Joel in Italia!

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve written. I thought this might happen though, because for the past 10 days, Joel has been here! It has been so great having him here. This was his first time visiting Italy and we had such a good time. I’m going to give a break down of the last week, but I promise I’ll try to keep it brief.

So we spent Friday and Saturday last week sightseeing in Siena. We had dinner on the Piazza del Campo Friday night of course since no one can come to Siena without drinking wine and eating dinner on the Campo. Then on Sunday morning we went to mass in the Duomo of Siena. I had been inside a couple times to see the artwork, but mass was amazing. It was a special mass since it was All Saints Day on Thursday, so there were flowers decorating the altar and everything. It was beautiful. Then we spent the rest of the day in San Gimignano. We were there at sunset, so we climbed (actually ran) to the top of the tallest tower in the city and saw a spectacular view. I added a couple pictures of the view from the top as well as a couple others in San Gimignano.

Monday and Tuesday Joel came to a couple of my classes with me, but we didn’t have much time for anything else after school. Wednesday I had a trip to Florence with my Art History class, so Joel joined us. We visited the Duomo, the Duomo Museum, and the Academy Museum where we saw the David! My whole class was devoted to Michelangelo, so finally seeing the David was incredible. Of course we also saw other works of Michelangelo, which were equally impressive. I never thought I’d be so interested in and inspired by art history. I think Joel was surprised too. We both left wishing we could have spent more time in both of the museums. Thursday after school I had an optional school trip to some hot springs. They were naturally heated pools with sulfur (which unfortunately smells like eggs!). Other than the smell, the place was amazing. It was more of a spa in the middle of nowhere, which was great because it had a great view and we were there late afternoon, so we got to enjoy yet another beautiful sunset.

Friday after school, we all left for Rome. Part of my opera class includes seeing an opera in Rome, so we saw Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutti”. It was 4 hours but well worth it. And it was at the Teatro dell’Opera, which was gorgeous. Then Joel and I spent the rest of the weekend in Rome. We did so much in only two days I can’t believe it. My feet still hurt! I think this is why they say to travel when you’re young. Joel and I went both days from early morning until around 1am. Saturday we took an amazing tour my parents recommended of Vatican City. Having graduated from a Catholic high school and having studied religion and the Vatican, it was incredible to actually be there. The first sight of the Vatican and Saint Peter’s Basilica was jaw dropping. Joel and I literally stopped in our tracks. It took a few minutes to take it all in and realize if we didn’t stop drooling, we’d miss our tour! The tour included the inside the Basilica, the Vatican Museum, and I think my favorite, the Sistine Chapel. It was more than I ever could have imagined or expected; it was truly magical. Later that evening we went back to the Vatican and happened to experience the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen. The sky looked like it was on fire. We really got lucky with the sunsets during the past week =) That night we went out and experienced the nightlife of Rome. Another fun experience. Drinking wine and eating pizza with the locals was a blast. There were a few things we wanted to see in Rome at night, so we did some more sight-seeing, got completely lost on random buses, but ended up finding the incredible Vittorio Emanuele Monument and the Trevi Fountain. Overall, it was a great night.

Sunday we were exhausted, but we dragged ourselves out of bed, and after a cappuccino to get us going, we had a packed full day. We visited the Roman Forum, the Coliseum, Circus Maximus (where they used to do the chariot races), the Pantheon, Piazza del Popolo, and the Spanish steps. What a day! Then to top it off, Joel had surprised me and had bought tickets to the Roma-Cagliari soccer game in the Stadio Olympico. Unfortunately there was a riot outside the game. It was pretty scary. Men with helmets and covered faces had bats, blockades, fireworks, and smoke bombs and created absolute chaos outside the stadium. Joel and I booked it and jumped on a random bus to get out of there. Turns out there had been riots at earlier games and one boy was killed so the rest of the games were cancelled. Unfortunate, but it gave us a little more time to finish off some last sightseeing. Then this morning I left really early to make it back to school. Joel stayed in Rome and will fly out from Rome tomorrow morning. What a great time we had while he was here.

I can’t put many pictures up yet, because we took almost all pictures with Joel’s camera. So as soon as I get those from him, I’ll post more pictures. Sorry this is so long! But I had a lot to update on. Happy Veteran’s Day to everyone at home! Ciao!