Italia, Day 3: Roma - Assisi

This day was really a marathon of trying to see everything I possibly could before my train to Assisi in the evening. In retrospect, I really should have allowed myself more time in Rome - there is so much to see there. But, I had already booked my hostel in Assisi, so I got up at 5AM and booked it on over to Vatican City. I was one of the first few people in Piazza San Pietro, and it was so beautiful to be there at that time. I entered the Basilica, where morning prayer was taking place and it was very quiet and quite empty. I have seen a lot of churches, but I have to say that St. Peter's is so beautiful I really could have cried.

Of course there are many super-famous works of art in the Basilica; Bernini's baldacchino and Michelangelo's Pietà are staples of Art History survey classes, but the real magic of St. Peter's is in the atmosphere of the whole. The building's interior is so gorgeous, the mosaics of the ceilings, the frescoes... there is gold and gilt everywhere; it is rich and sumptuous without being gaudy or overdone. The basilica is huge - the second largest in the world, and there are many niches and sanctuaries, each one adorned with marble, carvings, sculptures and paintings.

Bernini's baldacchino

Michelangelo's Pietà

I reluctantly left St. Peter's and made my way along the wall of the city to the Vatican Museum. It was still 45 minutes before opening time, but already the line stretched back about 30 meters from the entrance. I parked myself in queue and read some Goethe while we waited for the doors to open. As soon as I made it into the museum, I high-tailed it straight to the Sistine Chapel. Since it's the biggest tourist draw, I figured I would get it out of the way before the real throngs arrived. The chapel is beautiful, of course, really very amazing, but still it's one of those things that is so built-up that its reputation is really more impressive than the reality. Close by the Sistine Chapel are the Raphael Rooms, with some almost equally famous frescoes by Raphael, which I really enjoyed seeing. In particular, The School of Athens was one I had studied in college and really appreciated seeing in person.

The School of Athens

The Vatican Museum is enormous - you could really spend a few days there and not see everything, but I was able to see the main points and some other things that sounded interesting. The building itself is a work of art - every ceiling and wall is covered in paintings and each room filled with sculptures and antiques. There is a beautiful courtyard in the middle and picturesque views from many of the windows.

Vatican Museum courtyard

At the Vatican Museum, St. Peter's in the background

detail

detail

After I blazed through the Vatican Museum, I headed right back to St. Peter's to see the crypt, which had been closed earlier in the morning. In the crypt there are the tombs and sarcophagi of popes going back over 1,000 years. The basilica had really filled up with tourists by this time, making me even more grateful I had gotten there so early that morning. I looked around a little longer, took a few more pictures, then headed to the Spanish Steps. I found the steps to be less impressive than I had hoped. In pictures there are flowers planted all the way up and down the stairs, but when I saw it there weren't any flowers. While it was pretty, I wasn't blown away. Luckily, it is only a short distance from the steps to Trevi fountain, so I made my way back to pay my dues to Rome and make my momma happy.

Spanish Steps

Throwing my coins into Trevi Fountain

After tossing my coins in the fountain, I headed back to the area of the Central Station, where I visited the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme. This museum was very interesting for me. It had some amazing examples of Ancient Roman jewelry in great condition, a huge exhibit on the history of Roman coins, and a large display of frescoes taken from the walls of a Roman villa. The frescoes date back to the time of Augustus, who reigned from 27 BC to 14 AD. Looking at the vibrant color and detail of these frescoes, which are amazingly well-preserved, it is extremely difficult to imagine that they are over 2,000 years old.

Pretty, pretty jewels

Not so pretty mummy

Map of trade routes for precious stones to Ancient Rome

Sign telling the story of the discovery of the frescoes in 1879

Some nice ancient mosaics

By the time I boarded my train to Assisi that evening, I was extremely tired - in fact, I was somewhere beyond exhausted. I had covered a lot of ground over the last couple of days in intense heat. I wasn't really prepared to be confronted by the ticket-checker on the train and told I had to pay a fine for not properly validating my ticket - if you are interested, I will tell you sometime how public transportation in Italy is very confusing and frustrating. I responded to this by paying the fine (it was only 5 euro) and then crying quietly to myself for a while.

When I arrived in Assisi, after a beautiful drive through the countryside, it was just before sunset. I had to wait for a bus to take me from the train station to my hostel, which was up closer to the basilica. When the bus dropped me off at the base of the hill the basilica stands on, the sun was starting to set and it was absolutely gorgeous. Assisi is a quiet little city, on the edge of a mountain in the Umbria region. The countryside surrounding it is like a rich quilt made of forest green, gold, and silver. The silver comes from the many olive trees growing in fields all around; I had never seen olive trees before, but I knew what they were as soon as I saw them from reading Italian Journey. Assisi was home to St. Francis, and St. Francis Basilica is a World Heritage site and a destination for pilgrims from all over the world.

