I just got back from Rome the other night! I finally caught up on some much needed rest so now it's epic blog time. I had an incredible week visiting churches/crypts/museums/palazzos/etc. all day every day, and don't even know where I should start, but here's the low down on my trip.

Friday

Left Amsterdam with a group of 20 or so religious studies folks around 5pm, arrived in the city at 8, got situated at the spot and went out for dinner. Bruschetta, spinach & ricotta ravioli, panna cotta and red wine with good company = a-okay way to start your weekend, right? Crashed out pretty early to get ready for some much anticipated culture.

Saturday

Visited the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, San Giovanni in Laterano, Basilica San Clemente, the Scala Santa (Holy Stairs), and the Cripta dei Cappuccini (bone church). Surprisingly a lot of people seemed to be freaked out by the crypt but I thought it was beautiful. I especially liked the message in the 5th chapel: "What you are now we used to be; what we are now you will be." I couldn't have put it better myself. Cruised around the city for the rest of the evening, was supposed to meet up with Eden but that fell through so I ended up at the hostel's bar for a few drinks with my buddy Aron after seafood spaghetti at a nearby restaurant.











Sunday

Got up early to go to the Vatican and attend the Pope's public audience. We were 2 hours early by accident and decided to roam around the area to get coffee and souvenirs (found a gorgeous sandalwood rosary for my mom although she's not religious). By the time we returned to the Piazza San Pietro it was completely packed with thousands of people waiting in the cold and rain to see Pope Benedict XVI. He showed up exactly at noon and blessed us all in Latin, Italian, German, French and English and peaced out after 15 minutes. Pretty cool but I don't think he would excuse all of my sins. After this we took a bus to the Catacombs of Rome where we were given a tour (there's no way you can go on your own, you'll get lost in no time) of this 2nd century burial place. Back in the city we checked out the Santa Maria in Trastevere which was really beautiful. The rest of the day was spent exploring Rome. Coffee & cannoli at the Villa Borghese gardens, mass at the Trinita dei Monti, watched thunder and lightning from the Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti (Spanish Steps) and hid from the rain in several churches in the area. Bruschetta, gnocchi, grilled eggplant & mozzarella ciabatta and red wine for dinner. A pretty magical day as far as I'm concerned.







Monday

Went for a walk via the Castel Sant' Angelo to Piazza Navona where Bernini's Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi and Borromini's Sant'Agnese in Agone are located. Hung out for a minute and had cappuccino and tartufo (chocolate truffle ice cream) for breakfast. Visited the Bibliotheca Angelica (founded in 1604, not a big deal) where we got a tour and were shown a 9th century parchment manuscript of the Gospel of Matthew. Holy wow. We were able to take a look at a 17th century copy (partially printed but also hand-written) of the Corpus Hermeticum which was exciting (to me, anyway). From here on we went on to the Pantheon and Sant'Ignazio which were both huge and amazing. One of the coolest sights on this trip however was the Porta Alchemica, a 17th century portal inscribed with alchemical symbols supposedly leading to the secret of the Philosopher's Stone. Unfortunately only one of the five portals survived or I could've been immortal or something. Anyway, after the portal we left for Campo de' Fiori to see the statue of philosopher Giordano Bruno (R.I.P.) who was burned at the stake by the Roman Inquisition on this square in 1600. I like that he's looking disapprovingly in the direction of the Vatican. In the evening everyone kinda did their own thing which for me meant mint chocolate gelato at the Fontana di Trevi and hang outs at the Spanish Steps again followed by drinks with friends.













Tuesday

St. Peter's Basilica! So insanely huge and beautiful and otherworldly. I can't express how impressive visiting this church was for me; its sculptures, relics, paintings, altars, stained glass windows, tombs and chapels are truly some of the world's greatest riches. I climbed the 551 stairs all the way up to the top of the dome to see the amazing view from there, and went down to the tombs below the basilica where many popes, martyrs and possibly St. Peter's own remains are laid to rest. After perusing these holy grounds for several hours we went to the Vatican Museums which also holds an insane collection of art. The highlights here was of course the Sistine Chapel, covered in frescoes by Michelangelo. Since it was the birthday of one of our classmates, our entire group went out to dine together (Roman artichoke, spaghetti with anchovies, and creme brulee for me) which was nice. Eden came to pick me and 2 friends up to go to a bar where I made some new friends and drank cocktails all night. Unfortunately she had to leave early but I was stoked to catch up with her again.







Wednesday

Needless to say I stayed out too late and had a hard time making it to the Galleria Borghese on time but it was well worth the trip. Saw lots of cool paintings and statues (Bernini's Rape of Proserpina one of the most realistic and intense pieces of art I've ever seen with my own eyes. How a person is able to create human flesh and lifelike emotions from marble is beyond me. I also enjoyed the Cranach exhibition a lot. In the afternoon we visited Ostia Antica, which is basically the remain of a 2000+ year old city outside of Rome. Besides the awful food and bad weather (rain and mud is not chill when you have a hangover and are wearing suede boots) it was a really unique experience. After having a few hours to myself we all went for a walk in the Jewish quarter and settled at a traditional restaurant that only wanted to serve our group pasta and/or mediocre pizza. One of Eden's friends picked me up to meet some locals and drink wine which turned out to be really nice.

Thursday

While some of us went to the Galleria Nazionale D'Arte Moderna, I decided to sleep in and visit the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj instead. Aside from being so big one could easily get lost in one of its ballrooms, private chambers and never-ending halls, the palace also has an immense art collection with works including a number of Caravaggio paintings and a Bernini sculpture of Pope Innocent X. I'm pretty sure being rich now is nothing compared to being wealthy in the Renaissance. I can't even imagine what life was like for royals back then. After this little excursion it was almost time to leave Rome, but not before going to the Santa Maria della Vittoria to see one of my favorite sculptures, the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa. It's an absolutely breathtaking masterpiece in real life, with natural light falling through yellow stained glass onto the golden sun rays and white marble. Just beautiful and a perfect way to end this week filled with a million inspirations. Almost missed our flight (oops) but made it back safe and sound!