Home Again
December 16, 2008
In our last couple of days, we were able to see the Vatican. Where do I start? The museum was an interesting collection of various artifacts and artwork. Everything from an Egyptian mummy to modern artwork and the infamous Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel alone was a sight to see. It was a long way through the museum to get to the chapel, but it was worth it. The detail in the work and religious messages, such as Adam and Eve being cast away from the garden of Eden, made it beautiful and interesting to see. I cannot imagine how difficult it was for Michelangelo to lay on his back so high up and paint the ceiling.
The Roman Forum was also a site to see on our last day. It finally stopped raining, and the sky was blue for the first day in some time. The ruins of the basilica were big for only a portion of the building and quite a site to see. The pillars of old buildings were huge. The garden on the hill was beautiful and had an amazing view of the city. The view included the old ruins and the new, modern city. It is also interesting that the old Roman aqueducts still supply the city with water. With all the people sightseeing and the modern buildings surrounding the Forum, I cannot imagine the area in Ancient Rome.
It is good to be home, but there are definitely things I will miss. First of all, I love gelato! I do not know what exactly they do differently to gelato to make it different from ice cream, but it is delicious and much better. Chocolate, caramel, vanilla, strawberry, fruiti di bosco, raspberry, and banana were all great. I will also miss the picturesque landscape of Cortona and Assisi. I will miss the interesting city of Florence with its outer landscape, many interesting museums, and beautiful Cathedrals. Last but not least, I will miss the fascinating ruins of Ancient Rome mixed into the busy streets of Modern Rome.
Ciao
Labels: assisi, cortona, food, rome, siena
Posted by James at 10:44 PM 0 comments
Siena - from my journal
December 6, 2008
When we arrived in Siena, I could tell it was built during the medieval time period by the architectural differences. It was such a different atmosphere than Florence, and I really liked it as well. It reminded me of a medieval "The Greene": city like but family and people friendly. You would not get hit by a bus while on the sidewalk like in Florence and Rome. The piazza we went to was circular with 11 entrances, and I thought of various tribes coming in for battle like in old movies. The outskirts of the circle were all restaurants, and in the summer there are famous horse races. To be able to watch the races from a balcony, people have to book their seats six months in advance.
Labels: siena
Posted by Sabrina Sheetz at 11:39 PM 0 comments
Florence and Siena
Florence and Siena have been amazing. The architecture is wonderful. I have to admit that Siena is my personal favorite so far. I really enjoyed the church with the famous bodies in it. I was impressed with David: the size of the statue is huge. When you see it on television, it seems a lot smaller. At all of the museums, I have seen pieces of art that I have studied in art history. It is impressive to actually see them in real life. The highlight so far was the Italian Elvis singing to us. I believe most will agree.Posted by shell at 3:52 PM 0 comments
Florence and Siena
We are now on Day 5 of our Italian adventure, and I have only seen wonderful things so far. Some of the sights that have been impressive to me include "The David," Galileo's tomb, the beautiful churches, and the magnificent buildings and landscapes. We have also had many great memories along the way including seeing the Elvis impersonator, eating great food, and climbing 400+ stairs to find a view that you will remember for a lifetime.It has also been interesting watching the Italian people and seeing how they act and especially the way they dress. They dress as though they are all movie stars. The people are also a lot more laid back here. I really like their pace of life, but sometimes I wish we could have our speed of living here (especially when we are waiting for checks). :)
We are leaving for Cortona tomorrow. I am ready to explore a new city, but I will definitely miss Florence. It has been a wonderful city to start my world travel in, and I am glad that we have had a nice place to stay at the convent.
Posted by Amanda at 3:49 PM 0 comments
Siena's Weird Interiors
From the outside, Siena's Duomo is unimpressive relative to the Duomo in Florence. It's not that the Siena Duomo is ugly, but how could it compete? The builders realized this, so they designed the interior to make the building appear much larger inside than it does outside. The walls and most columns are painted with black and
white horizontal stripes. It's not simply a cheap visual trick because the design is awe-inspiring on its own, and the illusion of depth is a bonus. The black and white horizontal stripes vanish into the horizon behind the statues in the alcoves. From the ground, I had tremendous difficulty making sense of the space I inhabited. It
was like living in an M.C. Escher sketch.
Labels: siena
Posted by Luke Teaford at 9:41 AM 0 comments