Home Sweet Home (A Reflection on the GToE)

At 4:00 am Saturday morning, the telephone in my hotel room in Athens rang to wake my sorry butt up. It occurred to me that most of my friends in the States hadn't even gone to bed yet and I was just waking up. Ugh. 12 minutes later I walked out of my hotel and 2 minutes after that I was entering the Athens airport. My 6am flight took off on time and arrived in Rome 2 hours later (7am Rome time), where I had a four and half hour layover. Ugh! By 11:30am, my flight to Philadelphia had taken off from Rome and landed around 3:00pm (Philadelphia time). I did not sleep a wink the entire flight. My brother very kindly picked me up from the airport and took us home. I needed to stay awake until a reasonable time to try to adjust to the Eastern time zone. I made it until 10:00pm: 25 hours straight of being awake. Of course, then I was wide awake at 2:30am and couldn't get back to sleep. Ugh! I also feel like something my brother's cat dragged in, pounced on, ripped to shreds, ate, and vomited back up. Plus, it's freaking cold! So yeah, not a great travel day.

On the plane ride home, I was thinking about my trip and how wonderful it was, but not just because I got to see some beautiful cities and amazing sites. Yes, seeing the Sistine Chapel, Hagia Sophia, the Acropolis, Blarney Castle, and everything else that I saw was amazing, but that's just a part of what made it a great trip. The thing that really made this trip special was the people that I met along the way. Just a little sampling of the melange of characters I met: in London, the friends of my friends, Jen and Bill, made me feel like a long time friend and a part of their circle. My Irish tour guide of Cobh and Blarney Castle was quite a character who looked like an over-sized leprechaun and was the nicest person that I met in Dublin. My new Norwegian filmmaker friend who is ultra talented and made what could have been a horrendous trip one of the nicest. In Prague, I met a woman from New Mexico who has issued me an invite to stay with her wife and her, if and when I get to Albuquerque. The two sisters from Pakistan who shared their food with me in Paris - just because. My roomies in Venice who were like old friends that I hadn't seen in ages and the medical student from Chicago who was wickedly entertaining. Everyone at the hostel in Istanbul - it was like a family get together. The retired couple from Maine that I met during my walking tour of Athens who had just finished their 27 month Peace Corps stint in Tanzania. There were so many more people that touched my life while I was away that I would be here all day writing their stories. Even more amazing were the people that I entrusted my story to (about why I was traveling for two months and my plans for the next few months) were incredibly supportive of my choice and applauded my "spirit and bravery" (their words, not mine).

As I said the other day, everyone should take time out of their life to do a trip similar to mine. While it is a bit lonely traveling alone, you also meet the most amazing people when you do. Now, was it all hearts and roses? No, but mostly it was fantastic. Along the way I lost and/or had to replace: 4 scarves, 2 hats, my favorite pen, my cheap umbrella, my new suede boots (bought in Milan), my yellow overboots from Venice, and, of course, my beloved Nikon camera. The only loss that I'm a little chuffed about is the new boots. Not that they were very expensive (30 euros), but they were really comfortable and lovely. I stupidly left them in a bag the shuttle van in Istanbul when I got to the airport, along with those 'lovely' rainboots.

As for the future, my plans are as follows: deal with making myself a PA resident so I can get healthcare, find a new oncologist in Philly to get an update on my health, and to start planning my US driving tour, which may or may not commence in January. Meanwhile, I'll keep blogging about random other stuff as the mood hits me.

To everyone who followed my travels through Europe, I thank you for taking time out of your busy day to share in my travels. I hope you enjoyed my braindroppings.

Ancient City Center, Ancient Library, and a Massage (Day 60 - GToE)

It's the final day of my Grand Tour of Europe. I head back to the States from Athens at 6:00am tomorrow morning, connecting through Rome and finally arriving somewhere mid-afternoon. I'll give a reflection of the entire trip in the next day or two but overall what an amazing way to spend 2 months. I recommend everyone do this at least once in your life. Plus I can very proudly say that I did not miss any daily blogs on my travels.

Today was a glorious weather day...naturally. My last day and it's beautiful blue skies with mild temperatures. <shrugs> What can you do? Not wanting to completely waste the day, I decided to do some touring of some more ancient ruins. Starting with...

Ancient Agora: If the Acropolis is the ceremonial showcase of Ancient Athens, then the Agora would be its city center and the heart of the city. For about 800 years, Agora was the hub of all the commercial, political, and social life in Athens, as well as its religious life. The Agora was the place to shop -- to buy clothes, dishes, or to get your wagon wheel fixed. You could make an offering to the gods at a temple during the day and then go see a play or a concert that night at the odeon. Unfortunately, not much survives from Agora, except one very well-preserved temple and rebuilt stoa (a covered walkway or portico used in public spaces). They have a pretty neat little museum (located in the rebuilt stoa) which showcases all the relics found on the site. Some of the interesting treasures I saw today were: a baby's commode (photo), an ancient "voting machine" (after all Athens was the birthplace of democracy), a kelpsydra ("water thief) - a water clock used to time speeches at council meetings (the speaker had exactly 6 minutes before the water ran out - I wish Congress had something like this), a couple of barbecue grills, and even some children's toys. On the second story of the stoa were some interesting statues and a fantastic view of the Temple of Hephaistos.

Located about 500 meters north-west of the Acropolis, The Temple of Hephaestus (photo above and right) is the best-preserved Greek temple in the world, although it is far less known than its illustrious neighbor. The temple was built in the 5th century BC in a district which contained many foundries and metalwork shops. It was therefore dedicated to Hephaestos, the god of metal working. The Temple of Hephaestus was designed by Ictinus, one of the architects who also worked on the Parthenon and it housed two bronze statues: Athena and Hephaestos. Approximately half the size of the Parthenon and less elaborate, the temple managed to survive for centuries because it had been converted into the Church of Agios Georgios (Greek's patron saint). During to Ottoman occupation, the Turks kept the church open but permitted services only once each year. At least they didn't destroy the building, although there are some bullet holes sustained mostly during the War of Independence. This temple is magnificent.

After leaving the Agora, I happened upon Hadrian's Library. Hadrian was a Roman emperor who  was an ardent admirer of Greece, so much so that he sought to make Athens the cultural capital of the Empire and ordered the construction of many temples in the city - The Temple of Olympian Zeus being one of them. Hadrian's Library was created by Hadrian in AD 132. The building followed a typical Roman Forum architectural style, having only one entrance, a high surrounding wall with protruding niches at its long sides, an inner courtyard surrounded by columns and a decorative oblong pool in the middle. The library was on the eastern side where rolls of papyrus "books" were kept. Adjoining halls were used as reading rooms, and the corners served as lecture halls. The library was seriously damaged by the Herulian invasion of 267 and repaired by the prefect Herculius in AD 407-412. As with so many things, there isn't much left of the building.

