During the spring vacation I visited in Rome, Italy. As an art historian student Rome has been in my bucket list for so long. It wasn't like the first on the list (New Zeeland has that honor) but it was still there. Like it's the city where Ancient Rome and Renaissance meet. There's history everywhere! So much beautiful buildings, so much amazing art and so much everything you have seen only in your school's history books.
The first day we were so tired that we just visited in a little shopping center and then stayed at hotel. In the evening we were going to visit in Borghese gardens but then it started hailing! Yes! In Rome! So we had to go back to the hotel but we decided to drink evening tea in the restaurant which was opposite to our hotel.
Next day we knew that it would be rainy again so we took a buss to Vatican city. I was prepared to wait in these two hour lines but we had bought tickets already so we didn't have to wait! Vatican museum was absolutely stunning. There was all the famous renaissance paintings and Sistine Chapel was very absurd to see. It's just so iconic and used in popular culture so many times that seeing it yourself was incredible. After the museum we went to St. Peter's Basilica. Like Sistine Chapel also seeing St. Peter's Basilica was weird but amazing in a same time. Specially Michelangelo's Pieta effected me deeply even I'm not Christian.
Next day sun came out and the weather was absolutely perfect! The trees were blooming and we walked to Forum Romanum. Colosseum was bigger than I thought and again we didn't have to wait that long because we had already bought the tickets from internet. And I am very happy for that because the ticket line was like a kilometer long. But what I specially for that was that first feeling of spring. All that warmth and colors were so lovely that I almost cried. It was so funny to use sunglasses and skirt on February. Like Audrey.
In the evening we visited in the huge shopping centre outside the city centrum. I bought one pair of jeans (unfortunately they are now too big for me...), leather jacket and nail polish.
The third day was our last whole day in Rome and we finally visited in Borghese Gardens. It's like Hyde Park of Rome but of course very Italian. You know, many fancy palaces and classic architecture. And of course huge statues. There was like a little garden full of head statues of famous italian people just outside Medici Palace.
I was going to visit Borghese Palace because it is now art museum but the palace was full so we had to wait like five hour to get there. So we decided to go to see Pantheon instead and come back later. We also saw Via de Corso, Fontana di Trevi and Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (the place which is in Angels and Demons by Dan Brown).
In the evening I visited alone in Borghese Gallery and it was a little bit disappointing. First of all it wasn't big, quite the same size as Ateneum or even smaller. Second there wasn't the painting I really would wanted to see: Portrait of Young Woman with Unicorn by Raphael. Oh well at least there was two Bernini's the most famous work's, Apollo and Daphne and The Rape of Proserpina which were incredible (Bernini is one of the most famous sculptors of history) and I really liked also neoclassical sculpture of Pauline Bonaparte by Antonio Canova.
It was so good to have some break from university for a little while. Or at least the vacation was good. It was little bit depressive to come back to cold and snowy Finland and I didn't find any motive for school work. I needed something more concrete to study - something which was easy to learn. Art history is very interesting but it is just so philosophic! Like I don't care if "the line goes up or down". Yes, we had a lesson about it...
Well now I have complete this spring and I think I did very well. I found motive from learning Swedish and I am so glad I took those extra courses. I have complete forgot all of those grammar rules and simple sentences but luckily they came quickly back to my mind. Two courses which I took where very easy and fun. They kept me sane!
Rome! By all means, Rome. I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live.
- Roman Holiday, Audrey Hepburn
