Sistine Round Two

Ciao,

I know yesterday's blog wasn't all that exciting, sometimes, you just gotta live it and there's not a whole lot to say. I hope today's works a little bit better for everyone and that there is something cool to see here.

Last night, I went out and met Travis and Camille, my friends from San Diego, for dinner and just general catch-up time, which was really nice. It's crazy that we can just meet up somewhere half a world away and ta-da, we're together again. We went out and had an excellent dinner, albeit it excellent and 4 courses plus gelato does not come for free. It's expensive, like most everything here if you want to eat out. When you have company, you do, but it's about 5 times more expensive to eat out, if not 10 times. Yeah.

But anyway, we had a bottle of wine and chatted out in Rome, caught up, and talked about all the good stuff we've missed since we left school in June, which was great. We had awesome gelato and saw a little of Roma at night, like the beautiful Castel Sant-Angelo and the Vatican, which is always so beautiful.

When I got back, I had literally 1 minute to get my shoes back on after I'd taken them off to head back out again, since my roommates wanted to go out and get a drink out by the Spanish Steps and check out the nightlife a bit on a Friday. So, we hopped on the Metro and went out to Piazza Espagne, or pretty much Rome's meeting place to meet up with some friends. We all met up and looked around for no joke, about 45 minutes, trying to find a bar or anywhere we could just get a drink, sit down, and see the world go on around us. We did eventually find a place, but as I said earlier, drinks often cost more per drink than an entire bottle would be at the store, but it's about the company and the experience, and both were great.

Our drink took surprisingly almost an hour, and it was just the four of us, A.J (an apartment mate of mine), Alex (another apartment mate) and Marcela, a girl in our program. We just all sat and talked until almost midnight (then again, we went out at like 10) and decided it was time to go home and sleep. It's so hot here that staying up late without napping is nearly impossible.

So I went out and saw Roma at night, slept, got up, and back to Travis and Camille today. We went and checked out St. Pietro's since they hadn't seen it yet, and man, it's really fun showing off 'my city' as Camille referenced it one time. I've been here 10 days and yet I feel like I know it so well, I can really get to and from anywhere I've been pretty easily, it's fun. Camille didn't have long enough shorts to go in apparently, but we snuck on by the barrier to head in anyway, and Camille was promptly rewarded by God pushing her over on the marble steps. God, it seems, wants shorts to be past the knee, not at them. Take note!

But inside, it was beautiful, as always. It's my third time inside now and every time I go I am less awestruck and more just at ease. Familiarity does that to you I suppose. I mean, I am still in awe, but it's just never like the first time when you're just overwhelmed with the sights and grandeur. My blog houses those reactions, and it's forever captured there, but everytime you go, you see something new, or the lighting looks different, and it's awe-inspiring all over again.

We then got some Pizza and Gelato for lunch, which was excellent, as always, but I was so, SO full I could hardly walk afterwards. It was 33 degrees celcius today too, meaning almost 95, and man, it felt it. We cooled down and they wanted to go to the Sistine Chapel, and although I'd been there just 2 days ago, I thought eh, I'm only in Rome for four months and it's the most beautiful church in the world and probably one of the most famous, what's 8 euro with friends (that thinking? It gets costly. And FAST).

But we went in and I took more pictures, just cause I could. The sculptures didn't get any less fantastic, the walls less adorned, the ceilings less intricate; it was all just so cool all over again. It felt like we were breezing through it, but again, an hour and a half later, we reached the Sistine Chapel and they reminded us again, no pictures.

I had to try though, right?

And try I did.

I feel like this is as good as it's going to get, people. You can totally see God Creates Adam in one of the panels, and overall, for having to really hide my picture taking, I'm pretty proud of my documentation to be honest. Could it be clearer? Sure. Could it be better taken? Any picture can be.

But does it show it off a bit? Yeah, it does. I was there, under those Frescoes, and I've been there twice now, which is two times more than most people will, and for that, it reminds me how lucky I am in my life.

So we spent a good ten minutes in Cappella Sistina before making the trek out and checking out a few more walls and designs before making our way back out to the streets of Roma. We're meeting up for dinner soon at their hotel, and I'm really tired, but it's not going to be too late a night I don't imagine.

Anyway, hope this was a bit more fun than yesterday's was, and until next time, I just want to part with this little nugget: What's McCain thinking? I mean, your biggest knock on Obama is that he's inexperienced and you, a 72 year old man, put a 16 month termed governor of ALASKA as your VP, a heart-beat away from the Presidency? What judgment. Anddddd end rant.

Until next time, Ciao.