this morning the bus ran late, the bus driver was CRAZY and there were literally people flying all over the bus. it was funny but quite discomforting…how do people drive here?!?! it’s crazy. there are lane lines but NO ONE follows them; people on scooters literally just zoom through traffic like it’s their job, it’s insane. brianna said that people "just learn how to drive here" as opposed to following the lines and lights like in america – i’m not sure which is better there; haven’t been any accidents that i’ve seen since i’ve been here but it’s something i’d be interested in reading about. anyway, i met brianna at the pantheon to go over our italian and then we made our way to the ara pacis (another one of my favorites!). it is so big, but small at the same time…beautiful, either way. i'm not sure i like the building its held in (thanks mussolini) but just seeing it and being able to walk through it was incredible.
the ara pacis
my favorite detail from the ara pacis of a little snake about to munch on some birds; oh, the creativity of the great augustus
after the class was over, brianna and i were telling professor biow about the caravaggio exhibit and he was like “well i’m walking right by a church with some caravaggio paintings, i’ll take you in there if you want”…um, yes please!! so next thing i know, i’m walking into a GLORIOUS church (the contarelli chapel to be exact) and standing in front of the calling of st. matthew, literally (and i’m not exaggerating here) MY FAVORITE PAINTING OF ALL TIME. aslkfalksdflskdjfsldkj i cannot describe the rush i got standing in front of that incredible painting. wow wow wow wow wow it was free i'm going back A LOT more i love rome i love rome i love rome. word vomit yes, but that’s how i felt today…living off an art history high. the best part of that experience wasn’t even seeing the caravaggios (but i don't want to undermine how INCREDIBLE that was)…there was a woman standing next to me who was very passionately describing the paintings and i instantly recognized we had a common love for caravaggio so i turned to her, nodded and smiled, and said “bellissimo”. i had no idea what i was getting myself into at the time but i’m so glad i did! she saw me and started talking to me about the paintings and the coolest thing about it was that i actually understood her! so far in this encounter i've learned two important life lessons: 1) let people around you know that you agree with them (especially when it comes to art) and, 2) i should speak to people about art in italian so i can actually understand them…woo! so anyway, brianna made her way back to where i was engaged in conversation with this woman about caravaggio. we came to exchange names (hers is donatella) and stories and turns out she lives in venezia…turns out we’re going to venezia in two weeks…turns out SHE INVITED US TO HER HOME FOR A MEAL AND TOUR AROUND VENEZIA…um awesome!?!? and this lady is legit; she’s a teacher in venezia and so so kind and was with her husband who actually knows a little bit of english. it was, once again, one of the most incredible, totally unplanned, spontaneous experiences i’ve ever had and so awesome. after that, brianna and i just walked around and saw a beautiful church façade that we just had to go into…turns out to be the santa maria maddalena, a gorgeous rococo church with elaborately decorated ceilings and beautiful sculptures all over. another spontaneous decision that was truly awe-inspiring. we continued to walk around aimlessly and stopped in a stationery shop that had the most amazing stationery, selection of leather-bound journals and other beautiful things of the sort that i will definitely stop by again. so by this time we had only about twenty minutes to eat and hike it to class, but we made it! stopped into a little pizzeria near the pantheon and ate on the way…so italian of us! not to mention the pizza was delicious as always!
then we had class and instead of hiking back up the hill to the quirinale to see another exhibit close to the caravaggio one, brianna and I decided to take it easy for the afternoon and hang out at the school. i ran back home to get my laptop so I could finally add pictures to my blog (talking about writing my blog while writing on my blog is creating this weird metaphysical thing going on in my head…oy). however, when i got home i realized that i didn’t have my phone, i.e. i lost it somewhere in rome…oops. i was freaking out but knew i had it at the pantheon so decided to stop there in hopes that someone found it and turned it in. to make a long story and a lot of freaking out short, it was there and brianna had actually called me a couple of times. i got back to school and turns out she had actually called three times while it was chilling in the pantheon (please try to imagine the scene: the pantheon, a gorgeous, silent with awe, historical structure with a rogue cell phone going off with no owner…and not just going off, but ringing with the incredibly annoying nokia tune we all know and despise…OY VEY). so yes, that happened.
anyway! can I just recap this amazing day? began at the pantheon, to the ara pacis, seeing masterpieces of caravaggio in situ, getting acquainted with and invited to spend time with one of the most fascinating energetic passionate women I’ve ever met, stumbling into a beautiful church, finding a great spot for gifts and awesome stationery, eating awesome pizza, leaving and retrieving my phone at the pantheon, and sitting in a beautiful medieval palace to blog! yessssssss rome i love you.
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