The Latest

I went to the Vatican Museums today. We got there at 7:15ish with only 2 people ahead of us in line. Apparently that's unheard of. We didn't really have to wait very long at all. I can't believe how much beautiful art the Vatican has. We saw the Sistine Chapel. Wow! It's so beautiful. It hurt my neck to look up for that long, and it hurt my eyes because the ceiling is very high, but I enjoyed it so much. It is a masterpiece. On our way to the Sistine Chapel, we walked through the Borgia Apartment which is full of modern religious art. I was at the back of our group and a sculpture caught my eye. Everyone walked right past it and I was the only one left in the room looking at The Thinker by Rodin. No one else noticed it! It was so beautiful. It was only 2 feet tall or so. I also really loved the School of Athens by Raphael. It's very unreal. You think to yourself, 'I've seen this painting dozens of times and studied it so much that there's no way that I could actually be looking at it. Something so beautiful couldn't really exist, could it?' Oh, it can. Italy is full of things that make me think that.

We went to St. Peter's Basilica to go see the Pietà but the line to get in was at least 2 hours long, so we went to the Castle of Sant'Angelo instead. It was cool, especially if you're into artillery and stuff, but it wasn't my favorite.

Yesterday I was at the Villa Borghese. It was probably my favorite thing we've done so far. Bernini was such an incredible sculptor. I went in thinkign that I was going to like the Rape of Persephone the best, but I think I like Apollo and Daphne better. It was so delicate. It's a sculpture of Apollo chasing after Daphne, a nymph that is turning into a laurel tree. Locks of her hair are transforming into branches. There are roots coming out of her toes and she's covered in bark. The most unbelievable part was the cloth wrapped around Apollo. It is floating in the exact way fabric would be if he were actually running. The marble is actually transparent because it is so thin. I was astounded at the skill Bernini had. Bernini's David was also beautiful. His face is actually a self portrait and the emotion is very impressive. The best part is that you can get so close to the pieces. You can walk all around them and see every detail. After our first walk through the museum we were allowed to go off on our own. Nicole and I ended up being the only two people in the room with the David. I guess we were feeling especially mischievious because we both reached out and touched his big toe. My finger has touched what Bernini has touched. Definitely a memorable experience.

Of course we had gelato along the way. I had caramel and coconut today. The caramel was actually kind of gross. I've never had liquor but I imagine that's what it tastes like. The coconut was incredible! I love coconut. At the request of dad, I will provide a list of all the flavors I've had so far. It's really long...I eat a lot of gelato.
Coconut
Caramello
Chocolate coconut
Bacio (chocolate of some sort)
Gianduia (dark chocolate)
Nutella variegato
hazelnut
amarena (cream and berries)
profiterol (cream puff)
melone
stracciatella (chocolate chip)
raspberry
watermelon
chocolate
strawberry
orange cream
...and the list goes on. Gelato is my favorite food here in Italy, closely followed by the ravioli they serve here at our hotel. Oh goodness, it is heaven. I also really like the Kinder Bueno chocolate bars. They're filled with hazelnut cream. Everything in Italy has hazelnut in it. I don't know why American hasn't caught on.

After the Borghese Gallery we just played games in a the park there. It's so green. We played a game where everyone stand in the circle and one person is in the middle with their eyes closed. The person in the middle randomly points to someone and names an animal. That person then has to make the noise of that animal and the person in the middle guesses who that person is. I ended up getting called on at least twice. I think I had to make a grizzly bear noise and a seagull. I think they figured it out both times. The best by far though was the dolphin.

That's all for now folks. I'll try to be better at keeping you all updated.

This is wear the pidgeon pooped on me. It's a good thing I had gelato to make me feel better.

In case you were curious, Italy really is as beautiful as you think it is.

This is me making a wish at the Trevi fountain with my roommate Nicole. We often get mistaken for twins.

Day 1 of Touring

This morning I woke up and went to the Catacombs, which are ancient Christian tombs. It was a little creepy...just a little. They're all underground. Half a million Christians were buried there. They're a very sacred place and many Christians and Catholics make pilgrimages to see them. It was cool but it was a little weird to be underground with a bunch of graves. Right by the Catacombs is the burial site of hundred of Italians from World War II. Apparently some Italians killed 32 Nazis and in return the Nazis killed 10 Italians for each Nazi. It was very sad but very interesting to see all those graves.

