Beautiful view of the Tiber River
Hi Everybody,
OK this is a really big day so I hope you are up to it... It's funny because other than the few people who leave me comments I have no idea who is reading this famous (to me) blog. I feel like I am journeling for anyone to see. Hmmm maybe I should be careful...mmmm no!. Before I begin on my day I just want to say hi and thank you to everyone at Flags, Denim Bar and Miyamo for reading my blog. Judy(my sister) has told me that you don't want me to come back because you will miss my blogs. That made my day:) I guess I will just have to plan another adventure....for you of course:)
Allysa and I
Allysa was my private guide today for my tour of The Vatican. The smallest state in the world! First off this is nothing you can see in one day so having a guide is great because you hit all the high points and in subsequent visits (like Le Louvre) you explore and see more. If I wrote about everything I saw it would be a book in its self, so I will also highlight the high points and put captions under the pics.
So this is a very cool picture, it is the actual entrance doors to the Pope's residence. There aren't any people here because no-one knew! At least the people that were around me. The Vatican has been the most crowded place I have been in all the time I have been gone. I realize I am not much into crowds:)
This is Michelangelo's Pieta, it is behind glass because back in the 80's some wacko came at it with a hammer and damaged it. The Pieta was repaired using the broken pieces. The man is in a mental hospital. How insane is that? Also another fact: In 1955 the Pieta was shipped to New York for the World's Fair. This piece is huge and because of it's value is hard to believe that Italy would risk moving it. There must of been a lot of money involved:)
St. Peter's Square
This famous Piazza is where all the people were standing to hear who the new Pope was 5 years ago. The Pope also says a blessing every Sunday from his window that overlooks the Piazza. This is also where you can see the black or white smoke when the Cardinals are choosing the new Pope. (not bad for a Jewish girl huh?) (Don't worry the Jewish Ghetto is later today)
The Baldacchino inside of St Peter's Basilica (the largest Church in the world). To give you a idea the Baldacchino is the equivalent in height to a 10 story building. Bernini designed this huge alter piece that is made of bronze. The round paintings that you can see from the top right and left are approximately 20 feet in diameter. This Church was absolutely gorgeous in person. Also St. Peter's tomb is directly under the alter. It is pretty amazing.
OK so I did it again, after 3 pictures I hear "NO PICTURES" unlike the Last Supper, there were many people taking pictures. It was not very clear even Allysa said "Oh sorry I forgot to tell you, sometimes they say something and sometimes they don't" Anyway, this picture is very interesting, first because oh my gosh... It's the Sistine Chapel!!!! and secondly the window at the far end on the right is where the black or white smoke is emitted when a new Pope is chosen.
Michelangelo's "Heaven and Hell" on the far wall in the Sistine Chapel. He did this wall after he did the ceiling. There is a lot of information in this Fresco. One fact: Michelangelo painted all figures in the nude and one of the Pope's thought it was inappropriate so he had another artist come in and paint over the "privates", years later in the 80's during restoration 20 of the painted over privates were removed without damaging the original work.
Are you still with me? or am I loosing you? A lot of information I know.
After my tour Allysa gave me some ideas of where to go and what to do so we parted ways at the Vatican and I was off on my own map in hand.
Do you remember Marco?
I was heading to Piazza Navona and I got a gelato for the walk and I heard "Hey Laura" I turned around and there was Marco my driver to Cinque Terra from Florence. Florence is a 3 hour drive away. Can you believe this? We were like long lost friends reunited!!!! Of course we had to take a picture. What are the chances that we would run into each other in Rome? So weird...so cool. He was driving 2 women on a day trip from Florence to Rome. We chatted for a bit and I was off. What a nice guy:)
I made my way to Piazza Navona. A beautiful Piazza with a lot of sculptures, shops and restaurants.
I made it to Campo de Fiori, it smelled so good here. I loved it.
YES I made it to The Jewish Ghetto (I still don't like that word you know) I arrived at the Museo Ebraico di Roma, I went on a tour and was able to go into two Synagogues, the Antique Gallery and the Museum. As with all of the Synagogues, no photographs inside the gates were allowed. I asked why all of the Synagogues have this rule and the guide told me that in 1982 a terrorist set a bomb off outside the Temple on Sukkot and killed a 2 tear old and wounded 35 others. Since then most or all the Synagogues in Italy have strict rules and security. How sad, but the Rabbi said it is better to be safe than sorry. I can understand but it is very sad that the beauty of these Synagogues cannot be shared through pictures. The tour was very interesting and this Temple is the second largest in I think she said the world. Budapest being the largest. She also said where the larger Temple's are is where the most tragedy usually happened because it is a cities way of apologizing for what happened and they contribute largely to rebuilding the Synagogues. Another fact: The last two Popes have come to this Temple to express that we are all children of G-d and that there should be no religious tensions. This meant a lot to the Jewish community. I could go on but I will stop:)
A pretty good view of the Synagogue from this point. right behind my head. I was on my way to Trastevere, an area that Allyssa told me about. It started raining at this point and this is where my navigating luck ran out.
I'm cold, hungry, it's raining and I am done walking and oh yes I am lost in Rome:(
I felt like if I could find the Tiber River I could figure out where I was. I saw taxis but they were all full. After walking and walking and walking some more, I slowed down and trusted my gut and walked right to the river. I then HELLO realized I could use my IPhone map and did and started on my 4 mile journey back to the hotel. Yes and it is still raining and I am still looking for a cab. At least I was heading in the correct direction. I saw some pretty scenery and tried to keep a positive attitude in spite of being starving. After about 2 miles of walking I see a taxi area and get into a nice warm car. "St Regis please" 10 euro later I was there. Ahhh so happy. I walked down the street and had dinner and came back to the hotel.
Whew!!! That put me a bit over the edge.
I didn't even get to the police officer asking me out and walking a block with me asking again and again. He had a gun:) Actually, the men in Rome are not as intense as the men in Florence at all, those guys were crazy. Then tonight in the lounge Gian Luca (popular name) bought me a Cappuccino and offered to show me around, that was nice, so you are thinking wow 2 in 1 day? Oh no, I actually have dinner plans tomorrow night. Remember my friend Mo from Egypt that I met on the train to Milano? Well he is going to be in Rome this weekend and asked me out to dinner tomorrow night. That should be fun:) Aren't my days interesting?
I am also flying out on Sunday back to Paris. I was able to get a direct flight (saved me a lot of time) and was able to transfer my one night of starwood points toward my room in Paris. I am having dinner with Helen on Sunday and lunch with Vicki on Tuesday. I am looking forward to seeing my friends. Then I am coming home to my family:):):) and friends:):):) I really am excited!!!
Now you are pretty well caught up on my life:) I hope you aren't bored....
Lots of love to all,
Laura
Thought for the day:
Always remember you are never alone, there is always a guardian angle with you:)
