Greece Trip, Day 1
There's not so much to tell for the first day ... We had a many-hour bus ride from Rome to Bari, where we got on a cruise ship for Greece. In Bari we visited the Church of St. Nicholas, where his body remains today.
The ship, called the Superfast Ferry, does not provide adequate portions of food for teenaged boys. Luckly, I had packed some food as well, so everything was fine. It was a cool ship, though, and many of us hung out on the deck and talked or just watched the sea and the islands as we passed.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Pozzuoli #2
Day 2: We walk to the bus stop, and ask each bus if it goes to Cumae. The second one takes us close, and tells us how to catch the bus for Cumae. 'Twas a bit better than the day before.
We saw the archaeological site at Cumae, entered the Cave of the Sibyl, and read from Virgil's Aeneid. It's well worth doing if you're ever in Italy. The cave itself is impressive, and it's a strange feeling to be reading a myth about the place you're standing in, especially when you've translated that myth from the original Latin in the past.
From the top of a hill where a temple to Apollo stands, we looked out at the Mediterranean Sea, and saw horse-drawn carts going up and down on the beach. It was beautiful.
On the way back we stopped at Largo Averno, a beautiful, secluded lake surrounded by hills. And, after taking the wrong bus on the way back, we arrived at our hotel overlooking the bay, watched the sunset, played many rounds of "Control," and discussed manly subjects over beer.
One of the best trips I've been on in my life.
We saw the archaeological site at Cumae, entered the Cave of the Sibyl, and read from Virgil's Aeneid. It's well worth doing if you're ever in Italy. The cave itself is impressive, and it's a strange feeling to be reading a myth about the place you're standing in, especially when you've translated that myth from the original Latin in the past.
From the top of a hill where a temple to Apollo stands, we looked out at the Mediterranean Sea, and saw horse-drawn carts going up and down on the beach. It was beautiful.
On the way back we stopped at Largo Averno, a beautiful, secluded lake surrounded by hills. And, after taking the wrong bus on the way back, we arrived at our hotel overlooking the bay, watched the sunset, played many rounds of "Control," and discussed manly subjects over beer.
One of the best trips I've been on in my life.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Pozzuoli #1
Lesson 1: Just because there's a sign with an arrow for a particular location, doesn't mean it's anywhere close.
Lesson 2: Buses are your friends. Learn how to use them.
Lesson 3: If you ever have a chance to walk in a volcano with active gas jets and boiling mud, take it.
It was a three day weekend, the women were all off at their retreat, so Greg, Pete, Tristan, and I decided to head off for Pozzuoli, which is south of Rome by Naples. The train and metro ride there were uneventful, but upon arriving in Pozzuoli we discovered that the we were just off the edge of the only map we had: a less-than-useful printout from Google Maps. But, the locals were much friendlier than in Rome, and we had several people who came up to us offering directions. So, after hiking for about a mile to the top of a hill outside town, we found the hotel.
It was about 2 pm at this point, so we decided we'd head off to Cumae. Cumae is a small town west of Pozzuoli, where Aeneas entered the Cave of the Sibyl and descended to hell, according to Book 6 of the Aeneid. However, none of us had had lunch yet, so the first priority was to find a supermarket -- we had spent enough on the hotel; none of us wanted to eat at a restaurant.
Coming down the hill into town, we passed the entrance to Solfatara. After a quick debate, we decided that we were here to see cool things, not eat, and went into the volcano. It was awesome. It got perceptively hotter as we went in -- there were areas of the ground that were best to step over, due to the steam rising from them. These areas were hot enough to cook an egg on. It smelled like someone already had, and they all has the faint yellow tint of sulfur. We soon forgot about the steam due to the pits of boiling mud and the gas jets. The jets were over 300° and quite forceful, and the ground was hissing beneath our feet as we approached. Solfatara is not some tame government-regulated site like you find in America. No, if you were going to be stupid here, natural selection would have its say. We walked right up to these jets, and could have put our hands in them -- but hey, those hands would still have been required to write papers back on campus.
We were still hungry. Upon leaving Solfatara we saw a sign for a supermarket, and decided to follow it, assuming that it must be nearby. After walking along a highway with no exits for about 5 miles, we revised this assumption. It finally looped around, and we, having finished every bit of the little food in our backpacks (one roll purloined from the last meal we had on campus, and 3/4 of a bar of chocolate), worked our way back into town. We stopped at a newspaper stand to ask for directions. They told us how to get to Cumae, and laughed at us we said we were planning on walking there that day. By this time, sunset was an hour away. We found out later it was an hour ride by bus.
