Reflections of Italy

Last week my best friend, Kristi and I, jetted across the ocean on our first European excursion. It is hard to put into words how amazing and wondrous the experience was. You cannot really be considered a world traveler until you land on a different continent. Eighty percent of the people around us were speaking a different language and only a small percentage of those were speaking Italian.

The trip was six months in the making. We could have stayed in Rome for years and not have seen it all let alone comprehend what we saw. I read six books to prepare for the trip yet I was still pitifully unprepared for the art, architecture, religious symbolism, ancient ruins and cultural differences. To put it plainly, the trip was life changing. I took 730 photographs on my camera and close to one hundred more on my phone. I will highlight just a few of our stops along the way.

The flight was uneventful with a few surprises of their own. The main leg was eight hours over the ocean. We gabbed, read, watched movies and drank wine. How can you beat a deal like that? We landed in Amsterdam as the sun was coming up. We boarded our final flight to Rome. The safety instructions were in Dutch. We said good-bye to the Netherlands and for the next hour watched the Swiss Alps below us.

The sun rises over the Alps

 

Buongiorno Roma!
There are no real traffic rules in Italy. If you are a backseat driver, you may just want to take some Valium before climbing into a cab!

Our apartment was located across the street from the Vatican Gardens. Basically we looked directly at the wall that surrounds the Vatican City. A short walk and we stood in front of St. Peter's Basilica, the mother ship of the Catholic world. The photos hardly do it justice. We walked through the Holy Door on the far right (it is only open every 25 years, at the beginning of the Holy Year). Hundreds of people shuffle down the nave with their necks craned to the ceiling. Bernini's baldacchino is 100 feet tall yet is dwarfed in comparison to the dome.

Baldacchino in St. Peter's

Michelangelo's Dome - St. Peter's 

On top of St Peter's Cupola

The Colosseum is one of the great ancient wonders of Rome. Construction of the amphitheater began in 72 A.D by Vespasian and completed by his son Titus in 80 A.D. It is hard to comprehend this structure is still standing, let alone is structurally sound enough for wandering tourists. At its longest point, it measures 187 meters and was designed to accommodate around 60,000 spectators.

Let the games begin!

We made a stop at the Borghese Gallery. It was nothing short of overwhelming! In one stop we were able to see the greatest Renaissance and Baroque artists of the world - Raphael, Bernini, Caravaggio, Canova.

Pluto and Proserpina by Bernini

A quick train ride landed me in Florence! Ah, Tuscany! I could spend the rest of my life in this spot. To drink a glass of wine in the shadow of the Duomo is one of the greatest indulgences of my life. It has a completely different feel than Rome -- more walkable, much younger crowds, more artistic and less religious.

The overreaching reason to visit Florence was to see Michelangelo's David. It did not disappoint. Most people who visit the Accademia do so for one reason, The David. They put down twenty euros to see only one thing in the museum. They barely glance at anything else. Michelangelo is the standard by which all other art is judged. Michelangelo was a mere 26 years old when he put his chisel against this flawed piece of marble. It took him three years to carve what is nothing less than one of the greatest masterpieces ever created.

Michelangelo's David

Duomo

Ponte Vecchio - Translation Old Bridge. Built in 1345
 

The week came to a close and we made our way back home to our families, jobs, farms, friends, and co-workers. We spent the week exchanging laughter at how terrible we are at metric conversions, our lack of Italian pronunciation and our inability to read a map! We did it all by ourselves. Kristi and I grew up together, but we grew by leaps on this trip. Thank you for indulging me on my bucket list!

 

Until our next adventure! Arrivederci Roma!