What other quote would I possibly use to announce that I am once again state-side? Actually, I've been here for two months now, and shamefully haven't completed by final blog page. So here it is. As you've probably guessed, I completed my Masters dissertation, and I am pleased to report that it was relatively painless (at least as painless as 80-some pages can be). I actually already received my grade as well, and I am very happy with it. While here in the US a 78 is not ideal, in the British grading system it is an excellent mark, and my dissertation supervisor has encouraged me to try for publication, something that would be incredibly helpful for my future career and education goals, and which I will begin as soon as my paper is mailed to me from Durham.
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| Here I am with my two final copies of my dissertation. |
I did manage to squeeze in a bit more travel before I came home, with a ten-day trip to Italy. Honestly, it would have been a bit silly to go all the way to Europe to study Roman history and not see Rome, wouldn't it? Although interestingly enough, Rome was not my favorite part of my journey. Of the three cities I saw (Venice, Florence, and Rome), it is Florence of which I have the fondest memories. Nevertheless, all three were wonderful experiences, and I will try to recall a few details from each.
Perhaps my favorite part of my arrival in Italy was not actually being in Italy, but the plane trip there. One of the most spectacular sights I have ever seen is etched in my brain from that flight. Imagine, if you will, mountains, covered in snow even in September, rising out of the clouds with a tremendous sun behind them, glinting off the white peaks. This was my first view of the Alps. I have a very dear friend who comes from Austria, and though she often spoke highly of where she grew up, I confess I had not imagined anything so beautiful as what I saw that day. Unfortunately because we weren't allowed to have electronics powered on I have no picture, so I encourage everyone to go see this amazing sight for themselves.
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| St. Mark's Square at twilight. |
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| Venice from the Water Bus. |
The rest of Venice after that was a bot of a letdown honestly. It is a beautiful city, and my first evening there Lucas and I took a wonderful walk through the streets, exploring and seeing St. Mark's square lit up in the twilight. The architecture (as in all of Italy) was amazing, and there were so many people! That is the one thing about Venice which isn't too appealing: it is extremely touristy. Of course, I have no right to complain about that as we were tourists, and I'm sure everyone else visiting there felt the same.
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| Classic Venice scene. |
The best thing we did in Venice, which I highly recommend to everyone, is to take a boat tour of the Venetian Islands. It isn't too expensive, and on a beautiful day, completely worth it. I spent the better part of an afternoon lying on a wall overlooking the Mediterranean, surrounded by the smell of dusty pines.
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| Me on the Venetian Island tour. |
Two days is plenty of time in Venice, and we continued our journey to Florence by train. Our first morning there, we saw David. THE David. Again, I wasn't allowed to take pictures, but I will say this, Michelangelo did a good job of making sure no Goliath would ever tower over his David. This statue is huge! And while I feel a bit odd writing this, I have never seen such a gorgeous image of a man as that figure.
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| A David, not THE David. But you get the idea. |
That afternoon we saw the Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiori, Piazza Santa Maria Novella, Ponte Santa Trinita, Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Vecchio, and the Basilica di Santa Croce. Of these, the Palazzo Vecchio was definitely my favorite. For those who don't know, it is a courtyard full of statues, most of which depict great characters and scenes from classical mythology. Needless to say I was very in my element there.
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| Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiori |
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| Ponte Vecchio |
Four statues at the Palazzo Vecchio: Lapith and Centaur, Poseidon/Neptune, Perseus with the head of Medusa, and Achilles the abduction of Polyxena.
The next day started as the Mercato Centrale, a sort of farmer's market, though much bigger than anything we have here. There are numerous butcher shops, grocers, pasta venders, and bakers, and everything was so colorful! After that we went to the Piazza Michelangelo, from which one can see all of Florence, including the famous dome, and then journeyed on through the Belvedere Gardens. The evening was spent at the Grotto di Leo, hands down the best restaurant I went to abroad. They have the most amazing food for wonderful prices. The service is great, and you can watch their chefs cook pizza and calzone from your seat. I highly recommend it to anyone who goes.
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Calzone from the Grotto di Leo. No lie,
this thing was bigger than my face. |
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| Fruit stand at the Mercato Centrale |
Of all my amazing times in Florence however, I think the best was the simplest. It was late afternoon, and I was sitting in a plaza somewhere, and the sun was low enough that the entire square was in shadow. I just kicked back and watched as people passed by, listened to the numerous languages around me, and enjoyed the best gelato I have ever tasted. One scoop dark chocolate. One scoop lemon cookie. Heaven.
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| Florence from the Piazza Michelangelo |
The following morning saw us boarding a train for Rome, where we spent the bulk of our time. Entering Rome was so surreal, and a bit like meeting your hero or a famous celebrity; the romance of your mind seldom equals the reality. It was of course silly of me to hope that Rome would have been unchanged in two thousand years, and I truly didn't expect it, but it is still a disappointment to see the litter all over the ground, the smog, and the cars that go by. Rome is a big city; a bit too big for me to be honest. However, it is still wondrous to behold. Mixed in amongst the modern churches and McDonalds' are ruins that have stood the test of time. An old fortification, temple, or market is just there, on the side of the road, unchanged and unmoved for centuries. That mix of modern and ancient is so striking, and yet somehow seamless, it could only exist in Rome, the place that truly deserves the title of the Eternal City.