We were still hungry. We asked if there was a supermarket nearby. They gave us a funny look, and pointed 100 yards down the street at the big "Supermercato" sign. After buying some bus tickets, we bought food and made our way to the bus stop, praying fervently that the next bus would be going past "Academia Aeronautica," the only landmark by our hotel we could remember.
We made it back at about 6pm, ate lunch, and laughed at ourselves. But hey, it was a Friday in lent -- a good time for fasting.
Lesson 2: Buses are your friends. Learn how to use them.
Lesson 3: If you ever have a chance to walk in a volcano with active gas jets and boiling mud, take it.
It was a three day weekend, the women were all off at their retreat, so Greg, Pete, Tristan, and I decided to head off for Pozzuoli, which is south of Rome by Naples. The train and metro ride there were uneventful, but upon arriving in Pozzuoli we discovered that the we were just off the edge of the only map we had: a less-than-useful printout from Google Maps. But, the locals were much friendlier than in Rome, and we had several people who came up to us offering directions. So, after hiking for about a mile to the top of a hill outside town, we found the hotel.
It was about 2 pm at this point, so we decided we'd head off to Cumae. Cumae is a small town west of Pozzuoli, where Aeneas entered the Cave of the Sibyl and descended to hell, according to Book 6 of the Aeneid. However, none of us had had lunch yet, so the first priority was to find a supermarket -- we had spent enough on the hotel; none of us wanted to eat at a restaurant.
Coming down the hill into town, we passed the entrance to Solfatara. After a quick debate, we decided that we were here to see cool things, not eat, and went into the volcano. It was awesome. It got perceptively hotter as we went in -- there were areas of the ground that were best to step over, due to the steam rising from them. These areas were hot enough to cook an egg on. It smelled like someone already had, and they all has the faint yellow tint of sulfur. We soon forgot about the steam due to the pits of boiling mud and the gas jets. The jets were over 300° and quite forceful, and the ground was hissing beneath our feet as we approached. Solfatara is not some tame government-regulated site like you find in America. No, if you were going to be stupid here, natural selection would have its say. We walked right up to these jets, and could have put our hands in them -- but hey, those hands would still have been required to write papers back on campus.
We were still hungry. Upon leaving Solfatara we saw a sign for a supermarket, and decided to follow it, assuming that it must be nearby. After walking along a highway with no exits for about 5 miles, we revised this assumption. It finally looped around, and we, having finished every bit of the little food in our backpacks (one roll purloined from the last meal we had on campus, and 3/4 of a bar of chocolate), worked our way back into town. We stopped at a newspaper stand to ask for directions. They told us how to get to Cumae, and laughed at us we said we were planning on walking there that day. By this time, sunset was an hour away. We found out later it was an hour ride by bus.
We were still hungry. We asked if there was a supermarket nearby. They gave us a funny look, and pointed 100 yards down the street at the big "Supermercato" sign. After buying some bus tickets, we bought food and made our way to the bus stop, praying fervently that the next bus would be going past "Academia Aeronautica," the only landmark by our hotel we could remember.
We made it back at about 6pm, ate lunch, and laughed at ourselves. But hey, it was a Friday in lent -- a good time for fasting.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
San Clemente
The latest Art & Arch trip was to the church of San Clemente, located by the Colosseum in Rome. It's actually four sites in one:
- Before 64 AD, there was something built in this location, but we can't tell what it was. It burned in the great fire of Rome in 64 AD, and the ashes provided the foundation for what was to follow.
- Sometime in the 1st century, a house was built on the ashes. St. Clement, the fourth pope, lived in this house for a time, possibly as a slave. There is also a shrine to the pagan god Mithras and a warehouse on this level.
- In the 4th century, the house was filled in and used as the foundation for a church to St. Clement. (Side note: this church contains the first known instance of Italian, as opposed to Latin. It's Clement calling the people who tried to arrest him SOBs. 'Twas amusing.)
- The first church was filled in when it started to fall apart, and a new church was built on top of it in the 11th century. This church is still standing today.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Pompeii
It's difficult, as an American, to grasp the length of 2,000 years. Where I come from, 200 years is old, and if you find something that's from 500 years ago, it's close to the oldest thing around. Then I come here, to Pompeii, and the entire city is over two millennia old. And yet, here are the remnants of a civilization - with baths, theaters, amphitheaters, shops, houses, sculptors, and artists. It's a strange feeling of sameness and difference at the same time, compared to civilizations of today.
