the vatican!

29 of december 2010

On our first full day in Rome, we slept in late to try to get over some of our jet lag and sleep deprivation.

Today was Vatican day – we headed straight there to wait in line for an hour to get into the Vatican museums. You would not believe how much art the Pope hoards. Apparently, when Rome was conquered once, the conqueror ransacked the Vatican for art, but it’s hard to believe when you see the collections there. We barely scratched the surface and we were there for hours. We watched religious art develop from flat icons to expressive, rounded and shaded people. Many of the ceilings were painted so wonderfully that they looked carved, a feeling similar to that of being in the petrified forest in the southwest u.s.

I loved wandering around in the museum and viewing the masterpieces, but I also enjoyed the diversity of visitors to the Vatican. I reflected to myself as to why I was in Rome , and Europe in general– I’m no architect, no artist, no historian, etc. What was to be the center focus of my extensive trip? The answer began to come to me as I listened to all the visitors and soaked in their languages. The core of my trip is my study abroad, and thats where my heart is - not just with these beautiful old buildings, the masterpieces on the walls, and the history seeping through every alley - but in the language and the cultural diversity of the people I meet. And thats the value of living, not just visiting, abroad - is being truly immersed.

pictures - me and my mom at the vatican, the vatican gardens. i'm not putting any pictures of art up because they're a pale shadow of a ghost of the art itself, and you should just go see it yourself :)