Catching Up Part 3

After Christmas had been celebrated, I left the very cold Midwest, USA, for warm and sunny Italy for 10 days. The weather turned out to be not as perfect as I'd like, but I didn't complain too much, as I was on vacation and in Italy! Yay! This vacation was organized by my university's Alumni Association, so I only knew two people at the beginning of the trip. I eventually became acquainted with the 28 others in our group.

What follows is a very brief view of my trip to Italy. If you're interested in seeing more, I am putting together a longer slide show which I will present in a month or so to my friends and family. More information on the time and place of that presentation will be posted on this blog at a future date.

The plane ride to Italy was very difficult for me. (I have never had motion sickness in my life, despite being force-fed Dramamine by my mother when I was a child.) I believe that at various times during the vacation I suffered from High-Altitude Illness. And before you tell me that the plane was correctly pressurized or whatnot, let me tell you that whatever it was, something made me feel very ill. I became nauseated and extremely fatigued. Chris had to support me as I walked off the plane. We soon met up with some of our other travelers in a corridor, and he let go of me, not realizing how weak I was. I fell against the glass wall of the corridor, and stayed there for a few minutes until I felt better. Consequently, the photo below was my first view of Italy.

On the morning of 29 December, our group visited Vatican City. After seeing much of the Vatican Museum and some of the grounds, our tour guide explained that when we entered the Sistine Chapel, we mustn't speak or take photos. However, it seemed as though only our group obeyed that rule, for the Sistine Chapel was humming with noise. The lighting was very poor, so I couldn't see the ceiling or The Last Judgement very well. After five minutes of this (and our group was told that we could stay for 20 minutes), Chris and I ditched the group and went in search of the Vatican Library. My skin was all a-tingle just thinking about the library. I knew we most likely wouldn't be allowed in, but Chris had told me that there are usually books from their collection on display. After a few wrong turns, we found the corridor leading to the library. Alas, no books were on display, and we were not allowed to enter. This photo is of the entrance to the library.

Later that day some of us walked to the Spanish Steps. This is a shot from the top of the steps. In the center of the photo, you can see the dome of St. Peter's Cathedral.

On Saturday, 30 December, many of us journeyed to Assisi (of St. Francis fame). Here is a photo I took while standing in one of the main piazzas in the small hill town. At the bottom of the frame, in the distance, you can see the dome of the Cathedral to St. Mary of the Angels.

On the morning of Sunday, 31 December, some of us went to visit The Colosseum and the surrounding areas. I had to duck out early to meet Giovanni (friend of my mother's), and I was nearly crushed in the subway on the way from the Colosseum to the hotel. Here is one of the beautiful umbrella pines on top of Palatine, one of the seven hills of Rome. These pine trees were everywhere in Rome, and they are spectacular!

Later that afternoon, Donna, Chris, and I walked all around the north and east areas of Rome, and had a wonderful time. I ducked into every bookshop I could find, and ended up buying Harry Potter e la pietra filosofale and Harry Potter e la camera dei segreti. Chris tried an orange from one of the trees lining the sidewalk. It was as sour as a lemon!

That evening, our entire group went to a lovely (and tiny) restaurant where we had a seven course meal (!), along with games and music. There was one very small dance floor, and insisted that, as I may never be in Rome on New Year's Eve again, I wanted to dance. So Chris humoured me. From the photo below, I hope you can distinguish that not only was the dance floor tiny, but it had a large bunch of balloons in its center. Not only that, but something had been spilled on the floor, making it very slippery. Yet I persisted; I was going to dance. And I did.

Thank you for viewing my very long and photo-filled post. Please stay tuned, for in my next post I will share all my Sicilian adventures.