I then returned to my hotel to pick up my bags and headed out to the airport. Now, I'm not going to spend the night sleeping on the airport floor. Because my flight is so early (6am), I decided to treat myself to a night at the Sofitel Airport (a 5 star hotel which is a mere 50 meters from the airport) with a big comfy queen-sized bed, a gloriously decadent shower, and a spa where I could indulge myself to a much needed massage. Yes, it's an expensive evening but after 59 days of living in hostels and sharing bathrooms, I feel I deserve this treat. I knew that my body was achy and sore for the past few weeks, but until I got up from my massage, I didn't know how much I was hurting. I feel so much better now. I just wish that I had brought a bathing suit with me. There's a gorgeous indoor pool here. I just finished having an overly indulgent late lunch/early dinner in the fine restaurant on the 9th floor and now I'm going to curl up on my luxurious bed and watch some television and/or read.

As for Athens, I sort of feel the same way about Athens that I did about Naples. I feel a little sad about Athens. Due to the crushing economic problems that Greece has, the city is suffering terribly. Currently Greece has a 25.5% unemployment rate and young people continue to be the most badly affected, with unemployment in the 15-24 age range standing at 49.5%. Whether it due to boredom, frustration, or just ignorance, much of Athens has been "tagged" by vandals and it just seems like the city needs a good polishing. Athens is not as bad as Naples. The major tourist attractions (the Acropolis, the Plaka, Syntagma Square, etc.) are all beautifully maintained, but the rest of the city looks old, tired, and in need of sprucing up. Even in in the affluent areas of the city, graffiti is rampant. It would make Plato and Socrates very sad if they saw the state of their city.

My final day of photos can be found on my GToE photo site.  I am equally happy and sad to be heading home.

Donkeys, Stray Cats, and More Rain (Day 59 - GToE)

You might remember my mentioning that Istanbul has quite the stray cat and dog problem. Turns out, so does Athens. Lots and lots of dogs and cats are running loose all over Athens. Again, makes me sad and it's a strike against the city. 

Today, I went to explore one of the Greek islands. My first two choices would have been either Santorini or Mykonos, but both are pretty far and need a few days to explore. I had only one day, so I chose an island approximately 90 minutes from the Athens port of Piraeus via high speed hydrofoil: Hydra (pronounced: EE-drah).

With a population of approximately 2,000 inhabitants, Hydra is greatly dependent on tourism. All summer long, this tiny island hosts a bevy of private yachts and summering tourists. In the winter, it's a pretty, but desolate place. Hydra has a long and proud history of maritime accomplishments, including some critical naval victories during the War of Independence in 1821. Today, Hydra is mostly known for three things: jewelry (the 2004 Olympic medal designer is from Hydra), lots of stray cats (the Hydriots are proud of this), and hardworking donkeys (the island is a car-free zone).  Okay, it's not entirely car free, there are a couple of small trash trucks and an ambulance. All other forms of motorized transportation are illegal, which makes Hydra a very tranquil place to visit. The only noise you hear is the occasional braying of a donkey.

This morning, I awoke to sunny, blue skies. Happy to see the sun, I headed to the metro which took me in 20 minutes to Piraeus and the high speed hydrofoil, which left port at 9:00am. The boat first stopped at the island Poros to drop off some passengers and supplies, before heading to Hydra. I disembarked around 10:40am and beheld the pretty main town of Hydra...also called Hydra (because that's not confusing at all). I decided to follow the self guided walk in my Rick Steves guidebook and strolled around this city. I saw lots and lots of donkeys and was asked if I wanted to take a donkey ride for 10 euros. I passed. There was a pretty little Greek Orthodox church which was surprisingly ornate for such a small town. I checked out Rafalias Pharmacy which was established in 1890 and is considered an institution in town. Vangelis Rafalias, the owner, has kept it just as his grandfather did. It was like jumping 100 years into the past. Mostly, I just wandered around getting lost and petting lots of cats for about 90 minutes and then it happened...the heavens opened up and down came the rain. 

I immediately headed for the Hellenic Seaways office and switched my boat ticket from the 6pm boat to the 12:15pm boat. The boat was running a little behind schedule and didn't get to Hydra until about 12:40. Then on the way back to Athens, it has some mechanical issues and could not run on high speed so I didn't get back to Athens until 3:00pm. Ugh! After that I made my way back to the neighborhood where I'm staying for a late lunch before returning to my hotel. 

Let me talk a little about the stray cat issue. Today, as I was wandering around Hydra, I would stop and pet some of these cats and what I saw were cats desperate for love and many in need of a good brushing/cleaning. One cat (photo) had fur that was terribly matted. I wanted to take it home to give it a good brushing and a loving home. This poor kitty wanted so much love and attention that I ended up petting the poor thing for 15 minutes and probably could have continued for the rest of the day! I'm sorry, but there's a reason why they are called "house cats". No one will ever be able to convince me that these animals are happy wandering around without a permanent home and having to scavenger for food.

As for the rest of today, I will spend it making sure I'm all packed up and all electronic devices are fully charged before checking out of the hotel tomorrow morning. Also, I'll probably either read or watch a movie. Check out all the photos from Hydra on my GToE photo site.

More Ancient Greek Sites and Antiquities (Day 58 - GToE)

Holy cow, only 2 more days before I head home. It seems only yesterday that I was arriving in Edinburgh. Unsurprising, I saw more sites and antiquities from Ancient Greece today. I think anyone planting a bush in their yard will dig up some important rock from the fourth century B.C., which then ends up in a museum. I'm not saying it's not fabulous, but between the British Museum, Italy and Greece, I may have hit a wall on seeing any more ancient relics. :-)

Today started with a visit to two museums. The first was a very brief, yet interesting, visit to the Epigraphical Museum. I stumbled upon this museum when I turned the wrong way when heading towards Athens' Archaeological Museum. The Epigraphical Museum is dedicated to safeguarding, protecting, conserving, displaying, and promoting the conservation of inscribed stone monuments that it contains. It's a unique museum and is the largest of its kind in the world. They have some of the most interesting written monuments in their museum. One of the curators very kindly walked with me and explained how the Greek alphabet has essentially not changed since its inception. She showed and read to me some of the carved stones. It was surprisingly interesting. 