Later in the morning we walked up the Appian Way. That road was built over 2000 years ago and we still use it today. Isn't that unbelievable? Cars still drive on it and everything. It was built a lot like tile floors. There are just a billion square rocks about 3 in x 3 in that are lined up. It was really cool.

When we go on our tours we have headsets that we use to hear Cinzia (our director) when she speaks. She speaks into a microphone which transmits to our headsets. We are very high-tech.
Last night we decided to take a stroll up to the Vatican and eventually it ended up at the Trevi Fountain, the Collosseum, and the Roman Forum. I was pretty tired after that. But I made a wish at the Trevi Fountain...and hopefully that means I'll be returning to Rome.

In about an hour I'm setting out on my first shopping excursion in Rome. Rumor has it that there's an H&M around here somewhere and we're going to fine it!

I hope all is well with everyone at home! I love you guys!

Natalie

Sotto il cielo di Roma

Not a whole lot has been happening to me. I mean, yesterday I got into Rome. I guess you might consider that kind of cool...if you're into that kind of thing. Ok, enough with the all this cool, composed junk...I'M IN ITALY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The plane ride was 11 hours of aweful but fortunately the flight ended before my life did. I didn't sleep well on the flight and so my first impressions of Italy were a little tainted by grogginess and grumpiness. We had to ride the subway to our hotel and some people did not pack as light as I did. Some people (who will remain nameless) packed two ENORMOUS suitcases full. One such girl was struggling to get off the subway with her bags and so I tried to help her and ended up missing the stop. First day in Rome and I already got lost on the subway. It was actually a lot of fun! Plus, the girl was really apologetic and grateful to me for helping her, so I made a friend.

We pretty much just unpacked and rested for the rest of the afternoon. I took an hour nap but I could have used another 8. Our hotel is called Hotel Pacific. Our group has taken over the top floor. I lucked out because my room has a balcony. Our view is just some other apartment buildings but it feels so good out there. Our shower is maybe 3 feet x 3 feet but it's no too bad.

Around 5 we went to get gelato and just took a walk. In Provo when you take a walk, the most exciting thing you see is maybe a nice car or a dog. On our walk we passed the Spanish steps, the Pantheon, and La Barca fountain by Bernini. Rome is incredible. My first flavors of gelato were melone (melon) and gianduia (a really really really rich chocolate). The melon was kind of like heaven in a frozen form. If I wasn't trying to branch out, I would eat it every time. On our walk I felt something hit my head. I thought someone had thrown something at me until I found out that that someone was a pidgeon. Yes, I have officially been initiated into Italian culture. I got lost, ate gelato, and got pooped on. Good day!

Today we went to Church in Rome. It was neat to see that the Church not only is the same in Utah and Oklahoma, but in Italy too. The Relief Society president is my favorite person I've met here so far. She was so enthusiastic and excited to see us. I'm really intimidated by the italians actually. I get all tongue-tied whenever I have to talk to them. I'm hoping that after I've been here for more than two days that'll stop.

I hope you are all doing well. I hope to figure out how to get pictures up soon. I'll be sure to take good ones.

Toodle-oo!

Natalie

Anticipation

In less than 24 hours I will start my journey to Italy. My adventures start at around 3 am when I wake up so I can leave by 4 and get to the airport by 5 to leave on my flight at 7:20. Obviously that kind of sucks. But on the other hand, I'm not going to sleep much tonight anyway and if I'm exhausted, I can sleep on the plane. For the flight I've got my iPod, Jane Eyre, possibly The Agony and the Ecstasy, and some Nyquil. Hopefully that will keep my entertained/unconscious for the 8 hour flight. I'm surprised that it's only 8. I thought it was 10-12, but no arguments here.

I am so excited to get there, but I'm also kind of nervous. For me anticipation and anxiety feel like the same thing so oftentimes the emotions coincide. It's just all so new to me. I've never left the country before. Can you believe that I am going to live in Italy for 2 months? Ah! Eeeh! Agh!