Italy - 2 countries and 15 days left!!!
Hello! I went to Rome first, and it was super cool! We went to the Vatican which was amazing and adds yet another country to our list! We went to the Sistine Chapel in Vatican where Michelangelo laid on his back for 4 years to paint the ceiling. We unfortunately couldn’t take photos in the Sistine Chapel for copyright reasons, but you can find photos online and I took photos everywhere else in Vatican. My favourite painting in the Vatican was The Last Judgment, where all the blue is made out of lapis lazuli, an expensive gem found in Afghanistan. If you look at the photo I got online of the painting, you will find a droopy figure that is supposed to represent Michelangelo and how he was feeling while painting it. He liked sculpting much more than painting, and when he was asked to paint it he couldn’t refuse, so during the painting process he was feeling very upset.
A few days after Vatican, we went to the Coliseum. The Coliseum was built for entertainment purposes. They would hold fights (people against people, people against animals) or executions. They didn’t even need a reason to execute you for the peoples entertainment. If they thought you did something wrong, that was it. People fighting in the Coliseum didn’t necessarily fight to the death all the time either. They would fight until someone gets knocked to the ground, and then the crowd would decide if you deserve to die or live.
We took the train to Pompei from Rome after Vatican, and it was very cool! Pompei is an old town, and some parts of it were destroyed during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Because it released so much ash, the whole town was well preserved for 1700 years. It erupted in 79 AD, and was discovered first in the late 16th century by Domenico Fontana. Another part was discovered in 1709, and excavation began there in 1738.
After Rome, we went to Montepulciano and stayed in a lovely lodge. We wandered the town and shops, and also climbed up the Montepulciano tower! That time period was just mainly a relaxation time and it was a lovely place for it too.
Of course you can’t come to Italy without getting gelato, so we made sure to get that at least once or twice, and we also went to a very fun gelato making class. Unfortunately, the weather was not good the day we had the gelato making, so we were very cold throughout that. I also think Italian gelato is good, but I prefer Turkish ice cream because of the mastic gum they added to make it stretchy.
Next, we went to Pisa, which was the last stop. The first day was a rest day, but the day after we climbed the tower. It didn’t feel like it was leaning a lot, and when we got to the top the view was amazing! The day after, we wandered the town and I got a leather bag. We eventually got sick of Italian food, so we ate at an amazing Mexican restaurant. On our 3rd day, we took the train to Lucca, another town in Italy. We rented bikes and had an amazing time biking along the old city walls! Afterwards, we stopped at a pasta place recommended to us by the bike owner, and it was delicious! We then climbed up the Lucca tower, before deciding to go home. The rest of the time there(2 days), we just wandered around the town. The flight to Romania left early in the morning so we got breakfast at a little cafe before heading to the airport.
Time for photos!
How were you still cold with a long sleeve shirt, 2 sweaters and a jacket????? These are some things I just don’t understand.
ReplyDeleteIt was rainy and windy, and the place had zero heating, so it was very cold. Good question though!
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