I then made my way to the National Archaeological Museum which is just around the corner. The NAM "is the largest archaeological museum in Greece and one of the most important museums in the world devoted to ancient Greek art. It was founded at the end of the 19th century to house and protect antiquities from all over Greece, thus displaying their historical, cultural and artistic value" (NAM website). The museum traces Greek art from 7000 B.C. to A.D. 500. The way the museum is setup is wonderful because it's set chronologically and you can see the evolution of Greek art from the stiff Egyptian-style to the David-like balance of the Golden Age, to the beautifully sculpted Hellenistic, and finally, to the influence of the Romans. If you remember exactly one week ago, I raved about how great the Naples Archaeological Museum was. The NAM certainly rivals it in the display of the splendid art of the ancient Greeks. There were golden masks, golden baby death blankets, beautiful sculptures, interesting and sad funeral stones, and so much more. I think my favorite was the cheeky Aphrodite, Pan, and Eros statue (photo). If you look closely, Aphrodite is about to hit Pan with her sandal. He must have said something quite inappropriate.

After leaving the museum, what started as a sprinkle of rain, turned into a deluge. I trotted into a local eatery and had some lunch (a pork gyro - yummy!!), which was dirt cheap and then traipsed through a local department store to kill some time and to wait out the rain. Eventually the rain lessened and I made my way to the meeting point for my afternoon tour. 

This afternoon I trekked about an hour outside of Athens in order to visit Cape Sounion/the Temple of Poseidon. According to legend, Cape Sounion is the spot where Aegeus, king of Athens, leapt to his death off the cliff, thus giving his name to the Aegean Sea. The story goes that the Minotaur, a monster that was half man and half bull, was confined by its owner, King Minos of Crete, in a specially designed labyrinth. Every year, the Athenians were forced to send seven men and seven women to Minos as tribute. These youths were placed in the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur. Theseus, Aegeus's son, had volunteered to go with the third tribute and attempt to slay the beast. He had agreed with his father that if he survived the contest, he would hoist a white sail. Aegeus, anxiously looking out from Sounion, despaired when he saw a black sail on Theseus's ship, returning from Crete. This led him to believe that his son had been killed in his contest with the Minotaur. In fact, Theseus had overcome and slain the Minotaur, but tragically had simply forgotten about the white sail. A very sad story. 

In the years 444-440 B.C., a Temple to Poseidon was built on top of Sounion. Poseidon, second only to Zeus in power and importance, was greatly feared by mariners, because storms (which were conjured by a wrathful Poseidon) often led to shipwrecks. Therefore, the Temple was erected to appease the god with the sacrifices that were delivered to the temple. In the center of the temple would have been a statue of Poseidon. Pictured below is a statue from the NAM which may or may not be Poseidon. Found at the bottom of the ocean in a shipwreck, the statue may be either Zeus or Poseidon and at some point would have held the god's weapon in his throwing hand - a lightning bolt for Zeus or a trident for Poseidon. As for the temple, only 15 of the original 34 columns stand today. Interestingly, there is an inscribed name of the famous Romantic poet George Lord Byron, carved into the base of one of the columns of the Temple of Poseidon, which possibly dates from his first visit to Greece, on his Grand Tour of Europe before he acquired fame. Byron spent several months in 1810–11 in Athens, including two documented visits to Sounion. There is, however, no direct evidence that the inscription was made by Byron himself. The inscription cannot be seen by visitors. Due to the terrible weather, the opportunity to take sunset photos was lost today. 

After that sojourn to Sounion, I returned to Athens, had some dinner, and went back to my hotel. Check out all my day 58 photos on my GToE photo site. 

Originally, tomorrow I had planned a three island tour (Hydra, Poros, Aegina) with a tour group, but it got cancelled. So now, I'm going to hop a ferry from the Athens port of Piraeus to Hydra and will explore this island on my own. I need to do something other than ruins for a day and touring a Greek island sounds like the perfect day. Sadly, it's too far to travel to Mykonos or Santorini for the day so Hydra it is.

Zeus or Poseidon? No one is certain.

Καλησπέρα από την Αθήνα (Day 57 - GToE)

Translation: Good Evening from Athens

Okay, before I talk about my first day in Athens, I need to give you my overall review of Istanbul. I really enjoyed my time in Istanbul, but I could never live there...or in any Muslim country. Being woken up at the ass crack of dawn every day with the call to prayer would grate on my nerves. But I will say that the Turks are some of the nicest people (notable exceptions are the carpet salesmen). Well, actually the carpet salesmen are nice, but annoyingly persistent and you just want them to go away. I would recommend a visit to Turkey, but I seriously don't think anyone needs more than a couple of days there. 

Now, let's talk about Athens. It's been a wish of mine for many, many years to visit this city. You see, no other city has contributed more to the civilization of mankind than Athens. It is the birthplace of Socrates, Plato, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and many others. It is the place where humanism and democracy were born. The intellectual light that Athens created will always be alive and now I'm here. Score!  

I arrived in Athens fairly late last evening (9:00pm) and didn't get to my hotel until after 10:00pm. But I did luck out with my hotel/hostel. It's actually both. It's a hotel that has a few rooms set up as dorms. My four bed dorm room only has 1 person in it: me. Whether it stays that way during my entire stay, that remains to be seen. After a fairly good night's sleep, I woke, ate some breakfast and made my way to the metro to meet up with my Athens walking tour that I booked months ago. I've been on quite a number of walking tours over the past 2 months and this tour was the best by far. Guided by Greek native and fully-licensed guide, Artemis, I learned so much about Athens and Greece and the amazing history here. I thought I was fairly well versed in Greek history, but it still was an incredible learning experience.

The tour started in the Syntagma metro station. Whenever they excavate an area to put in a new metro station, the archaeologists invariably find ruins, so instead of removing the ruins and bringing them to a museum, they turn the metro station into a mini-museum. Genius! Then we walked over the the Parliament building in order to see the changing of the guards. Athens changing of the guard is on par with Arlington National Cemetery and not Buckingham Palace. These guards (known as evzones) keep watch 24/7/365 over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. At the top of each hour, they perform a series of synchronized movements which are fun to watch. Even more interesting are their uniforms which have a rich traditional history. 

Next we walked through the National Gardens, past the Zappeion conference center, to reach The Temple of Olympian Zeus, which is a humongous ruined temple that was dedicated to Zeus, king of the Olympian gods. "Construction began in the 6th century BC during the rule of the Athenian tyrants, who envisaged building the greatest temple in the ancient world, but it was not completed until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD some 638 years after the project had begun. During the Roman periods it was renowned as the largest temple in Greece and housed one of the largest cult statues in the ancient world" (Wikipedia). This temple was actually twice the size of the Parthenon. Only 16 columns remain of the original 104, 15 standing and one lying on the ground where it fell during a storm in 1852. The statue has long since disappeared. This ruin is immense and beautiful. 

