The last seven weeks here in Rome have really flown and it’s my Spring Break already. Wendy and I both made it through our midterms and began preparing for our visitors that were due on Sunday.
Friday we took a break from cleaning and laundry to go to the Etruscan Museum. My goal there was to look at the granulation jewelry. Granulation is a technique that has fascinated me since high school. I wrote a post on our excursion. (http://silvergoldberry.com/?p=298)
Saturday was spent cleaning up and catching up on laundry and communicating with the folks in Philadelphia who were getting to the airport. And finally the long awaited flight arrived at Fiumicino airport on Sunday morning with David and my Mom.
We made sure the travelers were nourished on their arrival in Rome and then we headed to St Peters so my mom attend Mass. We got a good look around in St Peter’s, too. It was a tiring day for travel, so we took the tram back to the apartment instead of walking.
Monday we arrived at the Vatican Museums first thing with our tickets, bypassing the massive line. We followed the museum through the Raphael rooms to the Sistine Chapel. We spent about 30 minutes there just admiring the lovely work of Michelangelo. The crowds were much less than the last time we had been there, it was delightful. And we got in under the wire, too. The Sistine was closed the next day to prepare for the Cardinal’s conclave.
We had a nice pasta lunch nearby and walked to Castel Sant Angelo to see the Bernini Angel bridge. Then back to St Peter’s one more time for an English speaking tour run by seminarians from the American College of Bishops. This tour was interesting because our guide gave not only a historical perspective, but gave the spiritual significance of the art there.
Tuesday we visited seven churches. Starting on Piazza Navona with St. Agnes of Agone and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. Then St Andrew (San Andrea) on the way to Campo di Fiori, followed by the Pantheon, which is also known as St Mary and the Martyrs.
Then we had lunch where my Mom had her first Italian pizza, then on to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, San Ignazio and San Luigi Francesi. We came home, rested, had some dinner and then made our way back out to the Trevi Fountain for an evening photo together and threw in some coins.
Today we went to the Colosseum after a crowded metro ride. We were able to walk all around and take plenty of photos. It is was quite a view. The most fun about showing Rome to my Mom is that she is enjoying it all so much.
Then it was time to head to San Giovanni in Laterna. This is the pope’s cathedral and it is a beautiful church with huge statues of the twelve apostles. From a viewing perspective, it’s not “sneaky huge” like St. Peters, it’s more like just straightforward huge. We had another wonderful lunch across from the church. On the way back we stopped at the bakery for some dessert and made our way back in the pouring rain.
Only two more days with David and my Mom, then I have to get a move on the projects that I’m supposed to be completing over spring break.
Gwen’s only been coming along on some of our excursions this week. She does not have break this week and decided to sit in on an icon painting class in addition to her Fresco and Archeology classes. She’s also been finalizing her presentation for Archeology that is scheduled to be presented to the class onsite at a museum on Friday. So we have all been pretty busy.
I hope everyone is staying warm and well. Only a couple more weeks to Spring!