Things I miss about Chicago:
my perfectly ordered city with it's
numbered, equidistant, square blocks
straight, ordinal lines when
waiting for things
the CTA
Confused about number 3? well picture
this... a world without bus tracker, cta txts, or bus schedules!
That's my life, and just to add to the mess the transportation
service (buses and metro) go on strike regularly. On the plus side,
the payment system on buses relies on the honor system (aka I ride
free), so I guess it's a fair compromise. When I get back to campus I
vow to never take my u-pass for granted again!
Anyway, due to the bus strikes I
decided to walk down to the Vatican with my friend Kaz. What we
thought was just a straight shot down the hill turned out to be an
adventure of wrong turns and awkward moments while trying to ask for
directions in broken Italian. We eventually made our way to St.
Peter's. We looked around the basilica (it definitely needed another
visit after I went for class), and then made our way to the top:
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| These guys are so intense. |
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| The detail on this is amazing. Michelangelo deserves all the credit he got for this beautiful piece. |
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| The size and scale of everything in here is mind blowing. I can't believe people made this... I wonder what Ancient Aliens has to say...? |
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| Statues and marble EVERYWHERE |
Getting to the top of the basilica is
a little over 500 steps. The first ~200 are pretty easy, and there's
even an elevator available for an extra 2 euro. The last 300 are pretty
intense:
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| Claustrophobic |
Inside the Cupola looking down on the basilica:
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| My actual distance to the top |
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| Details everywhere! |
The view at the top is worth every step!
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| Monte Mario! The hill where I live and watch the sunset from :) |
Too much if I go back everyday?
After St. Peter's I went to a wonderful
gelato place called Theatro del Gelato. I highly recommend it as it
is authentic Italian gelato made with only fresh, natural ingredients.
The flavors there vary based on the time of year, so I got a dark
chocolate and champagne flavors (made with actual champagne!):
Some pics from our wanderings:
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| Only in Italy: 'Please don't tow this car' |