Next was a short bathroom/snack break, in which I had a little taste of the most delicious Greek yogurt with dark cherries. Okay, I know I raved about Chobani in a posting awhile back, but the Greek yogurt we have the U.S. is just not the real thing. If you want to truly taste the most delicious Greek yogurt, get on a plane!

We then headed toward the Acropolis. Okay, for those who don't know: The Acropolis is the hill where the most important Greek ruins are located. On that hill are the ruins of the Parthenon (the largest temple), the Temple of Athena Nike, the Propylaia, and the Erechtheion. The entire Acropolis complex was dedicated to the goddess Athena, who according to Greek legend, beat out Poseidon in becoming the patron god of this city. The legend states that Poseidon created a salt water spring by striking the ground with his trident, symbolizing naval power. However, Athena created the olive tree, symbolizing peace and prosperity. The Athenians, under their ruler Cecrops, accepted the olive tree and named the city after Athena.

As we began our climb up the hill, we made a few stops along the way. The first stop was the Theatre of Dionysus. This ancient open air theatre was used in festivals to celebrate the god Dionysus and seated 17,000 spectators. Some of the most famous playwrights of Ancient Greece had their plays performed here: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and others. At this moment, it is nearly completely unrestored which I think makes it more interesting. There are a couple of sections that for safety reason needed to restoration but otherwise it's in amazing shape for something that's been around since the sixth century B.C.

Next we viewed the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, another entertainment venue. While the Theatre was used for plays, the Odeon was strictly for musical entertainment. At one time, it had a roof which has since been lost to time. But a good portion of this site has been restored because it is still used as an entertainment venue today - during the summer months. With a capacity of 5,000 spectators, this venue has seen performances by Maria Callas, Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti, Yanni, Elton John, Andrea Bocelli, Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, Placido Domingo, and so many others. It's an amazing looking site and I'm kind of sad I've never seen a concert there.

Next, we moved up the hill to view the Propylaia, which is the entrance to the site, and the Temple of Athena Nike. Then we entered the site via the Propylaia and there it was...

The Parthenon! The structure known as the Parthenon is technically the third Parthenon. The current building was started in 447 BC and was completed in 438 BC. Do the math. That's a mere 9 years to build a massive structure and unlike other structures, the Parthenon was not built by slaves but only by Athenians. The Parthenon lasted intact until 26 September 1687 when it was partially destroyed. The Ottoman Turks were storing gunpowder in the building and the Venetians, in trying to overthrow the Turks, hit the building with a cannonball causing an explosion and destroying a good portion of the structure. Restoration of the Parthenon and other Acropolis structures began in 1972 and has been on-going ever since. The plan is not to restore it to its pre-1687 condition, but to make it structurally sound as Athens is prone to earthquakes which could damage the buildings further. Because of the on-going work, every photo I took (sadly) contains some sort of machinery or scaffolding. Oh well.

The Erechtheion is a temple that was created to honor both Athena and Poseidon, because the Greeks didn't want to piss off a Greek god so they honored Poseidon with a portion of this temple. This temple is probably most famous for the Porch of the Caryatids which has six draped female figures (caryatids) as supporting columns (see photo). I have seen many, many photos of these six statues. Under this porch is said to be the burial places of the mythical kings Cecrops and Erechtheus. It is also said that on the north side of the temple are the three strike marks of Poseidon's trident which flowed the salt water spring; in addition, the place where Athena's olive tree grew is behind the temple, if you believe those myths.

That completed the Acropolis portion of the tour. After heading back down the hill, the group then toured the magnificent Acropolis Museum. This new museum (which opened in 2009) holds all the artifacts from the Acropolis. The museum is the size of the Parthenon and lies on the ruins of Roman and early Byzantine Athens. The building is designed with glass floors so that visitors can see the ruins below grounds. The upper floor has the same layout of the Parthenon in order to showcase the temple's frieze and other items in the way that they were intended. The museum also has the original statues from the Porch of the Caryatids, which were moved indoors to protect them from the elements. The ones on the Acropolis are copies. Sadly, there is a large amount of items from the Parthenon in the British Museum in London. The Earl of Elgin pretty much stole a bunch of statues and portions of the frieze to decorate his mansion before selling them to the British Museum to pay off his debts (the Elgin Marbles). Greece has repeatedly tried to get these items back but to no avail.

After all of that, I headed over to the Plaka region to have a late lunch/early dinner, which was so yummy. I then walked around town for a little bit and went up to a rooftop location in order to take a photo of the Acropolis at night, before making my way back to my hotel. It was a very full and very exciting first day in Athens. The weather was so-so today; extremely overcast and a bit chilly on the hill. Tomorrow the weather is calling for rain all day, which is terrible as I have an afternoon tour planned for the Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon. <grrr> Oh well, it cannot be helped.

All of my day 57 photos can be viewed on my GToE photo site.

An Uninteresting Day in Istanbul (Day 56 - GToE)

It's just past 2:30 pm and I'm sitting in the lobby of my hostel, waiting for my shuttle to the airport. That's how uninteresting this day was. Remember when I said I wanted to cruise the Bosphorus Strait but was told that the tour started too late for me to make it to the airport. Well, that was incorrect. One of the hostel workers was incompletely wrong about that point. The pick up for the tour was 8am with my return at 1pm. It was actually perfect timing. So that's what I ended up doing today, but it turned out to be kind of a waste of 35 euros. I suppose it was nice enough but it also wasn't the most interesting. Also, it was pretty hazy today which made it difficult to actually see the skyline as much as I would have liked. Eh, live and learn.

The tour started in the Golden Horn which is a waterway which splits the European section of Istanbul - the Old Town from the New Town. Then it cruised up the Bosphorus passing by all the bridges in Istanbul. At the last bridge, the boat turned and came back to the Golden Horn. Then we took a small van to the top of Pierre Loti Hill (named after a French novelist who called Istanbul home) for some photo opportunities before coming down the hill via cable car. We then rode along the city's walls which kept the city nearly safe for 1600 years (only being breached twice) and then finally stopped at a leather/fur store for some shopping (that was a snoozefest and a waste of 20 minutes of my life). That was the entire tour. See, not really worth the money or time, but I guess it gave me something to do.

I suppose the most interesting part of the day was meeting a young couple of Kazakhstan who were taking a few day in Istanbul. Don't ask me their names because I've already forgotten them. For the wife, this trip was the first trip outside of her own country. That seems incredible to me that at the age of 29 she had yet to travel to another country. That was very American of her. The other strange thing is this is day 3 of a 5 day trip and they spent the first two days shopping. Perhaps that's usual but I find that weird. I don't go to foreign countries to shop. But they're young (late 20s/early 30s). I learned a lot more about Kazakhstan than I ever knew. Oh by the way, the Kazakhs do not find Borat amusing. Hmmm... go figure.