And yes, there are many dogs still here, just as there were back then. The phrase "cave canem" still applies.
And yes, there are many dogs still here, just as there were back then. The phrase "cave canem" still applies.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Naples / Stabiae
On Friday we left fairly early on a charter bus to Naples. The city itself was dirty, but definitely had character to it. Actually,Most of the "dirty" was due to trash left out in the streets, since Naples was in the middle of a trash-collector strike. We at lunch on a street corner (all 110 of us), and entered the National Archaeological Museum. Dr. Flusche gave us a guided tour, providing the history of each piece we observed, which consisted mostly of who stole it from which part of Italy to put it in this museum. Many of the pieces were removed from the excavation of Pompeii, where we were headed the next day.
This is one of my favorite sculptures that we saw. It's Hercules, bulging muscles and all, resting on his lion skin propped up on a stick, after completing his 12 tasks. It was created during a period that emphasized the strength of the human body -- it's no surprise that the sculptor chose Hercules.
After the museum, we headed to Stabiae, where we stayed in dorms provided by the Society for Restoring Ancient Stabiae. We had a chance to walk through the town and down to the beach. Some of group waded out into the water, but I didn't want sand in my shoes, and the water was very cold. I settled for putting my hands in it and collecting shells, which I accidentally sat on later.
View of Stabiae and Mt. Vesuvius covered in clouds, from the dorm balcony
This is one of my favorite sculptures that we saw. It's Hercules, bulging muscles and all, resting on his lion skin propped up on a stick, after completing his 12 tasks. It was created during a period that emphasized the strength of the human body -- it's no surprise that the sculptor chose Hercules.
After the museum, we headed to Stabiae, where we stayed in dorms provided by the Society for Restoring Ancient Stabiae. We had a chance to walk through the town and down to the beach. Some of group waded out into the water, but I didn't want sand in my shoes, and the water was very cold. I settled for putting my hands in it and collecting shells, which I accidentally sat on later.
View of Stabiae and Mt. Vesuvius covered in clouds, from the dorm balconyTuesday, January 29, 2008
Rome Scavenger Hunt / Wine Tasting
We started Saturday, Jan 26 with a scavenger hunt in Rome. The Romers were divided into groups of seven or eight people, but half of our group bailed out at the last minute, so our group was all of three people, which actually turned out to be a good size. We were given a list to things to find: mostly historical sites on monuments, but also everyday sights such as pigeons, nuns, people kissing, and the Old Bridge Gelateria. My group (Jocelyn, Jeffery, and I) started off very determined, but after about an hour decided it would be more fun to slow down and enjoy Rome, and just keep our eyes open for items on the list.
The day concluded with a trip to Castel Gandolfo, a large dinner, and wine tasting led by Msgr. Fucinaro. Wonderful food, good wine, and great people - altogether, quite an enjoyable evening. We ended up leaving to come back at 11:15 PM, an hour or so later than they had told us -- but it was time well spent.
This worked out very well, and we wandered through many side streets of the Trestevere region of Rome. It's a place I want to visit again at some point. There aren't many monuments in the area, which, consequently, means it is much less of a tourist destination. We were able to see the daily life of Rome, and it was a quiet atmosphere, which was nice after all the bustle of the monuments.
Enjoying a quiet moment atop the Janiculum Hill
Enjoying a quiet moment atop the Janiculum HillThe day concluded with a trip to Castel Gandolfo, a large dinner, and wine tasting led by Msgr. Fucinaro. Wonderful food, good wine, and great people - altogether, quite an enjoyable evening. We ended up leaving to come back at 11:15 PM, an hour or so later than they had told us -- but it was time well spent.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Class Orientation
Classes will be difficult. They should also be wondrously fun! All of the professors so far seem reasonable, at least, and many of them are very interesting. Western Theological Traditions should be very good. The prof has a great sense of humor, and knows his stuff. His favorite saying, as any recent Romer knows, is "What does the text say?" Any answer that is not supported directly from the text is not a valid answer, for him. He has already said that is paper will likely be the hardest we have ever written. But, it's on Aquinas, which just sounds like fun to me.
We also had computer orientation today, and I got hired on the spot to assist in installing and updating antivirus software on 80+ computers, and configuring the network printers. It went well, and I got to help out the other students while making some extra cash on the side. I hate paying for things in euros with the high exchange rate, but I love being paid in euros. :-)
At dinner I sat with Alison Lytle (the campus director), J.T. Kennelly, and the Roper family (Dr. Roper teaches Literary Traditions 3). We had a great time that included discussing families, paintball, and cats, and singing "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything." :-D It was great fun.
