Italy Vacation (part 2)

I have to take a moment to mention the food in Italy. A traditional Italian meal is served in several courses: Appetizer (usually some form of bruschetta), first course (usually a pasta dish), second course (usually a meat), dessert (every restaurant, including pizzerias, serves tiramisu), and then a cup of espresso to finish the meal. This meal is served around lunchtime, and takes about 2 or 3 hours. DO NOT try to rush an Italian through a meal! We only did this once while we were there (it's kind-of expensive), but it was definitely worth it.

Olive oil and balsamic vinegar are the preferred condiments in Italy, I never once saw a bottle of ketchup or mustard, not even in the supermarkets. And of course, the wine is omnipresent. A bottle of house red wine is usually about the same price as a bottle of water. I'm not that much of a wine drinker, so my opinion on the matter is basically worthless, but I thought the red wine (Chianti in particular) was excellent. The white wine (which is usually imported anyway) was only mediocre.

OK, onto more sites!

No trip to Rome would be complete without a visit to the Vatican, which is technically an independent country. It's the smallest independent state in the entire world. And taking up a large portion of the Vatican is St. Peter's Basilica. This is an amazing church, both in scale and splendor. This picture was taken to try to get an appreciation for the size of this place. (Look for me towards the center of the picture, I'm the blurry guy at the base of the dome with my arms straight up. The dome is HUGE...and that's just the dome on top of an equally gigantic basilica!) There is too much inside the basilica itself to even get into, but I have to at least mention the throne of St. Peter. The window itself is the only stained glass in the entire church, and the huge bronze sculpture that surrounds it is a single, unbroken masterpiece. (For reference, a human standing in that picture would be a little smaller than the candles at the bottom) The building is truly awe-inspiring, regardless of religious beliefs.

Near the basilica is the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum. The Sistine chapel is actually a little smaller than I thought it would be (or perhaps it only seemed small after standing in St. Peter's) but Michelangelo covered every last inch of that chapel. The creation of Adam is the most famous image, but my favorite part of the chapel was admiring Michelangelo's ability to paint with depth on a 3-dimensional surface. Some of the figures reclining into the background of certain parts were painted in surfaces curving towards the viewer. For example, Jonah is reclining backwards, but the surface is coming forward. Simply amazing.

The Vatican Museum contains more sculptures and tapestries and paintings than I can even remember. But one thing I do remember is that the Vatican has A LOT of porphyry. Works in imperial porphyry are insanely expensive because the marble is difficult to work with, and the marble itself is extremely rare. Nero's Bathtub and the Sarcophagus of Helena are each worth millions, if not billions. The only other thing I can remember from the museum is an Egyptian mummy. I don't really remember why there was a mummy in the Vatican, but I remember that there is one. Rome is covered with Egyptian obelisks, (see Piazza del popolo or St. Peter's Square) so I know that Egypt and Rome are tied closely together, but I can't remember exactly why or how.

OK, enough rambling for today. Hopefully the rest of the pictures will be posted soon, I'll keep you updated. I'm going to go watch MSU beat up on the Buckeyes. Go State!