Mom and Dad flew out Thursday morning, then I met them at the hotel. Within a few minutes, my brother arrived (coming from Milan), and we grabbed some lunch. I then showed them Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and Piazza Nivona with Bernini's "Fountain of the Four Rivers". Hot and tired, we went into studio early for the air conditioning and to see the showcase. Because they knew I had the dinner that night, they went back to the hotel for the night and I went to spend one last night with the kids that I had gotten to know over the last two months.
Friday morning, I met my parents in front of the Emmanuel Monument, also known as the "Wedding Cake Building". We were going to start with the Roman Forum, but it was closed for a strike, so instead we walked next door to the Colosseum before it got too hot or crowded. We went back to the Roman Forum and listened to a Rick Steves audio tour and imagined the ruins we couldn't immediately see.
I then took them to see Pope Julius II's Tomb Monument made by Michelangelo, and Santa Maria Maggorie for Bernini's tomb and a painting believed to have been done by St. Luke. We wandered up to S. Maria della Vittoria to see Bernini's "Ecstasy of S. Teresa", which was one of the sites mentioned in Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons'.
We then went back to the hotel for some lunch before I had to get back to studio to pick up some things, then went to the apartment and moved all my stuff out to the hotel, as I'd be spending the night there instead of at the apartment. I got back to the hotel with barely enough time to drop off my stuff before we had to leave to the Borghese Gallery.
Afterwards, we had a quick bite in the Borghese gardens before going to Piazza Popolo to find the church, Santa Maria del Popolo, already closed for the day. We grabbed a bottle of wine on our way to the Spanish Steps to watch the sun set, then found our way to Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon before calling it a night.
Saturday morning was spent in the Vatican Museum into the Sistine Chapel and then into St. Peter's Basilica. We grabbed some lunch, then I took them to see the river (though it looks cooler at night), up to the Bone Church (Dad was creeped out, but Mom and Chris thought it was cool in a disturbing way), and then back to San Luigi so they could see a few Caravaggio paintings and some of the paintings I had written a paper on.
We then grabbed another bottle of wine and watched the sun set at the Colosseum.
On the bus ride back to the hotel, Chris almost got pick pocketed, but exchanged some words with the gentleman and he got off at the next stop.
Sunday morning we got on a train for Cinque Terra, where we would spend the next few days.
About Me
- SM
- Des Moines, IA
- Many people don't realize how much effort goes into a production before it appears on the stage. This blog is to write about those efforts and help give the audience a greater appreciation for what they see. It's also meant to be educational, so if you have a question about anything, please don't hesitate to ask!
