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Published: September 5th 2006
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I dont know why, because it hasnt been true this entire trip, but for some reason whenever I travel somehwere I expect to see similar sights. I was just getting used to buildings and other stuff being 600 years old, and then I go to italy where they knock it down to build a road if it is only 600 years old.
I have a couple friends that are studying with the UC system in Rome, so it was nice to go there and have a free place to sleep at night. Their place is about a block and a half from the vatican, 2 blocks from the most amazing open air market on the planet, and 200 yards from a gelateria which is accepted as the best gelato in Rome and therefore the world. I was yearning for some good produce and the fresh fruit and vegetibles, not to mention produce, fish and pasta, was out of this world. The best part was it was about half the price of supermarket food. We ate like kings for the week that I was there. One girl was a master at making fresh bruscetta from scratch, another was known for making
any kind of pasta sauce you want, and the another could make anything and have it taste amazing. I did the dishes at the very end, everyone was full and happy, and that is how the cycle went.
In the 5 days that I was there, I did everything that I wanted to do and more. The building where they are taking classes is about 100 yards from the Pantheon which is the best preserved building from the Roman ages, and is where Raphael is buried. On their walk to class, they had to pass by St. Peters Basilica, over the river, and past the Castel Sant'Angelo, which by the way was built in 123 AD. On the first night Margaret took me out on a night walk to see some of the buildings light up at night, which was way beter than seeing it during the say.
We saw the Trevi Fountain and threw in coins for good luck, we saw the Piazza de Popolo and Villa Burghese which is a park that overlooks a big part of the city. The Spanish Steps and Piazza Novana were also cool. One day we were walking to the coliseum and we looked down a street and saw this HUGE monument which turned out to be the tomb of the unknown soldier. There were statues which representated and were dedicated to pretty much everything. I wish that my roommate from santa cruz, Sean who majors in ancient Roman history, was there with me so I could just listen to the stories. I kept thinking about the monument that we have in Arlington national Cemetary for the unkown soldier, but I guess when you have been in as many wars as the Romans, it warrants something a little bigger.
The Coliseum, naturally, was amazing. We got a tour guide who was informative about the history and really knew his stuff. Interesting fact: it is estimated that over 1,000,000 died int he coliseum, but a only two of them were christians. They wernt considered 'entertaintaining' because they would just get down on thier knees and pray until they were killed. St Ignatius was one of them, and the other was a christian that fell into the ring during a fight. Right beside the Coliseum was the Forum, where Julius Caesar was assassinated and the site where all of the Roman rulers had thier palaces during the hayday of the empire. The first ruler bought a house on the hill because it is the closest to where Romulus (the one who started the city) and decided that every ruler after him shall live there. There is a road that leads from the tomb of the unknown soldier past the coliseum which Musilini built during the 1920s. He wanted the Itailian soliders to feel proud as they marched past the monument, and have a sense of history as they marched past the Forum and Coliseum. To make this road however, he had to knock down Michaelangelo's house. oh well....
I feel like I am using this word a lot, but the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museum were awesome. Nothing in my mind, however, compares to St Peters Basilica. 'Awesome' doesnt begin to describe it. I was absolutly blown away for the entire 3.5 hours that I was there, and I could have spent a lot longer there if my friend didnt want to leave. I finally got all the way around the church, and at the very end, there is Michaelangelo's 'Pieta'. I just kept thinking that it had to be a joke. Down the middle of the church there are makrs to where other big churches in the world compare to St. Peters and most of them dont even come close.
Italy was an experience which I will never forget. I met up with my friend Evan who had just gotten back from his trip to Austria and southern Germany, and we must have spent 2 hours going over our pictures. I made plans to go to Oktoberfest coming up in a couple weeks, with many more travle plans to come. With all of this traveling however, we both overwhelmingly agreed that there is nothing like pulling into the train station in central Utrecht and feeling like you are home. Last night I played and signed up for the Utrecht University basketball team and then went salsa dancing (kinda. they were playing salsa music while I was doing what I consider dancing) so I am slowly meeting people, but doing a terrible job at remembering/pronouncing their names. Tomorrow I am going to play Pachbels Cannon for an audition for the orchestra, and there are sign ups for bartender shifts at the on-campus bar. Writing this I now realize that my plate might be a little full, i just hope classes dont get in the way (ha...ha....anyone?)
I added my pictures from italy to http://s113.photobucket.com/albums/n216/whoaday07/
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