Italy, Part 1

Last week was our fall break off from classes, so a couple friends and I decided to travel to Italy for 10 days. It was an absolutely amazing trip. I could ramble on and on, but I will try to make it concise. Our first stop was Rome, which we flew into on Oct. 29. There we stayed at a great hostel located right in the center of the city. Our host there was extremely generous: he upgraded our room, served us free breakfasts, gave us two free bottles of wine, and helped us navigate the city by pointing out where to go. It was a refreshing stay, since most hostels are far from being that accomodating.

On our first day in Rome we went to Vatican City, where we spent an hour standing in line just to enter St. Peter's Basilica. It was actually quite impressive to see that many people dedicated to getting in on a seemingly random Friday in late October. Once we entered, we realized what the wait was for. St. Peter's Basilica, although not surprising as it is the seat of the Catholic Church and where the Pope regularly holds mass, is by far the most astounding church I've ever been in. It's quite hard to describe, but basically, it could easily be a castle due to its size, and every little nook has a super elaborate painting, sculpture, or other work of art. It would be quite easy to hold mass in 10 different locations within the church. We paid to climb to the top of it, which is about 550 steps through a, shall we say, harrowing passageway that is at times completely slanted. I could barely fit through some of the hallways. But the view is astounding, with the square directly in front of you and the city of Rome beyond it. You can also get a bird's eye view of the gardens and fountains that surround the basilica. Afterwards, we got to walk through the catacombs which house the tombs of many previous popes, including the most recent, John Paul II.

Later that day we also went through the Sistine Chapel, which is world-renowned for its incredibly detailed paintings on the ceiling. Personally, I found the paintings to be impressive but very over-hyped. I've seen better. Like I said, it was definitely cool to see, but it was not the most amazing artistic display in the world. Part of it is that they make you walk through all these hallways of art before you get to see the famous ceiling, and I think by the time I got there I was simply disinterested.

The next day we went to the Colosseum, an enormous former arena from the age of the ancient Romans. It was incredible to simply walk around such a famous area, especially when taking into account how intact it is after more than a thousand years. A majority of the original structure still stands. Adjacent to the Colosseum are a bunch of Roman ruins, which literally last for blocks. It is crazy to walk around them and envision what it must have looked like when they were originally built. It was also a beautiful place to wander, since it was 75 degrees, sunny, and much of the ruins are lined with palm trees, which aren't exactly a species of plant you can find in Brussels.

That night my friends and I went out to an area frequented my students in central Rome to celebrate my birthday. It was a pretty fun scene, with thousands of kids my age roaming the streets and enjoying the night life. It's probably the only birthday I'll ever spend in Rome, so I had to live it up!

Our third and final full day in Rome (my birthday!!) was spent exploring some of the free attractions: famous squares, the Trevi fountain (my personal favorite thing in Rome), and some quiet streets and parks. Overall, I absolutely love the vibe in Rome. Maybe it's because I'm a city kid, but I love how there's so many people bustling around at all times of day, and the crazy amounts of traffic just add to the madness. The mix between 2,000+ year old buildings and modern, aesthetically-pleasing museums, restaurants, and office buildings gives the city a cool feeling. Even though it's really busy, there are definitely quiet areas you can find that are surprisingly peaceful and make you forget that you are in one of the largest cities in Europe.

The next day we took a train to Siena...please see the next blog entry.