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Another early day, but it paid off today! We left JFRC at 7:30 am and headed for the bus stop towards Vatican City. My professor dedicated a day to visit the Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel. Once we got to the Vatican, we did not have to wait in line because our tickets were preordered (last year, the class had to wait 2 hours in the ticket line!).
We basically had the museum to ourselves for the first hour and a half. It was so nice because I could actually hear my professor talk about pieces of artwork. We were able to see a lot of Bernini's sculpture models and paintings. Also, we saw Leonardo da Vinci's St. Jerome in the Wilderness, a piece that was never finished by da Vinci, and it is one of the only original works of da Vinci's in Rome.
The Sistine Chapel ... WOW ... It is one of the most overwhelmingly beautiful fresco painting that I have seen in Rome and in my life. It is amazing to think that Michelangelo was able to paint on the ceiling and complete the task in 3 years, while he had
other projects going on too. Sadly, I was not able to take any pictures in the chapel, but it's okay because it is preserving the paintings. A lot of tour groups and other people kept taking pictures, so every other minute you would hear "no photo" from the guards.
To my surprise, while we were admiring the AMAZING paintings, a priest came out and gave a blessing in the Sistine Chapel, which was Pope Francis' idea. After going through the collection, we were able to stop for lunch! Usually, we never stop, but since it was hot inside and outside, my professor decided to get some pizza. I was not hangry (hungry and angry) today, but we did A LOT of walking and my blisters on blisters were beginning to hurt. Once we got back, I was able to take a cold shower before my next class at 4:30 pm. We were out for over 8 hours ... and I cannot wait for a good nights sleep!
For dinner, we stayed local. We went to a place that the professors love!! It was called Ristorante Il Chiodo Fisso. It was cheap and good quality
food! I ordered the gnocchi and sausage, but I was not able to finish it all because it is very filling!
I cannot believe I am almost 2 weeks into my trip. It has gone by so fast already, and it has been one of the best experiences of my life!
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Craig Auge
non-member comment
Da Vinci and Style
I can't believe you had the Vatican museum mainly to yourselves and saw a da Vinci work! (I ate at our corner "da Vinci" restaurant in Ohio, but somehow not the same thing....) Nice picture of you with the stylish outfit too.