So Rome has been fun, not easy, not quiet, not slow paced, not kick back, but fun. Its more like grueling and crowded, but amazing at the same time.. So I awoke this morning knowing that I'd be catching a train to Florence in Tuscany, and in a way I’m kind of looking forward to it. Not that I won't miss Rome, and not that I wasn't very impressed with the sights and experiences, but let's just say I don't mind moving on. And who knows, the friends last night said I should come back to Rome if my plans in Venice don't work out, so maybe I'll return...Anywho, I woke up and set off for another day of seeing the sights. On the agenda today...the Vatican Musei (Italian for museum). I didn't know much about the Vatican before this trip so I didn't know quite what to expect besides Michelangelo’s famous Sistine chapel.So I headed there, thru the gauntlet of hundreds of people and construction zones on Rome’s main subway station. Man these subways are HOT!!! And confusing! All this remodeling and these repairs are going on so the two subway lines are super messed up. (I even got on the wrong subway once!!!!! >:{ I mean you really get hot waiting for this thing, and your jam packed in there with all these other people, then on top of that your all sweaty, so all in all it can be kinda uncomfortable and hectic. And one thing I'm learning culturally is that Italians don't always operate by the most orderly standards. Ya they'll fix something when it's broken, but that's after they've sat back and had their cappuccino, cornetta, vino, gelato and siesta for two hours in the afternoon. For Italians, life comes first, stress comes second, and if they have their way, never the two shall meet...lol so if your gonna survive here, get used to a little chaos...So after a confusing subway ride and a 10min walk I arrived at what looked like a maximum security prison, but was in fact the Vatican. WOW, all i can say is wow! From room to room, you look at one priceless work of art/relic after another. One pope would take a wing of the palace, fill it with rare masterpieces, and then name it after / dedicate it to himself, and then the next pope would do the same thing, and just try to outdo the pope before him. And during this all I could think of was 'man! Did the popes really need to acquire all of these works at such high prices, on the backs of Catholics tithing thru the centuries, all in the name of God??' but hey, I guess it must be ok with the 1 billion Catholics said to be on earth today...So anyway, after two hours of art filled rooms, you come to the grand finale, the crem de la crem, Michelangelo’s Sistine chapel. Ok so I had heard alot about it, and thought i would get there and be like 'o, so that's it...that's all?' but man, it really was cool. What I liked was that this dude really was an amazing artist, very hard working. Contrary to popular belief, he stood up the whole time, neck craned skyward, painting arm up in the air for years to create this work. And the style of painting used was called a frescoes, (Italian for fresh because the paint was mixed into a plaster that was to cover the wall, so when It dried it actually became part of the wall. But this meant he had to work fast and if he didn't get it right the first time, he had to scrape it clean and start over, till he got it right). This guy was good, so much detail in the paintings, the bodies in so many figures and positions, almost as if they're jumping out at you. And he really seemed to like the bible. The original idea the pope had when he asked Michelangelo to take on the job was just to paint the 12 apostles on either side. Michelangelo refused unless he could do it his way. He instead made a series of scenes from Genesis, from the creating of light and dark to the earth to the famous spark of life given to Adam, to making woman from his rib....all the way to Noah and the flood. After the ceiling was finished it was so widely applauded that no one could top it. Well that is, except for Michelangelo himself. The pope had him come back to finish up the chapel by painting the wall behind the altar. This was Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” featuring Christ Jesus return to judge the world and its inhabitants for their deeds. This was a similarly powerful, while a much grimmer, masterpiece. Check out my blurry photos ..lol … Michelangelo really seemed to love the bible, (and it's been said he had ties to Protestant movements and the reformations that started with Martin Luther speaking out against the corruption of the Catholic church.)The guard’s were in there watching making sure nobody took pics, well, everyone except double O negroe / Don Gabriel lol...check out my hard snuck photos for all the world to see...heheAfter that I frantically caught my train from Rome to Florence, checked in at my hostel, and welcomed a quieter, smaller town, and hopefully a more relaxed leg of my Italian adventure. But who knows what lies around the corner........ for Don Gabriel the Count de Monti Crisco. :{
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