I decided against going to the Grand Bazaar mostly because I have a feeling that 4,000 shops and an untold amount of people would just piss me off. So I picked up some lunch (my final Turk kebab), ate, and watched the world go by the window of the hostel. I leave shortly for Athens, where I will conclude my Grand Tour of Europe.

Feel free to check out my limited and rather crappy Day 56 photos on my GToE photo site.

Istanbul's Most Impressive and Opulent Sites (Day 55 - GToE)

You know what's really sad about Istanbul? The amount of stray dogs and cats on the streets. There's an estimated 150,000 street dogs in Istanbul. That's just breaks my heart, particularly as I'm sure many of them have rabies or other diseases. So not only are they homeless, but they're also potentially dangerous to humans who are dumb enough to pet them. There are an untold amount of cats roaming around. The cats are mostly very sweet, but I just hate seeing them all over the place. That's one strike against Istanbul. 

Today was all about visiting Istanbul's top sites: Underground Cistern, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia (eye-ah soh-fee-ah), and Topkapı Palace (tohp-kah-puh). Up until this past summer, I didn't know all that much about Istanbul, but then in July, I read Dan Brown's latest novel, Inferno, in which the last third of the book is set in Istanbul. It was one of the reasons that I wanted to make this trip to Turkey - to see the locations from the book (Hagia Sophia and the Cistern). Of course, now that I've visited them, I might have to go back and re-read the novel. 

After a terrible night's sleep and being woken up to the Muslim call to prayer at 6:30 am (which occurs five times a day), I was a bit of a grumpy-pants today. But I ate some breakfast and headed out to explore Istanbul. I actually didn't go very far from my hostel. All the sites listed above are about an 8 minute walk from my hostel and are 3 minute walks from each other. I started in Sultanahmet Park which has Hagia Sophia on one end and the Blue Mosque on the other, with a very pretty fountain in the center. After crossing the main thoroughfare, I saw the Golden Milestone, which is a milestone which the Byzantines considered the center of the world. Around the corner from the milestone is...

The Underground Cistern: this vast underground reservoir dates back to the sixth century A.D. and was built to meet the needs of a fast-growing capital city and to provide water in case of a shortage. The cistern covers an area about the size of two football fields and has a forest of 336 columns. The columns are a variety of styles due to them being recycled from earlier Roman ruins around the city. At the far end of the cistern, there are two Medusa heads lying on the ground - one sideways and one upside-down - which have been squeezed under the pillars. At the other end of the cistern stands a stage. The cistern is used as a occasional concert venue. Out of everything I saw today, this cistern just might be my favorite. Maybe because it is so unusual. After seeing so many similar sites (churches/mosques and palaces) over the past 55 days, this site made a very nice change of pace.

Upon leaving the cistern, I walked across the road in order to visit the...

Blue Mosque: Considered one of the world's finest mosques, I was intrigued to get a look at the inside. Built in just seven years (1609-1616), the mosque is technically called the Sultan Ahmet Mosque for the ruler who financed it, but tourists know it as the Blue Mosque because of the rich blue color of the handmade ceramic tiles in the interior. The Blue Mosque has six minarets which is unique. Only one minaret is required for a mosque, but sometimes sultans liked to show off their wealth by adding a few more. After touring the outer and inner courtyard, I made my way the visitor's entrance, removed my shoes, covered my hair with my scarf, and entered the mosque. What awaited me was a intensely decorated interior. In the mosques, women and men worship separately. The main hall is reserved for men, while the women use an area behind barriers at the back or the upper galleries. Humph. More than 20,000 ceramic tiles were used to decorate the mosque. It's quite a spectacle of vibrant color.

I headed back out to check out the Hippodrome, an area which was used for chariot races in the 4th century. There I saw an Egyptian obelisk, the Column of Constantine, the facade of the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum (which used to be a palace), and a German Fountain. (You reply, "A what?") Yep, a German fountain stands in the middle of the historic section of Istanbul, which is just a little out of place. The fountain was a gift from the German government to commemorate Kaiser Wilhelm II's visit to Istanbul in 1898. It was then time to visit...

Hagia Sophia: This site is fascinating. Hagia Sophia has the distinction of being the only building to have been used for three different religions: Greek orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Islam. Built between 532 and 537 A.D.,it served as the seat of the Greek orthodox church for 900 years, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. The building was a mosque from 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum in 1935. This structure is massive. There is a crazy mixture of religions all throughout this museum, a blending of East and West. Christian mosaics sit next to Islamic wall hangings. It's interesting to note that Islam does not allow icon within their mosques, so any mosaic or other artwork that featured humans were covered over with whitewash and plaster, which actually helped preserve much of the artwork within Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia has a legend within its walls: The Column of St. Gregory. This column is a supposed miracle worker. For centuries, please believed this column "wept" holy water which could cure afflictions such as eye diseases and infertility. How does it work? If you place your thumb in a section of this column and if it comes out feeling damp, your prayer will be answered. I placed my thumb in the hole and it came out dry as a bone. Typical. Also located within the complex are the tombs of the sultans and their families. 

It was time for some lunch. I walked across the road to a restaurant where I had some delicious hummus and a perfectly prepared chicken kebab. So tasty!!  Next it was onto...

Topkapı Palace: This large palace was the primary residence of the Ottoman Empire's sultans for approximately 400 years (1465–1856) of their 624-year reign. This palace is unusual for its various styles of architecture due to it being built over time by different sultans. It is a massive site that rivals all the great palaces. The palace complex consists of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings. At its peak, the palace was home to as many as 4,000 people, and covered a large area with a long shoreline. It contained mosques, a hospital, bakeries, and a mint. Of course, no palace from this region would be without its Harem, which was the first section that I toured. The word "harem" refers to two things: the wives, favorites, and concubines of the sultan; and the part of the palace where they lived. What I learned was that the Harem was not the site of a round-the-clock orgy, but a carefully administered social institution that ensured the longevity of the Ottoman Empire. 

Here's how a harem works: The sultan was the head of the household, a role he shared with his mother (the "mother sultan"). The sultan could have up to four wives, with the first one being considered the senior, most influential wife. Also living in the Harem was a collection of several hundred concubines - female slaves who kept house but were not sexually active with the sultan. From among the concubines (his "harem"), the sultan (or more often, his mother or wife) might select up to four "favorites", with whom he could become more...um...shall we say...familiar. The sultan could only have sex with chosen women, not with anyone he wanted. Every night he spent with a woman was written down. When a sultan died or was replaced, the new sultan's mother (who was almost always a member of the previous sultan's harem) was the only one who could stay. Wives and favorites had to leave the Harem and were given a house and a healthy pension.

