Day 10 - Rome, Sorrento, Capri

Thanks for everyone for leaving the comments, makes me wanna write alot more. Sorry I havent updated in a while, I have officially detached myself from the computer for almost a week and it feels great. I know for all you facebook whores out there that a day without facebook is like a day without water, but I beg to differ(not naming any names hehe). Being here so far I have learned so much, not just about history and Europe, but about myself. Our group has been living by our motto, "Dont live to work...work to live."
I know now what it is to live the way we were intended to. This past year I have worked my butt off trying to be the best in school, extracurriculars, and social situations. The stress is killer and when you are only worried about being the best, and not about being yourself, you can make yourself miserable. If there is one thing I have learned so far on my trip it is that being comfortable with yourself is paramount to happiness. Until you accept your flaws, embrace your strengths, and live in the moment you may never achieve that happiness that we all desire.
Now for the pictures...
First picture is from the vatican. Painted by none other than Rafael himself, this hall was at least 100 meters long, 15 feet high, with the most intricate beautiful paintings that you can see anywhere in the world. It supposedly took him and his student 5 years to paint this hall. Rafael designed and painted up until the final year, in which he passed away and his student finished it up.

The statue here is of Remus and Romulus. Legend states they were the children of the god Mars, who were abandoned in the wild then were nursed back to health by a shewolf. After they grew older then were eventually returned to their rightful throne and decided to start a new city. That city was Rome.
The Roman forum was perhaps one of the most interesting places we have visited so far. It was similar to a modern day downtown area in its purpose. It was the central market, the central spiritual area, as well as the center of politics for centuries.
The grassy area in the middle would have been the marketplace, the large boxy brick building was the Senate house, and the white Arch was a triumphal arch built for one of the emperors in honor of his military conquests.
Though the forum is old and in ruins now, it is not to hard to get a feel for the grandeur of it as you walk through the complex. There is an altar (or stage) that many of Romes greatest emperors and politicians spoke from to the masses. There are also several temples, each dedicated to a single god or goddess. Though most the temples have long fallen some columns still stand so you can get a picture of how tall these temples actually were, some in excess of 100 ft. Almost all of the roman forum would have been covered in marble during its use, however after the forum went out of use the christian church and the vatican stripped 99% of the marble and used it to build their own churches. One can only imagine how magnificent the forum was 2000 years ago.

This building, its name evades me, was one of the largest buildings in the forum. It was used for multiple reasons, one of which was judicial. This building would have been completly enclosed at one point but during an earthquake a whole half of it collaped. The vatican then did its thing and stripped all the marble away from the walls and this is what is left.


Here is one of the triumphal arches. Forgot which emperor had built this arch, but the reason for its construction was to honor the conquest of the Romans over the Jews. You can see the menorah carved into the wall being carried off. After a conquest most emperors or generals would ask the senate for a triumph, where they would march through these arches into the roman forum with all their spoils of war in a parade like fashion. Oh yeah apparently the Jew gold aquired during this campaign was used to fund the construction of the collosseum. Ironic...


For all you soccer houligans, yes I saw the WORLD CUP FINAL in Rome! We stood in a crowd of probably 20,000 people and cheered spain to a victory (not many dutch there). Awkwardly I was wearing a blue shirt, which was the color of the Netherlands, good thing they didnt win or I might not be here right now.

Other picture is from the subway. Chris, Hannah, and I sweating our balls off trying to get home after a long day.



Three brothas at Pompeii taking it all in!
Pompeii was an ancient city that was founded around 600 BC. It had a population of 20,000 which was a large city by ancient standards. In the year 44 AD Mount Vesuvius Erupted at 12 noon, litterally burying the entire city in ash in a matter of minutes. It was not rediscovered again until a few centuries ago. When excavation started the archeologists were astounded to see how well preserved the city was. Original wall painting still exists. Look below to see the Broffel painting.



This guy met an unfortunate end. Look at him whining and crying, while being burnt alive by 1000 degree ash. Oh well the city of 20,000 didnt die in vein. If it wasnt for the city being covered in ash then we would not have it as a glimpse into the past from this modern day.




Group in front of the Medditerranean at Sorrento. When I tell you these people are great I mean it. Our group chemistry was been so fun and everyone is very considerate.


Putting on my wifebeater before going into Pompeii (See it in the backround). Kristina dazed.











Original painting in a Broffel in Pompeii. Since Pompeii was a martime town there was a huge market for prostitutes. Sailors would come off their boat, come to this place, and if they didnt speak the language they could just point to which sex position they wanted. This one is called, "Doggy Style."


Funny story behind this fish. Catch of the day 6 euro per Kilo is what I heard. After eating this amazing fish I was hit with a 60 euro bill(80 dollars). Well I guess I have to pay attention to the waiters accent more often. Me and Chris enjoyed sharing it, and in all honesty, I would pay 60 Euro for it again, it was THAT GOOD!


This might be the best picture of the trip so far. Really looks like a green screen in the backround, but its actually just Sorrento. I dont know why this picture came out so good, but Hannah and I both look dead sexy in it.

Thats all for today. This blog took me 2 hours to write so I hope you all enjoyed it. Will update again soon. Hopefully with pictures of Capri cause that island was freaking amazing. Chao!