Vatican Museum and such

Yesterday (Monday) was the first day of class. We decided to walk and it took around 40 minutes to get there. We were kind of sweaty and decided to take the bus today because we wanted to smell decent for the 3 hr lecture in a small room! Anyway, lecture was very nice. It didn't feel like a traditional class. I actually wanted to be there and participate. It was more like an informational session that we showed up for! Professor Stoughton is apparently quite recognized in field as an expert in Baroque art (which is what we are studying). He knows the most amazing minute details and it is so interesting to learn about. If you look at my facebook pictures you can see the captions that relate to the photos but I will tell you one story... Apparently one of Da Vinci's first paintings had the man's head cut out of it and it was lost. Well the head part was eventually found in a shoe maker's shop being used as a top of a stool and the rest of the painting was found at a junk shop just a few years in between each other. Miraculously, the two were paired together and reunited. They're now put back together and hung in the Vatican Museums.

For class, we generally meet at ACCENT at 9am and have class until 11:30, then lunch, then we take off to whichever museum, church, or exhibit for the day. On Monday we had class and then walked to the Vatican Museums. The crowds were soooo annoying and made for a hot day--the art was worth it though. I saw so many famous things that I had learned in my other art history class. It was just so special to be there just feet (and sometimes inches) away from priceless history. Other than all the paintings and sculpture at the Vatican there is, of course, the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos in there but it was a sight to see. When they restored it they left a small spot untouched to show the difference of the before and after....it was literally black before. All the candle smoke for years and years built up and now that it is removed the colors are so bright and lively again. Our professor was lucky enough to be there during the restoration process and through his connections was able to climb up the scaffolding and kissed the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel three times. According to him he kissed a toe, a leg, and a "winky." hahahahaha I guess he chose the important appendages.

By the end of Monday I was burnt out and Tarin and I crashed at the apartment and watch the series finale of LOST online. It was a good final episode and ended on a happy, conclusive note. I went to bed at 9pm and slept straight until 6:30am. AMAZING. Today (Tuesday) we went to the Capitoline Museums. After that we headed home to rest for a couple hours before going to the aperitivo. An aperitivo is a pre-dinner meal that gets the appetite going. Many people go to a place for this after work. What they do is pay 8-10 euro for a drink (whether it be Coke or a nice strong mojito) and then they can snack on a buffet as much as they want! Going to a restaurant could be 10 euro just for the entree so its a great deal for students like us. We had some great food and I tried Tarin's drink (a beer cinnamon mojito) and then headed to Abbey Theatre (an Irish Pub). We had a Guinness there and then hopped on a bus to go home. I wore my new heels out for this event and it was a bit painful but worth it. I am exhausted and need to go to sleep now. Buona notte.