After visiting all of these sites, I was utterly exhausted, so I headed back to the hostel to rest. In a bit, I'll head out to catch some dinner. Check out my Day 55 photos on my GToE photo site.

Tomorrow, I had planned to cruise the Bosphorus, but it turns out that it would take too long. I'm not certain now what I'll do tomorrow, other than a visit to the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market. My shuttle to the airport is at 3:00 pm so I have to come up with something else to do tomorrow. The Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market won't take too long. Hmmmmm...

Merhaba from Istanbul (not Constantinople) (Day 54 - GToE)

(Ahhhhh, I crack myself up!)

As I indicated yesterday, today was mostly going to be a travel day and indeed, it was. It started at 6:30 am in Naples with a shared taxi to the central train station (shared with Matt, a fellow hosteler hailing from Australia). I got on the 7:00 am train to Rome's Termini station, which arrived at 8:10 am. This left me about 10 minutes to get a ticket for the Leonardo express shuttle train to Fiumicino Airport. Done - arriving at the airport at 8:55 am. I was scheduled on the 11:20 am flight from Rome to Istanbul on Rubberband and a Prayer Airlines...erm...Turkish Airlines. After a quick breakfast, there was 90 minutes of waiting around until it was time to board the plane. I had to listen to 6 old Italians talk non-stop. Man, was that annoying and distracting. I kept losing my place in my book.

Upon boarding the plane, I noticed that it was only half full, which was nice. I hate crowded airplanes. Before take-off, the flight attendants came around with a little Turkish Delight as a treat. If you've never had Turkish Delight, you are missing out. Turkish Delight is a confection made from gel of starch and sugar, with additives such as pistachios, dates, hazelnuts, or walnuts and covered with confectioner's sugar. My favorite is pistachio. Yum, yum, yum! Being a little tired of reading, I decided to watch a movie instead: What If, with Daniel Radcliffe - a predicable, but very sweet romcom, which made me laugh and cry. Lunch was surprisingly good. It was a full hot meal. Not bad for a 2+ hour flight. The landing was a little interesting as the pilot jammed on the breaks the second the plane hit the tarmac. I thought I would get whiplash from the jolt.

My room.

After getting through customs, I boarded my shuttle pickup arranged by my hostel and it was "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride". I thought the drivers in Naples were crazy, but Istanbul has them beat by a mile. There was the jumping from lane to lane to lane, cars driving the wrong way on a one way street, impossibly small roads that don't look big enough for a car, parking wherever they feel like it - including the sidewalk. Wow, it was crazy. But when I finally arrived at the hostel, I was greeted with hot apple tea (delish!) and some sort of spicy yummy appetizer (not really sure what it was). Here in Istanbul, I splurged a little (€20) for a private room with a shared bathroom. Okay, truth be told, I actually had to get a private room because no guest over the age of 45 is allowed in the dorms. Why? I have no idea but I have a double bed and no roommates. I will take full advantage of the roommate break and perhaps get a decent night's sleep, which I haven't had in about 50 days. 

Between 4:30 and 8:00, I attempted to rest my weary body. It sort of happened, but not really. Then tonight, I was treated to a traditional Turkish dinner at my hostel which is something they do every Saturday night at 8pm for anyone who is staying in the hostel. Sweet! It was rice, salad, bread, and a spicy beef stew. After dinner, there was some conversation which eventually led into a mini-dance party to Turkish music. So much fun!! I met some lovely people; both native Turks and foreign nationals. There's a lovely woman from Canada, Frankie, who is on her fourth trip to Turkey this year. She really loves this country. She's planning on doing some reiki or some shit on me tomorrow. Yeah, she's a little new age-y but it comes from the heart. From what I can tell so far the Turkish people are warm, kind, and caring people. It was a brilliant start to my short visit.

A little about Istanbul: Once the capital of Turkey, but no longer, Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey with a population of 14 million. Yow! The city is equally in Europe and Asia with the Bosphorus Strait splitting the two continents. The commercial and historic center is in the European part, while a third of the city lives across the Bosphorus in the Asian section. My hostel is located on the European side and quite close to all the major sites, which is convenient as I prefer to walk in cities like this instead of public transit. It should also be noted that in 2014, it is still not recommended to drink tap water in Istanbul. Some people recommend that you even use bottled water for brushing your teeth. It has less to do with the water treatment in Turkey and more to do with the bad pipes in Turkey. Or so they say, but when in Rome... Fortunately, bottled water is sold everywhere and is redonkulously cheap!

Oh here's a little surprise:

No, I did not lose my head and run off and get married in Italy. But being a little apprehensive as a single woman traveling alone in a Muslim country - even one as progressive as Istanbul - I decided to go out a purchase a wedding band (€18) in order hopefully to thwart any possible negative commentary. It was a suggestion by one of my roomies in Venice. I figured it couldn't hurt. I probably don't actually need to wear it.

There aren't any photos today. Tomorrow's plan is to see the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and the Underground Cistern - minimally. I may see if I can add Topkapı Palace to this list. I'm planning a cruise up the Bosphorus Strait on Monday morning, along with a visit to the Spice Market and the Grand Bazaar before leaving for the airport at 3:00 pm. This is a really quick 2 day visit to Turkey. Stay tuned.

Petrified People and Pooch, Plus a Pretty Promenade (Day 53 - GToE)

The main piazza with
views of Mount Vesuvius

Do you like my alliteration?

Today marks my last day in Italy. I'm discounting tomorrow's travel to Rome and the airport because it's just travel. I will be sad to say "Ciao" to this lovely country filled with its warm, friendly people. It's been a blast spending time here and connecting to my Italian heritage. 

Today was yet another glorious weather day. Bright blue skies and mild temperatures. I started the day traveling from Naples to the ancient Roman town of Pompeii. Pompeii was founded in the sixth or seventh century B.C., but was destroyed in 79 A.D. with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius starting on 23 November and lasting two days. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area, was mostly destroyed and buried under 13 to 20 feet of ash and pumice in the eruption and killed approximately 11,000 citizens. The site is an interesting place to visit because it is fairly well preserved. (Apparently the less famous town of Herculaneum is even better preserved.) Archaeologists have identified many of the ruins and their purposes. Within the town of Pompeii, there were two amphitheatres, a gymnasium, a complex water system, 30 brothels, hundreds of stores and much, much more. The brothels include frescoes of the various acts that can be purchased within the brothel and is marked with a phallic-like symbol over the door. During the excavation, plaster was used to fill in the voids between the ash layers that once held human bodies. This allowed one to see the exact position the person was in when he or she died. These bodies are on display in the site, including a dog. My tour group spent about 2 hours touring the ruins, but easily we could have tripled that time and still not seen the entire site. 

