Today was busy one, starting with a 9 am visit to the market at Piazza Vittorio, a place which oddly enough reminded me of home more than anywhere we have been so far on this trip - the neighborhood is home to a large immigrant population, and the diversity amongst the various vendors, both of ethnicity and of products being sold, recalled to me a visit to Pike Place Market or the international district in my hometown.

After the market, a few of us stopped by the McDonalds by the Pantheon for a little dose of comfort food (in my case, a Crispy McBacon and a Big Mac). The afternoon was devoted to exploration of the collection of the Musei Capitolini - in a quiet museum environment (and especially in such particularly historic and beautiful buildings as those used to house the museum's collection), I found the volume of ancient art more manageable. I felt as though I had some time and space to step back and simply contemplate the artwork. While we saw countless amazing things in the museum (including a stunning view of the Roman forum from an ancient balcony), for some reason my attention was captured to a degree that I found (and still find) truly astounding by a small and rather unassuming marble statue from the Early Hellenistic age, that was simply labeled 'Statue of a Woman with Peplos.' The statue was the first in a row in a dimly lit long room along the wall to the left of the door, almost seeming to be stuck away in a corner. The right side of the room opened onto a large well-lit space housing far more "glorious" and famous Roman works, including the giant bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius on a horse and the foundations of the ancient Temple of Jupiter, but while the group moved down into this space, I lingered in front of the small white statue, and even returned at the end of our tour to look at it some more. The rendering of the face in particular struck me, and I still feel it may have been the best (or at least my favorite) statue that I have ever had the privilege to see. It might sound like overstatement, but I was almost reluctant to leave it. The photographs somehow just don't do it justice.

From the Museum, we proceeded on to the Castel Sant'Angelo, which after Brandon's presentation on its history unfortunately turned out to have just closed. The real highlight of this expedition, however, was a stop off at the tiny and hidden away Gelateria del Teatro, where Lisa treated us each to a cone of what was undeniably the most delicious frozen concoction that has ever passed my lips. The store was tiny, and apparently they make all the gelato themselves in-store, creating delectable flavors such as chocolate-wine and sage-raspberry in addition to the more conventional standbys. 3 euros got you three flavors: I had mango, coconut and sage-raspberry, which was indescribably delicious. Perhaps the lesson for the day was that sometimes the best things are hidden away in corners.

Today we visited the Vatican city to look at the overwhelming and vast collection of art held there. The highlights for me were (perhaps rather predictably) Raphael's frescoes and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling. I found myself rather overwhelmed by the sheer volume of both artwork and tourists I was surrounded by - the Sistine Chapel itself was practically shoulder-to-shoulder packed with people, interspersed with guards shouting out "NO FOTO" and shushing to rather little effect. Today I also gave my presentation on the papal Swiss Guard, which I felt went decently well despite my trying to pack a whole lot of history into not much time - it was somewhat difficult for me to decide what to include, and what to leave out. Leaving the Vatican, a small group of us (Brandon, Molly, David and I) were pretty certain that we were passed by the Pope's motorcade. There was a significant Italian police force present, and a small crowd lined one side of the street and started applauding as a black Mercedes passed, escorted by several police motorcycles and cars - the Pope, wearing a red-trimmed white robe, waved his hand out the back window of the car at the bystanders (including us!). We got pretty lost on the walk home after we decided against taking the bus, but as a result ended up getting a beautiful view of the entire city from a lookout point in front of a nice white church with a fountain in front of it.

We just had time to stop in at Despar then grab a brief dinner before our 7:00 movie, a documentary about the creation of an orchestra in Rome composed of immigrants to Rome from various nations. After the movie we walked over to the river to watch a fireworks show at the Castillo Sant'Angelo, which we soon found was not visible from our vantage point in the center of the Ponte Sisto, but the view from two bridges down was excellent, and the show turned out to be almost a full 1/2 hour - the evening weather was perfect, and the bridge we were standing on was crowded with people watching. The traffic had even stopped on the bridge, much to the ire of some of the motorists. I'm hoping to get a fairly early night tonight in preparation for tomorrow's early class (9:30 am D:).

