were wondering, the people on this trip are perfectly capable of debate.

And on a final note -- 'no humility without humiliation.'

<3 aimee