The best way to get to know people?

Travel with them =D

I had an absolutely fabulous Easter weekend with Pete and Andrea in Italy. It was, in a word, overwhelming, but amazing all the same! Day one (Good Friday) was Rome...within 5 hours we managed to visit the Vatican City and St Peter's Basilica as well as the Sistine Chapel, the Trevi Fountain and the Colosseum. The Vatican City was very...ornate. VERY elaborate. I didn't remember that St Peter's housed Michaelangelo's Pieta, which I studied in my art history class, so I was uber excited to see it in person!

The Sistine Chapel was impressive - it was SO neat to see the ceiling in person, though I was sad you couldn't take pictures. It's hard to imagine that one man painted that whole ceiling...and the walk through the Vatican Museum to get to the Sistine Chapel was impressive in and of itself. While we didn't linger very long in each room it was fun to wander through and see all these statues and paintings...I saw another statue I studied in art history, though I regrettably forget the name of it =(

The Trevi Fountain was one heck of an impressive fountain...though we got a little lost trying to find it. The map in the metro made it seem like it was a stone's throw to get there once you leave the metro...maybe if it's Hercules throwing the stone! I threw my coins in to ensure my return to Rome and the granting of my wish...though you'll sadly just have to imagine what wish I made, I'm not telling!

Our last stop before our train to Florence was the Colosseum. There's a REASON there's a linguistic link between Colosseum and colossal...because that's what it is. A colossal, overwhelming, incredibly ancient construction that takes your breath away. It's amazing to think of how they possibly could have managed to make something so big that has lasted through centuries of weather, wars and bloody history that is still standing millenia later.

Easter in Florence was...kind of horrible, simply because of the pouring rain and cold temperatures...so we won't go there. But Saturday? Saturday was PERFECT. the weather was amazing - we all got a little sunburned! - and the sights were breathtaking and the gelato was delicious (we got gelato 6 times...). I was proud to be a PK (pastor's kid) in Florence and Rome...knowing the stories from the Bible really made things like the Sistine Chapel and the Bapistery by the Duomo all the more meaningful. I could stand there for hours, never getting bored, always picking out a new story and scene. We exhausted ourselves in Florence, drinking in the sights of the impressive Duomo, the beautiful statues at the Piazza della Signoria (where the practically identical copy of David stands), the silly overpriced trinkets at the vendors stands. We ate a ton of gelato and pasta, enjoying every bite and stuffing ourselves silly. I gave the weary backpackers backrubs and we laughed over the stupidest had-to-be-there moments. and I loved every minute of it! Especially the part where I got to hang out with my big brother and practically-big-sister =)

as a side note...there's nothing like Italian men to boost your self confidence. I can't count the number of times I was stared at, winked at, hit on and "ciao bella"-ed!

now I have to come back down to earth...and stay put for a while! I realized that in the past 4 weeks I was in 10 different cities in 3 different countries! (Monaco is it's own country...) but now I'm focusing on the school work. Nose to the grindstone on my IS and...well, getting the IES work done, too. But I'm ready to stay firmly put for a while and live it up Nantais style =)

à+!

ps - the photo thing is going to be done in segments...voila part one!

...my friends take a lot of pictures!
for the benefit of non-facebook peoples
Rats, Bats and other Legendary Creatures
Nice was nice!
et la troisieme...

more to come: Paris, Normandy and Italy