Originally posted on my Tumblr travel blog, A Roman Spring with IES, in 2008.
For the first weekend of my spring break, I had a very special guest visit me in Rome. Riley flew into Rome on Wednesday night. I picked her up from Termini, our main train station that has a train running directly from the airport to the station. I was very nervous about seeing her. I think I spent about an hour trying to look good. I’m not sure it worked, but I don’t think Riley really cared. It was just so nice to see her again after two months of talking over a poor Internet connection.
Unfortunately, the next day I had classes. So, I tried to accommodate as best I could while running off to classes. I think she had an okay time though. She got to see Castel San’ Angelo, something I have not yet seen. After classes, some of my classmates wanted to go to a candy store that Gitti (my Italian teacher) had recommended to us. It turns out that she lives right above the store, so she ended up bringing us to it. It was filled with all kinds of delicious chocolate for the upcoming Easter weekend. Gitti even got us some free chocolate! I guess that’s the perks of knowing a local.
After, she invited us up to her apartment for a quick glass of water. Her apartment was so neat! Her husband is an architect and designed their place. It has all these cool pictures from artists that they know. Something else that I thought my Mother would appreciate, Gitti is organic crazy. So her walls are painted with a natural paint that doesn’t contain chemicals and lets the walls “breath”. Also her floors are coated with a natural wax that needs to be reapplied every several weeks.
On Friday, Riley and I went to see the Vatican Museum. It was absolutely filled to the brim with hundreds of pieces of art! I really enjoyed seeing all the ancient sculptures that were pulled from old Roman sites. Eventually, I began to think that this collection was a bit excessive. I just couldn’t understand why the center of the Catholic Church was hording all these priceless pieces of art. But at the same time if the Catholic Church hadn’t kept these pieces of art, they probably would have been destroyed or reused over the centuries. After what seemed like hours of walking through the museum, we finally got to the infamous Sistine Chapel. It was truly breath-taking. Michelangelo’s frescoes seem to cover every inch of the room, making it impossible to take in at a glance. I think one would need to spend hours in there to truly study every detail. Absolutely amazing.
Saturday, we headed out early to the Colosseum, only to find that we weren’t that early. There were lots of tourist out and it took awhile to get in. And that was in the rain! I can’t imagine what those lines will be like when it gets closer to the summer. I gave Riley the grand tour of the Colosseum, the Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum. I have now been to these places three times. I am starting to think that I should start my own tour company and charge for my tours.
After, we had to rush over the Borghese Gallery to meet our reservation. I really enjoyed this gallery. It once belonged to a wealthy Catholic authority. Now, it is a wonderfully decorated house filled with amazing art pieces. As I have mentioned previously, I have been quite the admirer of sculptures, and this gallery had some of the best sculptures in the world. Two I really enjoyed were Apollo and Daphne and The Rape of Proserpina, both by Bernini. Apollo and Daphne depicts a scene where Apollo is racing to catch Daphne but just as he reaches her, she begins to turn into a tree. The sculpture has an amazing amount of detail that show her fingers sprouting carefully carved leaves. I can’t imagine how Bernini was able to sculpt without breaking them.
Saturday night, Riley and I had a romantic dinner out for the celebration of dating two years. I still can’t believe it has been two years, but she is amazing so I guess I can understand why it doesn’t seem to have been that long. Anyway, we went out to the neighborhood of Trastevere to a small restaurant called Da Gilda. It was recommended to us by Riley’s roommate from Prague when she had visited Rome the previous weekend. I think it is safe to say that we ate like kings, and for a reasonable price! I was very pleased with the overall experience, mostly because Riley and I just got to hang out after the meal and talk over the music of a small Italian band. It was pretty magical.
Sunday was Easter Sunday. Riley and I tried to make it out to St Peter’s to see the Pope and attend Sunday Mass. However, it was raining very hard and by the time we got to the Vatican metro station, hundreds of wet people came swarming towards us. We decided that it was too late and tried to get back on the metro, which was quite an experience. I have never been so squished in my life.
That night, we visited the Trevi Fountain and got some gelato. If y’all ever get the chance to visit Rome, I would highly recommend going to the Trevi Fountain by night. It is a very beautiful site by day, but 10 times better by night.
Monday, Riley left for home. We had breakfast together and I walked her to Termini to hop on the Airport train. It was a very sad day, but we had a great weekend together and we will see each other in just a few weeks when I visit Prague! After Riley left, I began packing for my trip to Malta…..which is a whole new post, so stay tuned.
Photos
Riley and the tomato. In a square of the vatican. You can see the dome of st. peter’s in the background.
Me and Minerva. This is symbolic for me because my fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, has a program called Minerva’s Shield.
River Nile. It depicts the large man as the Nile and the small people feeding off of it.
Musei Vaticani
Poet of Tragedies.
Laocoön and His Sons. This is an ancient Roman scupture that is an amazing site.
Fresco inside the Vatican museum
Obelisk at center of Piazza del Popolo. These Egyptian monuments mark where old Roman stadiums once stood.
Riley and the squirting lion…kinda looks like it is throwing up.
Me and the squirting lion in Piazza del Popolo
Piazza del Popolo
Riley in the Pantheon
The inside dome of the Pantheon
Rapheal’s tomb inside the Pantheon
The Pantheon