Two cities, one day
Saturday morning, up at 6:30am to see St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Home of what is supposedly the resting place of St. Peter's body, as well as the location of his upside down crucifixion. Luckily our Airbnb is really close to a great café where we swung by to get pastries, then took just three stops to get to Vatican City.
By the time we got there at around 8am, there was absolutely no line and the lighting was glorious. It was almost as if God was welcoming us from the heavens.
The church was built by many mastermind architects, one being the famous Michelangelo. From the sixteenth century, it took over 120 years to build, being built directly around the Old St. Peter's church from the first century.
Inside you can see Pope John Paul II as well as Pope John XXIII in glass cases. One of the biggest attractions is Michelangelo's pietá, which lies behind a wall of bullet proof glass (because some crazy person came in and chiseled off the nose of Mary.
The altar is used solely by the Pope, and the bronze canopy above is made of the bronze from the Pantheon taken by the Bernini family. (Based on the old Italian saying-- What the barbarians didn't do, the Berninis did).
The dome above the altar is Michelangelo's main architectural addition to the basilica. Apparently from the floor to the top of the dome, it is as tall as the length of a football field. It truly is a magnificent sight to behold.
Again, Rick Steves' audio guide came in super handy to give great historical context to the basilica at the rest of the Vatican.
Afterwards we headed to Roma Termini Station to catch our four hour train ride to Venezia!
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Ciao Venezia! One of the most beautiful cities I have ever laid my eyes on! Right after stepping off the train you are struck by the water-- so much water, and you remember you are on an island.
All I can do is sigh, and wonder where I have been all my life, not knowing that a place like this actually exists. The only other mode of transport other than walking is by boat!! We have boat passes, in the same way we use our Navigo pass in Paris!
It truly just feels like we are on vacation here. The island that we are staying on, Murano, is separated from the busy touristy area of main island Venice, so the slow lifestyle of the locals allows us to finally relax on this crazy trip the past few weeks.
Everywhere you look, there is a beautiful scene, that can never be fully captured by an iPhone.
There will be more info in tomorrow's blog, when we continue to explore this amazing city of canals.
Visit UCLA IEO for more advice on how you can study abroad!