We (Bailey, Tara, Kyle, Kyle 2.0, and Tyler.. This is the group I traveled with in Italy so "we" always refers to them!) woke early to grab breakfast and head to the Vatican City. Before entering the Sistine Chapel we went through the museum of famous paintings and sculptures. Clearly the art mainly depicted scenes from the Bible and major events of the Christian religion. The real shocking message that I took home was how terrible that religion and hardships go hand-in-hand. Being Jewish I had always learned about the persecution of the Jewish people, but I was appalled to see how the vast majority of beautiful artwork in the Vatican was of blood and hate. It disgusts me that humans can hate and kill people for believing in something different. It also disgusts me that this still goes on today.
The Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. Unbelievably beautiful. Absolute awestruck. (Yes, I realize I have not been writing in complete sentences today... I think it is to prove a point.) Yet another reason I am very thankful to have Bailey on the trip is because she is an art history minor. (I also love her to pieces and think the world of her.) She is very knowledgeable about art and architecture and patient enough to teach us the symbolism and stories behind every piece we look at. I also learned the art of listening in on english speaking tour guides to learn more about every place we go. I think I appreciate something more when I can truly understand.
Side Note: I can't help but think of the Ninja Turtles (Michelangelo and Raphael) while walking in the Vatican City.
The next destination on our Roman adventure was the Vatican. Awestruck might be the appropriate word again to describe the group here. When you stand in the middle near the fountain and turn in a circle it feels as though you are in a movie. Or another time period. We waited in a line that rivals Space Mountain in Disney to go into the Vatican. When we got to the front the three girls were told that we couldn't go into the Vatican because our dresses were only to our knees and not below our knees. We told the guys to go in anyways. We stood in a corner a few feet from the guards and literally pouted (there is a picture that Tyler took of us and we all look miserable) After watching several girls go in with shorter skirts and dresses than we had on, we pulled the top of our dresses to around our waist and buttoned up our sweaters and snuck past the guards. (Don't get the wrong idea, it was NOT cold in Italy. It has been perfect weather; we just brought the sweaters to cover our shoulders at the Vatican.) It is a good thing we did too because the Vatican was magnificent. (I think I could retitle this day to be "awestruck") The wealth and the details are immaculate.
We walked around Rome and found a hole in the wall lunch place. No one was there since it was 2:00 (we couldn't eat on Spain time the whole time we were in Barcelona, now we are in Rome and eat late lunches and late dinners... Oh the irony). They let us sit outside the restaurant and we had the most amazing and fabulous Italian lunch. I think we had mostly pizza except that Tyler had salad and Bailey had Risotto. (which means: we all tried risotto). I fell in love with our waiter. Not because he was gorgeous, but because he was Italian and lived in Italy.
We spent the next couple of hours walking around the city. Bailey had mapped out the main places we wanted to see. To the rest of us it felt like we were aimlessly wandering through the beautiful apartments in the city and would randomly happen upon the Pantheon or Trevi fountain. (or gelato) Our fabulous afternoon ended on the Spanish Steps. (The irony continues). We probably spent over and hour enjoying the scenery, people watching, and talking about our trip. We even saw and engagement! (love Italy) There really was a casual attitude in the city and the six of us relaxed right into the role.
We headed the hotel to nap, shower, and head to the Jewish Ghetto for dinner. (Kyle 2.0: "Wait, so we are going to a placed called the ghetto by choice!?") Although the restaurant that Bailey's book advised us to go to was full, we found another hole in the wall random Italian restaurant and sat in the back room of the small place for a wonderful and indulgent dinner. I did not have pizza again (although tempted) and instead had a pasta dish with eggplant. We ordered wine and enjoyed the perfect close to the perfect day.
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