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| Inside St. Peter's |
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| Trajan's Column |
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| The Vatican and St. Peter's Needle |
Our first day there started out at Trajan's Column/Forum. There is no other way to describe it except by saying it's fraking cool! Trajan was Rome's warrior-emperor, and his column commemorated his victory over the Dacians. The detail that went into the carvings on it are just astounding. From there, we went to the Vatican. I wasn't sure what I expected to be honest, and I really just went there on the first day to get it out of the way, as it is one of the things you have to see while you're there, thought it really didn't hold much interest for me. That being said, I was completely blown away by the interior of St. Peter's. The amount of statuary there, the various chapels and alcoves. It feels more like a city than a building. From there we headed back to the BnB, and had a nap. I woke however, to the sound of torrential rain, as a huge storm swept through the city. We went outside after it had stopped and watched huge bolts of dry lightning streaked across the sky.
Our second day was spent doing the touristy stuff. The Forum, the Colosseum, Pantheon, and the Palatine. All were amazing, and extremely crowded. I enjoyed them though, and loved the feeling of walking on the same ground that the people I have so thoroughly enjoyed studying for the past five years walked.
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| Colosseum |
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| Palatine Hill; home of the imperial family |
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The Roman Forum; hub of the ancient city with the Senate House
(aka Curia) on the right |
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| The Pantheon |
The following day was even better though, because we spent it in Pompeii. It truly is a city frozen in time, and there you're not just walking the the footsteps of the historical dead, you're walking their streets, their shops, and through their homes. To make the experience even better, the weather was pretty wacky and had that apocalyptic glow to it, making Vesuvius look all the more awe-inspiring. I definitely recommend going there and seeing the city, and having a good look at the plaster casts of the bodies they recovered and keep there. They are so moving, and even after all this time, you can almost see the facial expressions of people who knew they were going to die long ago on a day in 79 AD. However, skip Herculaneum. It is sketchy. Enough said.
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| Plaster cast of one of the Pompeiian bodies |
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| A gorgeous, stormy day in the Pompeiian streets |
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A local dog posed for me in front of the
ruins of a Pompeiian shrine |
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| Villa of the Mysteries |
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| Vesuvius and the remains of the city of Pompeii |
Our last days in Rome were spent closer to the city. The next day we saw the Spanish Steps and the Res Gestae and the Ara Pacis Augustae (something I have written numerous papers on and got very nerdy over). That evening, we went out to dinner in the Theatre of Pompey, where the assassination of Julius Caesar took place. I suppose it was kind of macabre to eat there, but it was such an amazing piece of history to experience! Usually people can't eat downstairs in the original theatre, but we begged enough and the head waiter said that since there was a private party downstairs and it was already in use, we could have a corner table. Thank goodness that happened! It was the one thing I had really wanted to do in Rome. After dinner we walked back to the BnB via the Trevi Fountain, which really does look lovely at night.
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| A beautiful day at the Spanish Steps |
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| The Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) |
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| Enjoying a glass of wine in the Theatre of Pompey |
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| The Trevi Fountain |
Our next-to-last day in Rome was a bit more laid back. We went on the Via Appia to the Catacombs of St. Callixtus, and got to wander down in the catacombs themselves. Of course, when I say wander, I mean have a guided tour with a bunch of other people so that we don't get lost and join the permanent residents. We got to see where the Christian families would hide from Roman persecutors, and the tiny slits in the walls that held the bodies of infants and children. It was haunting, and incredible. That night we took a look walk under the full moon through Rome. We saw the Trevi Fountain again, the Capitoline statue of Lupa and the twins, Romulus and Remus, the monument to Vittorio Emmanuel, first leader if unified Italy, and ventured over the Tiber to the Tiber Island. It was a lovely way to spend our last night in Rome.
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| Inside the Catacombs of St. Callixtus |
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| Rome at night from the top of the Capitoline Hill |
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| Lupa and the twins under a full moon |
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| The Theatre of Marcellus |
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The following day we prepared to leave, but we still managed to squeeze in a bit of sightseeing. We returned to the Vatican, but this time to the museum, which I enjoyed much more than St. Paul's. I had no idea that the Vatican had so many ancient artifacts, though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. We got to see the Sistine Chapel as well, after winding our way through what seemed like hundreds of galleries with ubiquitous pictures of Christ dying. Truth be told I was very glad when we got the the Raphael section, and I got to see his painting, The Academy. Surprise, surprise, it has to do with classical history. I am so predictable. After lunch we took a walk back to the Capitoline, but didn't go into the museum as it was a bit expensive and time was short. After that there was a bit of time for gift shopping, and then we were back on a plane for London.
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| Trajan in the Vatican Museum |
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| Augustus in the Vatican Museum Courtyard |
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| Claudius as Jove; Probably unrealistic but awesome |
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| Laocoon! I had no idea the statue was in the Vatican but I was so excited! |
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| Inside the Vatican on the way to the Sistine Chapel. It is so ornate. I honestly believe that if the Vatican auctioned off one of its art pieces it could feed and heal every person outside their doors who is begging for help. |
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| The Academy by Raphael. |
After that I spent another week in England, going between Canterbury and Bury St. Edmunds. My last few days there were relaxing and enjoyable, and spent lounging in what was left of summer sunshine and drinking tea. Finally, on October 3, I headed into London for the last time to board my flight home. It was very difficult to leave, and the flight was so long, but it was a really nice homecoming. Customs and immigration took FOREVER, but rounding the corner and seeing my parents, having my father yell WOOOOOOOOOO extremely loudly in his Jerry fashion, made it all worth it. It was an amazing year, and I dearly hope only the first in a long line of adventures in which I shall partake during my lifetime.
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Marcus Aurelius salutes you and thanks you for reading this blog.
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