I shared them with the other afternoon students and the teachers. I have really enjoyed my time at this school and I will miss them when we go.
After class, I headed out to catch the bus and then on to the plane and on to Rome.
We arrived late and then got up early to head out to see the Vatican. First we toured some of the Vatican museums....we saw the tapestry room and the map room and Rafael's rooms and admired the amazing statues, tapestries, paintings,.... and I was particularly impressed with the number of ceilings that were painted to look like they had moldings and textures but were really just painted...you could spend years in the Vatican museums admiring different things every day.
I really like some of the more contemporary pieces that we saw in the last area before the Sistine Chapel.
You are not allowed to take pictures inside the Sistine Chapel (although that didn't stop some people from trying) - but there were guards who were not shy about covering camera lenses with their hands. If you could ignore the crowds of sometimes unruly guests, the interior of the chapel really is breathtaking. Luckily our guide had spent some time before our visit to the chapel with large photos to explain the paintings inside so that by the time we went in, we knew what we were looking at. From the outside, the Chapel is just a plain brown building - of course it does have the interesting feature of an antenna on top where they attach the pipe for the smoke that is used to signal the voting for a new pope.
Next came the HUGE St. Peter's Basilica. Unlike the Chapel, you can snap away to your heart's delight in this place. You can even use a flash. That is because nothing in this whole place is painted. Everything is made of mosaics with naturally colored stones - so, no fading or flash damage. (rock in Latin= petram, so St Peter's is really the rock Basilica)
After some time admiring the Basilica and the crypt below, we went out into the perfect weather and enjoyed St. Peter's square - all set up for the weekly audience with the Pope which happens every Wednesday. No, that is not the pope - that is Albert.
After spending quite a few hours at the Vatican, we decided to catch some lunch and then take a short rest back at the hotel. But, with only one day in Rome, we headed back out in the afternoon to check out some of the other spots like the Spanish steps, the Trevi fountain, the Forum, the Colosseum, and the Pantheon - and a few other fountains and squares. We didn't take any tours in the afternoon, just used public transportation and checked out the city on our own.
Knowing that we had another early morning, we headed in after dinner made sure we were up to date on the Giro d'Italia coverage and called it a night.
Sunday morning involved an early train from Rome to Verona. The primary reason that we chose Italy for this weekend was the final stage of the Giro d'Italia bike race. But, we had a little time before it all got started to enjoy the hotel and the city (much smaller than Rome, we could walk everywhere - no bus rides at all in Verona).
Of course, we spent a good part of the day walking parts of the course, watching riders and cheering, watching the awards, and enjoying the atmosphere.
Early Monday morning, another train ride and then a bus to the Bologna airport.
Everything ran pretty smoothly except for the boarding process where they checked us all in and then left us for a long time in a very HOT stairwell while they deplaned the previous passengers before letting us out to board...odd.
But, we made it back to Sevilla on time, caught the airport bus back toward home, and made it home in time for a quick lunch before I headed back out to school. A new student joined the class today, so we had 3 students and we may be getting one more - so my days alone in class are probably over.
After class, I walked around a bit just enjoying being home.
We had a great time in Italy, we ate some fantastic meals (and gelato), and I really enjoyed seeing the Giro on my birthday, but it is also good to be home.