Peaceful Assisi

I couldn't wait to visit the church the next day, but that night I was incredibly tired. I headed down the hill from the bus stop to my hostel, a little medieval building in an olive grove. After my experience with the train that evening, I really wanted to purchase my train ticket for the next day online. I was so tired I could hardly think straight, but I asked the lady at reception to use the computer and went to the Italian railway website to try to buy it. Of course, the website was acting up, and no matter what I tried I couldn't figure out how to make it work. I became more and more frustrated until I literally had tears rolling down my face and was sobbing quietly. This may sound disturbing, but actually it was pretty amusing. I was so tired I was like a little kid. The nice lady at the desk consoled me, and I put myself to bed, knowing that things would look much brighter in the morning.

Accommodation secured, summer camps over!

It feels very relieving to know that I have a place to live in exactly one week, when I am out of my current place. I can't wait to get settled into my new flat - I found a place pretty much in the dead center of Prague, over 50% larger than my current room, and paying the same price I pay in the suburbs. I got a very good deal for the location, and it will save me tons of time since I can walk to each of the three metro lines from my apartment. That is a huge plus for a teacher who spends over 10 hours a week travelling to and from classes. Plus, I am right on the edge of Staré Město (Old Town) the historic center of Prague, surrounded by the beautiful medieval and Art Nouveau buildings. I even have my own little balcony :).

I couldn't be leaving at a better time, as there has now appeared on the couch in the living room an Indian guy somewhere in his mid-30s. Apparently he is going to be living there for several months, while Iva has rented my bedroom to a Swedish guy who doesn't yet know about the guy on the couch, bless him. The Indian guy is actually really nice (although I don't know what his name is) - I would be happier to live with him than with my real (soon-to-be-ex) roommates.

Friday was the last day out of five weeks of summer camps this year. It has been a really good, albeit challenging experience. I know I will be working at more next year (in the CR as well as another country like Spain or France). I will post some pictures from my last two weeks...

Markéta

Katya

Beautiful posters made by the kids

Sitting in the grass

Anita

Linda and Katya

Linda and me

Katya was also my student last year in Mlada Boleslav, so smart and pretty

Necklace made for me by Katya, flower from Sabinka :)

Ella

Vanda and Marek

Vendi, Vanda and Adéla outside the Planetarium

Even though summer camps have ended, my work has not. I am going to be helping to train the new teachers for my school starting on Monday, so I have been working on preparing - I spent all day today making a nice CD of kids' songs I like to use in my classes, and making copies for all the new teachers. Also, I will be presenting my company again at another job fair next week. There are two weeks of trainings, but there is a one-week break in between, so I am planning on taking a short trip to Krakow, Poland. From what I hear it is a beautiful city, and it's also close and inexpensive.

Meanwhile, I will be working on outfitting my new place. While the room is furnished, it is rather sparse (which I am happy with as it gives me the opportunity to choose some things for myself. It's quite fun here in Prague because people are moving out so often, especially this time of year. They are relocating to other countries, so they have lots of stuff they have to get rid of, and you can find great deals on pretty much everything you can imagine. In addition to stuff for my apartment, I've found other random things that I had been planning to purchase anyway. For instance, I have been wanting to buy a hair-straightener, but have been holding off because they are a little expensive (30 or 40 dollars for a decent one). Last night, I went to one lady's apartment that is leaving after 11 years in Prague, and I got a hair straightener, hammer, espresso cup, ten hangers, two power strips, a carabiner, a hand towel, and a really nice lamp, all for 40 dollars. The lamp was an especially good find, and something I was looking for. It is tall and has a bigger main lamp on top and a smaller one that is movable so you can use it to read. The cool part about it is that it has these plastic shades, and it comes with three sets - clear, orange, and blue, so you can change the "mood" in the room. Very cool.

On Tuesday I am picking up these nice IKEA wardrobes - you can take out or add the shelves as needed, so they can be used for folded clothes or for hanging. They can also be disassembled and transported easily. Here is a picture so you understand what I mean:

IKEA wardrobes

I found all of these opportunities online - there is a a website for expats that is a great help with pretty much everything you need to do as a foreigner in Prague. While I was looking through more pictures of things for sale on the website, I found that the same guy I was picking up the wardrobes from also had for sale an espresso pot like they use in Italy - once I realized how easy it is to make espresso, I had decided to get one - I had even been looking at them in the store earlier the same day! In addition, he had the games Twister! and Scrabble for sale - great games for an English teacher, but games are expensive. On Tuesday, I will be the proud owner of all these items at a true bargain price.

Look for more Italy in the coming days - hopefully I can get it all out before Krakow! I guess it's hard to complain about traveling so much I don't have time to write about it all - if only work didn't keep on getting in the way, you know?