Day Two

Today we visited the Imperial Roman Forum, Colosseum, and all around the Vatican City. If I thought I was overwhelmed yesterday, today I was absolutely struck dumb by the sheer human effort and skill needed to construct such amazing feats of architecture.

We went to the Colosseum and Forum earlier in the day before the heat set in. We took so many pictures, lots of good ones. It only took eight years to build the Colosseum, which I didn't know. The whole time we were wondering just how amazing it would have looked in its prime, especially when the slaves stretched a waxy canvas across it and turned it into a giant pool! At the Forum, my favourite space was the house of the Vestal Virgins. The sculpture of all the holiest women in the house's garden was especially beautiful.

We started off at the Vatican Museum with our charming old man tour guide in a radio at our ear. I was excited to find the bust of Antinous, Emperor Hadrian's longtime boyfriend, that I'd read about for a school project so long ago. We saw the Vatican's collection of marble statues, giant pink granite Egyptian baths, and huge maps. We also went into the Sistine Chapel which was another "slapped in the face by history" moment. It was so jam packed full of people and we saw some guys getting dragged out for taking photos. I actually can't put my feelings into words about the scale and impact of the ceiling. I am so happy that I've seen it in real life.

When I stepped into St Peter's Basilica, my jaw just dropped. I'm not religious (as everyone knows) but I was struck with awe. As the tour guide said, today we build structures just as high and wide, but with the aid of computers and modern machines. But Michelangelo planned the whole Basilica just with a pencil and paper. And it's so ornate and beautiful, with mosaics so fine that they look like oil paintings.

Tonight we're going to a five course dinner (!!!!) and Roman folklore show, then out to drinks for my roommate's birthday. Shaping up to be a good one.

Update from this morning:

Dinner was beautiful, we were so full by the end. Bruschetta, antipasti, lasagne & pasta, meat, and some form of sugary treat afterwards. Then we went to a club where the drinks were free for two hours. Needless to say, feeling a bit fragile this morning.

Today it's off to Pompeii and Sorrento on the bus!