After switching tour groups (because my tour group was heading back to Naples), I traveled with the new group to Sorrento with the eventual plan to travel the Amalfi Coast. After spending a portion of today in Sorrento, it's easy to see why so many tourists bypass Naples and head straight for Sorrento. It is a beautiful town with the most amazing views. Founded in 600 B.C., Sorrento is a popular tourist destination and has a population of approximately 16,000. The town overlooks the Bay of Naples and has views of Capri Island and Mount Vesuvius. Additionally, the town is famous for the production of lemoncello, a digestif made from lemon rinds, alcohol, water and sugar - and is incredibly yummy. 

After stopping along the way to take photos of the amazing views, the tour stopped for some lunch at a restaurant called "Donna Sophia", which is dedicated to the actress Sophia Loren. There are photos of Sophia all over the restaurant and she has actually dined there a couple of times. The food was amazing. One of the best stuffed cannelloni I've ever had! (That's quite a statement coming from an Italian.) 

After lunch, the tour bus was supposed to travel along the Amalfi Coast which according to what I've heard is one of the prettiest places in Italy. Sadly, the road was closed due repair work from a previous landslide and we could not go. Instead we got some free time to tour a little bit of Sorrento. I was a little disappointed but what can you do. On our way back to Naples, we were serenaded with Torna a Sorriento (Come Back to Sorrento) by our excellent bus driver/tour guide, Riccardo - a favorite song of mine! It was a lovely, lovely day.

When I got back to Naples, I walked back through town to my hostel as my farewell to Naples. Tomorrow, I take a train to Rome's Termini station, then another train to Rome's airport, and finally, a plane to Istanbul. Tomorrow will most likely be a lost travel day but perhaps when I get to Istanbul I can find something to do which will be notable enough to write about. Until tomorrow... 

Day 53 photos can be found on my GToE photo site!

Sunset over the Bay of Naples

Naples: Stuck in the Past (Day 52 - GToE)

First, please give a moment of silence for my ever so trusty Nikon camera which gave so much of itself over the past years, not to mention the past 51 days. Ever since Barcelona and the banana syrup incident, my camera has been on the fritz. The zoom would stick and for the past couple of days, the camera would just shut down at regular intervals despite new batteries. I was hoping to get 9 more days out of her, but alas, 'twas not to be. Goodbye old friend. It's been fun.

Second, say "hello" to my new Fuji Finepix 4400 digital camera, which cost me far more than I should be paying for a replacement camera. I do like my new toy and will make sure that I use it A LOT over the next few months in order to get my money's worth, before it gets willed to my brother for his usage. Tom, grubby mitts off until I'm pushing up daisies! 

Today is my first full day in Naples and while I don't love Naples, I also don't dislike it. I actually feel kind of sorry for Naples. I get the feeling that once upon a time Naples was a shiny jewel in the crown of Italy and underneath all the scratches and dirt, there's a jewel waiting to be rediscovered, if only Naples could figure out how. It seems like Naples is still reeling from World War II and has yet to recover from it...70 years later. Mostly when I was walking around today, checking out the various sites, I felt like I was in NYC circa 1980. Naples is a old lady who has not aged very gracefully, but is undergoing some plastic surgery to help pretty her up.

Today, I did the "Slice of Neapolitan Life" walk from Rick Steves' travel guide, which took me all over the city. Most of the sites were not terribly interesting with one notable exception - Cappella Sansevero (The Sansevero Chapel). Built in the late 16th century, but reimagined by Raimondo di Sango (the seventh Prince of Sansevero) in the mid 1700s, this chapel houses the remains of the Sansevero family. The artwork within this chapel is some of the best artwork that I have ever seen. The central masterpiece in this chapel is the famous Veiled Christ (below) by Giuseppe ("Howdidhedothat") Sanmartino. Carved out of marble, the body of the crucified Christ lies on a 'soft' pillow under an incredibly realistic veil. It's one of the most amazing sculptures I've ever seen. I also was fascinated with the two sculptures which honor Raimondo's parents. Bizarrely, in the basement of the chapel are two skeletons - one male and one pregnant female (left photo). These two anatomical models were created to illustrate how the circulatory system works. Sadly, photography is not allowed in the chapel so I had to search online to find photos to show you.

I visited a few other places today, none of which were all that noteworthy: a museum which has the last painting Caravaggio ever painted, a few churches, a galleria, the port with views of a hazy Mount Vesuvius, and such. I returned to my hostel around 2pm to discover that Giovanni was "experimenting" with a new recipe and invited the few of us that were around to have a meal together. It was spaghetti with anchovies, garlic, red pepper flakes, and olive oil. I'm not certain what was the new experiment but it was delicious. 

It's funny that Giovanni, the hostel owner, insists that you need 5 days in Naples. I barely needed one to see everything. Tomorrow is a bus tour of Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. I'm really looking forward to seeing Pompeii.

Check out my very limited Day 52 photos on my GToE photo site.

Greetings from Insane Naples! (Day 51 - GToE)

I lived for 17 years in New York City and thought I knew what crazy was. Well, I have seen a new level of insanity - Naples, Italy. Seriously, this place is Wackadoodlesville. I've only been here a few hours but I can certainly see why Naples has the reputation it does. It's pandemonium. People walk wherever and whenever they feel they can. Cars and motorbikes ignore things like red lights and pedestrians. It'll be a miracle if I don't get run over by something while I'm here.

I departed my lovely Rome around 9:30 this morning and arrived in Naples around 10:40; reaching my hostel by 11:10am. The hostel I'm staying in is called "Giovanni's House" and it literally is a man named Giovanni who has owned and lived in this 3rd floor apartment all his life. He converted his home into a hostel and now welcomes guests like they are old friends. The funny thing about Giovanni is that he is very proud of being Neapolitan...VERY PROUD! I assume he does this with all his guests, but he sat with me for nearly an hour, explaining the history and features of Naples and exclaiming on how I really need 5 days in Naples to see it; how Naples has so much more history and interesting things to do than Venice, Florence, and Rome; and telling me all the places I need to see while here. Personally, I think the two and a half days that I've allocated for Naples (with one day being a side trip to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast) is more than sufficient. 

After my lecture on the joy that is Naples, I ventured out. It was lunchtime and I was heading to a recommended pizzeria (recommended by Giovanni and my Rick Steves guidebook) as one of the best in the city. When I got to the restaurant, there was a line halfway around the building. I didn't have the patience to wait, so I passed on by and found a different pizzeria. In typical Italian style, lunch of a pizza, beer, dessert, and tea took approximately 2 hours. The Italians do not rush their meals. But I will say that nice thing about Naples is that by comparison to other Italian cities, it's cheap. The meal I had today was about half the price of anywhere else in Italy. 

