Bones

The day trip to Rome on Friday was extremely enlightening. It deeply satisfied my hunger for art, as well as food. For some reason, waking up at 5:30 AM gave me a true Italian appetite and all I could do all day was eat and eat and eat and eat. And what better time to do that but...when in Rome, right?

6:40 AM Craving a hot dog at the station as I prepare to board my first European train. I refrain. 

7:20 AM Eat my sugar crackers and Nutella on the train. Never having quite understood the Nutella mania before Italy, I have now come to LOVE the brown gunk and just bought a full jar for myself today. 

9:40 AM We got a quick coffee break before entering the Vatican. I proceed with the group to the nearest bar (which is what they call cafes here) and order an over-priced blueberry pastry and a steaming cappuccino. Delicious, but somewhat rushed. 

10:00 AM Enter the Vatican Museum. There is no other word to describe this haven of expensive art than "priceless." The collections within are centuries old and house some of the most famous art ever made. Seeing Raphael's School of Athens and his Transfiguration were a dream come true. There was also a modern art section with Bacon, Picasso, etc. that I would love to go back and peruse. 

11:00 AM St. Peter's Basilica was the most beautiful and elaborate place of worship I think I have ever stepped into. Said to be built upon the bones of San Pietro, this church's paintings, tombs, columns, and sheer gargantuan size were unreal. Rocky said you could easily fit two football fields within...yet the intricate Baroque architecture and massive sculptural elements are deceptive and mask its large size from within. The shrine to San Pietro is shining with gold embellishments and resides under a large baldachin by Bernini with Solomonic columns that twirl in bronze. After the basilica, I journeyed down below to the tombs of the popes to see where John Paul II was buried. People stood praying and just looking at the pristine white marble that lays over the beautiful humanitarian buried below. I had to stop to admire the flowers that lay gently across the inscription as the guards instructed visitors where to go.  

1:30 PM Bruscetta. &A rich, spicy dish of Penne Putanesca at a small restaurant. 

3:00 PM I shared a sugar covered donut the size of my head and helped to finish off someone's gelato while we waited to meet the group in St. Peter's square. 

4:40 PM I am back at the train station and craving a hot dog...again. 

7:00 PM Our amazing chef at the hotel provides us with another fabulous italian meal....as I have every single night, I eat an entire plate piled high with pasta, meat, salad, bread, and of course...I have dessert. 

I have eaten CONSTANTLY since I have been here. I have learned to love everything put on my plate, from prosciutto to artichokes. I have eaten pizza almost every day. I am addicted to cappuccino and love the way they eat dinner for hours. 

Overall, Florence and Rome were a whirlwind of sensory overload. I didn't sleep at all the first week and just took everything in. ART, music, food, people, language, culture, dance, and wine. I love everything about Italy so far and I can't wait to tell you how things go now that I am safely in Parma!!!