Rome with MK and MH

Mary Kathryn, Mary Hannah and I spent a whirlwind 3 days in Rome…including traveling. We got up bright and early Monday morning, drove to Orvieto, trained to Rome and started off the trip!

Our first stop, the Vatican. James and I had already been here, but I was more than happy to pay again to see the Sistine Chapel, and this time we did a Rick Steve’s tour through the museum…. James and I had tried to do it, but we got off track and then just gave up and wandered. So using the tour was so helpful! The last time we were in Rome, James and I really took a liking to sculpture- so we started the tour going through the Greek and Roman sculptures. 

We saw the famous, Apollo sculpture that represents balance, perfect beauty and poise, and well roundedness. The Greeks thought great men were not only great warriors, but poets and musicians as well. 

Next up was a crazy half statue of Hercules by Michelangelo. I remember the first time I saw this and thought- weird. But after reading a little more about the history and actually looking at the piece for a time, it was crazy how detailed and awesome it is! 

 Here is a HUGE Roman bath!

The Sistine Chapel didn’t disappoint either…although everyone in the chapel did…I was so mad! Everyone was loud and talking and no one listened when the guards hushed everyone. I mean everything really was beautiful, but I really had wanted MK and MH to experience the quiet reverence…instead we got pushed around by old, angry, tourists.

Then we exited out some back way that was only for tour groups…whoops…and made it to St. Peter’s Basilica- which was what I was SO excited for. 

There are five bronze doors that enter into the basilica, and the one on the far right is called the Holy Door. It is only opened every 25years for Christmas Eve. The Pope knocks on the door 3 times, opens it, and then lets all of the people on pilgrimage pass through. 

Inside was Michelangelo’s famous Pieta…that is now behind glass because some psycho attacked it with a chisel. He sculpted this when he was 24. Really puts all of my accomplishments in perspective!

There was a line down the center to show how big other churches were compared to St. Peters…it was HUGE. I wandered around in amazement for a while…especially staring at the massive alter…that is only used when the Pope preaches. The alter is surrounded by what resembles a seven story four-poster bed, built by Bernini (famous for his Baroque style).  My favorite part was the dove window…it looks so small, but the dove is in fact 6 feet wide. A beautiful oak chair, known as the Throne of Peter, surrounds it. 

We left the Vatican and wandered down to the Castel nearby. Castel Sant’Angelo was build by Emperor Hadrain because of the Roman law that no one could be buried inside the Roman city walls. So he tried to stick it to the man and built himself a huge castle directly outside the city wall. We just walked around and enjoyed listening to music and looking at the beautiful river flowing near. 

Day 2- the Long Day

Colessum

Campo di Fiore and Piazza Navonna

Pantheon

Gelato

 Trevi Fountain

And then the crazy night began...

Visitors, Visitors, Visitors

The month of June brought lots of visitors to Vicenza. And I wouldn't have had it any other way. The beginning of June, on our trip to Cinque Terre, we met up with the Stegall's and Morris'. We met up in La Spezia, right after they flew into the country. Let's just say that they were champs. James and I trained down from Vernazza to meet at the train station and head to their hotel. They were our first visitors that weren't family and I was beyond excited to see familiar faces. Then the nerves set in...as we waited in the McDonald's at the train station, the anticipation of their arrival was getting to me. It had been SO long, and I was SO ready to see some familiar faces. Let me just say that it is so WEIRD seeing people that you know from home in the middle of a train station. The rest of teh day and night slipped away from us...we walked around La Spezia, drank bottles of wine, ate some tasty food (except for Jess- who got food poisioning), and then James and I hung out with some homeless people for a while because we missed our train. Let's just say that after the night we had been having, we felt quite confident in our Italian.

The next morning- Blake and Lora met us to hike up to Monterosso, while Jessica recovered back in the room...bless. It was beautiful hike and it was just like being back at home. We were so glad to be hiking with other people- sharing the views and the experience made it so much more special.


Sadly, James had to go back to work...so we left with the hopes of having Blake and Lora and Jessica and Blair spend their last night in Italy with us. And it did. Sunday morning, I picked up the world travelers at the airport and came to Vicenza. We spent the afternoon walking around the heat, hiked up Monti Berico, and then came home and laid on the floor. (One of the upsides of having marbles floors- they are so cold!) It is so fun to show people around the little town- it makes it feel even more like home. That night we ate at Aeolia’s and introduced everyone to their famous fagotini- delicious pasta stuffed with pear and ham…to die for. Dinner was wonderful- but it was even better to be sharing it with our friends.

A couple of weeks later Mary Kathryn, Kaylyn, and Elizabeth joined. Mary Kathryn and Kaylyn joined from Florence. Kaylyn only stayed one night before she headed back to Raleigh to start another internship, and MK was here for the rest of the summer!! Elizabeth was ending her European adventure and spent the last week with us. IT was really low key- James was leaving, so we were really limited on where we could travel, but we did make one trip to Jeslo- a nearby beach. It felt so good to just get away for a couple of days and do nothing but sleep, read, and get a tan. The best part of the trip was finding this awesome arcade. There was HUGE Fruit Ninja touch screen that I spent wayyy too much money on J Then there was a silly little horse race game, basketball game, air hockey…we loved it!! It was a great way to conclude our trip.

We also watched a SERIOUS amount of Modern Family….and spent the whole week quoting it. Only slightly embarrassing that we watched ALL 3 seasons back to back. Thank you Apple TV, and Wendy for getting us hooked onto it.

And of course, you can’t visit and not go to a winery- so we spent one afternoon at Villa Scierman- a local favorite. This places it awesome. You can taste all the wine you want for free, then buy a bottle, and drink it outside on the Veranda, or underneath an awning of vines. The villa also sells asigao cheese, bread, prosciutto, and olives. Lets just say we spent several hours there…

Let's just say that James and I seriously have the best family and friends ever.