Day 82: Rome

I woke up at 7 am a bit delirious. It was a mixture of a new environment and a lack of sleep that left me slightly out of character. I showered and headed down for breakfast. After breakfast everyone seemed to have gone back to sleep but I wanted to see some of the early things on the itinerary so I sucked it up and grabbed my things.

The first stop was a museum that included a perspective trick. As you look at the architecture it seems to go back in space for quite a distance revealing a seemingly tall statue at the end. However, the lady working there walked back and she appeared to grow taller as she descended down the hallway. When she reached the statue it only came to her waist. It was brilliant. After this I began to drastically fade and the tiredness grew immensely.

I fought through and made it to the coffee break where I devoured a cappuccino and an espresso and felt revived and rejuvenated. Next we stopped at Bramante's Tempietto built over the spot where St. Peter is supposed to have been crucified. We got to see some delightful views of the city before heading to the Farnesina, a villa modeled after ancient Roman villas.

And then came the time in which we traveled to another country (yes, its true): the Vatican. We viewed various museums throughout and so more artwork than can be written here. We broke for lunch and then walked through some more galleries on our way to the Sistine Chapel. Once there, I was amazing. The fact that it only took Michelangelo 4 years to paint the entire ceiling is remarkable. The Last Judgement fresco was brilliant as well. It's tough to put in to words how compelling art like that is, but trust me, its magnificent to say the least. After the Vatican we headed to St. Peter's Basilica. After a while here, a group of us ventured off to see another church. However, we got turned around somehow and ended up near our hotel. At the sight of this, my lack of energy that consumed me in the morning returned and I decided to stay behind.

I took a bath and finished A Kiss Before Dying (which I give 2 thumbs up) and then napped for a while. I met up with kathryn, Melissa, and Heather and we went to a pizza joint for dinner. It was there that I discovered that all four of us are only children. What are the odds? After hanging out with them for a while, I went back to my room and relaxed. I read some more of The Inferno and went to sleep by midnight.