I decided today I kind of like Sundays in Rome. Slept in fairly late, then went for a long stroll before stopping at my favorite lunch/dinner window for a salame sandwich, then ate that while strolling over to an atm to withdraw some money. Stopped at Despar on the way back for a Red Bull. I spent some time working on my presentation on the Swiss Guard for tomorrow (although it's still not finished, so it looks like this will be a late one... oh well), then went back to Despar with a few people to get ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, and other fixings for burgers. I guess the idea caught on after we fixed burgers yesterday, and once everyone got in on the dinner we ended up with seven people eating burgers, rice and chicken salad. After dinner David, Molly and I went for gelato (blue ice, the main gelato chain here, really doesn't seem to be the way to go). Then we walked up to a viewpoint looking down over the city, which was pretty and a nice walk too. Now I'm back, and preparing myself to finish off my work on this presentation.

Today, the group visited the ruins of the ancient Roman port town of Ostia. We took a bus, then a train to reach the site, a journey which in itself offered an opportunity to see some of the area surrounding Rome, some of which was quite beautiful, and other of which was (at least near the train-tracks) populated with somewhat ugly garbage dumps, wrecking yards, and decrepit, modern-era apartment complexes.

The ruins themselves were definitely one of the highlights of the trip so far for me personally. Unlike many of the more well-known sites, they were peaceful and quiet, free from crowds of gawking and jabbering tourists. They also provided a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of Rome. Living in Rome has also necessitated an interesting adjustment to a more enclosed landscape, with tall buildings lining nearly every street. The low-lying, quite, and tree-filled ruins were a refreshing change of scene for me. A particular highlight was a beautiful mosaic of Neptune on the floors of what had once been a public bathhouse, which I found stunningly elegant despite (or indeed, due to) its being rendered in simple black-and-white.I also found that in general, the lack of tourist crowds offered one more mental space to contemplate the age and historical import of the site, imagining it as a bustling port town, and the people that once lived in the now ruined buildings. This was a unique benefit it offered over some of the more well-preserved or historically important sites within the city, which have almost all been overrun with tourists. It was a more reflective place for me.

Another thing that I found looking at this site was something that I first discovered yesterday. After seeing Michelangelo's Moses in the church of St. Peter in Chains (where they also have what are held to be the actual chains in which St. Peter was held, which are said to have miraculously refused into one piece upon their being reunited, after having been kept in two locations for many years), we visited the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome, near to both our apartment and the Pantheon. Like the ruins at Ostia, I found that the fact that there was so little build-up to the site, in tandem with a relatively unnoticeable appearance from the outside, made the church's interior all the more breathtaking - it had an open feeling, and the ceiling was a gorgeous dark blue, with gold stars, some painted portraits, and colorful geometrical borders. At St. Peter in Chains, I was struck somehow by the portrayal of the Virgin in a small, circular portrait of Mary and Jesus - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:S._Pietro_in_Vincoli_017.JPG, pictured here. I found it difficult to describe quite what it was about the painting that I kept being drawn to, and I wish that the linked photograph offered a more detailed view. Due to a dead camera battery, I didn't photograph the painting myself, and I plan to look through the photographs of my classmates for a good one.

At any rate, today we visited a beach for 2 or 3 hours after our time in Ostia, and the overpriced salami sandwich and ice cream bar I bought in the museum's cafeteria there. The weather was lovely, and much time was passed simply lying in the sun on the crowed, sandy stretch of beach, which cost 3 eu. to access. As we were walking back from the bus stop, a steady rain began. I cooked two massive burgers for dinner in order to satisfy a craving for meat that has recurred a few times here, and they did the trick. Then went to watch the US-Ghana World Cup game in Magnolia, a bar across from the guys' apartment. We lost.

Got a great sleep last night despite struggling with the time difference; now I'm sooo pumped to explore and shop and have a good, busy day in ROMA! Still sinking in that I'm finally here... wow.

Sooo much stuff to remember to pack, ahh!!!