By the time lunch was over, I decided that today I would tackle one thing on my "Naples to do" list. The site du jour was...

Naples' Archaeological Museum: My hostel is located approximately 3 blocks from this museum, which is convenient. Considered to be one of the finest collections of archaeological finds, this museum was top of my must see list. It offers some of the best art and decorations from Pompeii and Herculaneum, the two ancient cities destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. When Pompeii was excavated in the late 1700s, the best artifacts were brought to Naples at the behest of the Bourbon king. I saw some amazing statues, like the Toro Farnese (left photo), which at 13 feet is the tallest ancient marble group ever found and the largest intact statue from antiquity. Some restoration was needed on this statue and it was restored by none other than Michelangelo. I suppose if you need a statue restored, you can't ask for better than Michelangelo. There was also a 10-foot colossus of Hercules which was amazing. 

After viewing the statues on the ground floor, I made my way up the grand staircase, where I saw some beautiful mosaics which had been discovered in Pompeii and reassembled here. 

Next, it was onto Gabinetta Segreto (The Secret Room), which contains a sizable assortment of erotic frescoes, well-hung pottery, and suggestive statues that once decorated bedrooms, meetings rooms, brothels, and shops in Pompeii and Herculaneum. The first thing that greets a visitor upon entering the Secret Room is a pair of big stone penises. These phalli weren't necessarily sexual symbols but were displayed as amulets to keep away the evil eye. They were also symbols of fertility, happiness, good luck, riches, and such. The Secret Room had a whole host of interesting items, but the one that fascinated me the most was the statue of Pan having sex with a goat. As you can see in the photo, it's pretty graphic and illegal in several countries. Ancient Roman culture had a different sense of sexual morals, and viewed sexually explicit material very differently from most present-day cultures. Thank you!

I then explored some non-erotic frescoes and pottery uncovered in Pompeii and explored some more statues, including one that I really liked of a Drunken Satyr (below). This is one happy satyr! And it made me cackle when I saw it. I really enjoyed my time in the Archaeological Museum. 

After the museum visit, I returned to Giovanni's House in order to settle in. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to venture out into the insanity that is 'evening in Naples'. I still have time to make that decision. Tomorrow, I plan on exploring more of the city.

There aren't many photos today, but feel free to check out Day 51 photos on my GToE photo site.

A Sad Goodbye to Rome (Day 50 - GToE)

Wow, I cannot believe it's day 50 of this trip. Ten more days before I hop on my return plane to Philadelphia. Where has the time gone? 

What a fantastic day in Rome! Third day in a row of gorgeous sunshine and mild temperatures. I spent today touring Rome with some new friends. This morning as I was settling down for breakfast in the hostel kitchen, a couple of gals were chatting about the online ticket to the Vatican and what does it get the ticket holder into, etc. It turns out these two ladies (Joanna from Australia and Louisa from Atlanta) had a 9:00 am entrance time for the Vatican Museum - as did I! We all decided to go together and it turned out to be a spectacular decision as we spent the rest of the day together exploring Rome. Well, Joanna had to leave us around 3:00 to catch her train to Florence. 

9:00 am - Vatican Museum: We started with the Pinacoteca picture gallery which had a few interesting paintings - Da Vinci, Raphael, and others. After the picture gallery, we explored the Egyptian and Mesopotamia artifacts, followed by Roman and Greek statues. Then it was onto the tapestry room and the map room. Next were the Raphael rooms which were incredibly beautiful. Then of course, comes the pièce de résistance: 

Michelangelo's The Sistine Chapel. Words cannot really explain the magnificence of this chapel. "Between 1508 and 1512, under the patronage of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling, a masterpiece without precedent, that was to change the course of Western art. He returned and between 1535 and 1541, painted The Last Judgement on the altar wall for Popes Clement VII and Paul III" (Wikipedia). Photography is not allowed in the Sistine Chapel but Wikipedia has an excellent link for the ceiling and the altar wall if you would like to get an idea of the magnificence of this chapel. Seriously though, everyone needs to travel to Rome to see it in person. 

12:00 pm - St. Peter's Basilica: We then took a back exit from the Sistine Chapel to make our way into St. Peter's Basilica. Construction of the present basilica, replacing the Old St. Peter's Basilica of the 4th century AD, began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626. "Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and remains one of the largest churches in the world" (Wikipedia). In addition to being the largest church I've ever seen, it also houses one of Michelangelo's most impressive sculptures: the Pietà. Sadly, this sculpture has to be located behind bullet proof acrylic glass due to a deranged geologist who took a hammer to the sculpture in 1972, severely damaging it. Even behind glass, it is still one of Michelangelo's most impressive sculptures (after David). I was unaware the tomb of Pope John Paul II was now located in a chapel within the Basilica. It is stated that the main altar sits directly over the tomb of St. Peter.

After leaving Vatican City, the gals and I decided it was time for lunch. Then we went to Castel Saint'Angelo, but decided against actually touring the Castel. The Castel was build as a tomb for the emperor and used through the Middle Ages as a castle, prison, and a place of refuge for popes who are under attack. There's a corridor which runs from Vatican to the Castel. I toured this 8 years ago, but we changed our minds about seeing it today. Then it was time for some gelato. Joanna had to leave us at the point to go to the train station.

Louisa and I decided to catch a few more sites. We went to the Pantheon because Louisa had not yet seen it, then explored a couple of churches nearby for the artwork: a Michelangelo statue in one and some Caravaggio paintings in another. We then decided to check out the Capuchin crypt. You might remember when I went to the Bone Church while in the Czech Republic a few weeks ago. Wellllll, the Capuchin crypt is a similar site. The bones of more than 4,000 friars who died between 1528 and 1870 are in the basement of the Church of Santa Maria della Immacolata Concezione, which have been lined up in a series of six crypts as works of art. Photography was not allowed in the crypt so I cannot shock and appall you with personal photos but did find one online to show the "artwork" that I saw today (see above). There are lots more photos online of this weird crypt. My question is: what is up with these monks creating these weird works of art with the bones of the deceased?

The last thing we did today was take a nice long walk around Rome just to see it in all its glory at night. Ending our day exhausted but exhilarated when we finally reached the hostel around 7:00pm. To tired to even consider dinner, we bid each other farewell and went our separate ways. Then it was time for a shower and to pack up and prepare for tomorrow's trip to Naples. All in all, it was a fabulous way to end my time here in Rome but I will be sad to leave this amazing city behind. 

No surprise: catch all of my Day 50 photos on my GToE photo site.