ROMA!

Rome was breathtaking! I cannot believe how amazing the city can be. From gelato to the trevi fountain. I walked for miles and saw so much. As I walked through the city  I was reminded how lucky I was to be travelling to all these magnificent places. I could not help but feel sad for some of my family members that had died without seeing these amazing sculptures, paintings, architecture and the Vatican City. My grandmother use to say “he who doesn’t go to New York City dies blind”, however I think this phrase applies to all the cities I have been to. Paris, Barcelona, and Rome- all magnificent cities that need to be experienced and seen with the naked eye.

Back to Rome….

I spent Easter in the Vatican. One word, unbelievable. I have never seen so many people in a single place in my life, I felt as iF all of Italy was there! People waited for hours to see the pope and to be blessed by his prayer. At 10 am the mass began, and different people, including himself read passages from the bible. The best part was that everyone read a passage in a different language. That was really cool, I liked the idea of honoring the people from other countries with a variety of languages. The mass lasted approximately 2 hours and at the end the pope spoke about certain issues in the world, the situation in Syria, the current issues in some parts of Africa, and other topics. He blessed us all and said another prayer. It was definitely an emotional moment for me.

I had lunch with my friend and at about 2pm we went inside St Peter’s Basilica. I knew that Michelangelo’s work is impressive, however I wasn’t ready for all that I saw. I stood there, in awe. I stood in the entrance paralyzed by the art that dated hundreds of years ago, by the art that I had just taken on exam on (Renaissance Art Visuality @ Sabanci Univ). In that moment I just stood there and took it all in. I have never seen something so impressive and bewildering, something so magnificent.

A few days later I left, but I know I will be back!