Buonasera!
Sean
We also had computer orientation today, and I got hired on the spot to assist in installing and updating antivirus software on 80+ computers, and configuring the network printers. It went well, and I got to help out the other students while making some extra cash on the side. I hate paying for things in euros with the high exchange rate, but I love being paid in euros. :-)
At dinner I sat with Alison Lytle (the campus director), J.T. Kennelly, and the Roper family (Dr. Roper teaches Literary Traditions 3). We had a great time that included discussing families, paintball, and cats, and singing "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything." :-D It was great fun.
Buonasera!
Sean
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Arrival / Intoduction to Rome
Well, I'm here. It's late evening on the second day, and now is the first time that I've had to sit down and write a few lines. I pulled an all-nighter the day before I left due to last minute packing and tax preparation, and left for the airport at 4am. Flight left at 6, and I traveled to Denver, Washington D.C., and then finally, Rome. There were several flights that just barely made it in to D.C. in time to catch the flight, and those of us on the plane breathed a sigh of relief when they boarded, since we had already been told of how difficult it would be to get them to Rome if they did not catch the flight. The flight was long, about 9 hours, and I was able to catch about two hours of sleep, though not very good sleep. We got to campus at 9 am, Jan 23.
They kept us busy on the theory that doing so would help us get over the jet lag more quickly, and we spent all of yesterday in orientation and convocation sections. All most of us wanted to do yesterday was sleep, though, and we were all nodding off. One of the RA's was amused by this, and went around taking pictures of sleeping students. I'm sure there's at least one of me on that camera! Finally, after a 52 hour period with 2 hours of sleep, I crashed hard.
The next day Jocelyn came by to make sure I was up. I stumbled out of my room asking, "Weren't they going to give us a wake up call?" She informed me that they did, twice. :-) Similar thing happened this afternoon, except it was a roommate waking me up after I slept though an alarm. Jet lag is not treating me well.
Today, Jan 24, was much more exciting. We went into Rome for the first time, and were taught how to use the Italian subway and bus systems, and given lots of general advice, including:
We attended Mass at the tomb of Saints Simon and Jude in St. Peter's Basilica. It was a wonderful Mass, but I admit it was hard to pay attention with all of the amazing artwork all around us: statues and sculptures and paintings and much more. The least of the dozens of side altars there is more wonderful than 90% of American cathedrals. It's had to believe that I'm actually here, seeing the actual work of Michaelangelo, Bernini, and many others. I've seen pictures of much of it before, but there is no comparison to the real thing.
Speaking of pictures, I'll get a few posted soon. In my Jet-Lagged stupor this morning, I forgot to get my camera -- but I'll be back later to every place I went today. Classes start tomorrow, with half-periods of orientation in each. They are all back to back -- and that's enough to disorient anyone!
Buonasera!
Sean
They kept us busy on the theory that doing so would help us get over the jet lag more quickly, and we spent all of yesterday in orientation and convocation sections. All most of us wanted to do yesterday was sleep, though, and we were all nodding off. One of the RA's was amused by this, and went around taking pictures of sleeping students. I'm sure there's at least one of me on that camera! Finally, after a 52 hour period with 2 hours of sleep, I crashed hard.
The next day Jocelyn came by to make sure I was up. I stumbled out of my room asking, "Weren't they going to give us a wake up call?" She informed me that they did, twice. :-) Similar thing happened this afternoon, except it was a roommate waking me up after I slept though an alarm. Jet lag is not treating me well.
Today, Jan 24, was much more exciting. We went into Rome for the first time, and were taught how to use the Italian subway and bus systems, and given lots of general advice, including:
- Push hard when getting on the subway and buses, or you will not get on.
- When crossing a street at a crosswalk with no traffic light, just step out into traffic with determination. The drivers are required to stop for you. Don't look them in the eye, or they will know you saw them and just keep on driving.
- Don't ever give money to beggars on the street. Far too often there is someone they are working with just waiting to see where your money is kept.
We attended Mass at the tomb of Saints Simon and Jude in St. Peter's Basilica. It was a wonderful Mass, but I admit it was hard to pay attention with all of the amazing artwork all around us: statues and sculptures and paintings and much more. The least of the dozens of side altars there is more wonderful than 90% of American cathedrals. It's had to believe that I'm actually here, seeing the actual work of Michaelangelo, Bernini, and many others. I've seen pictures of much of it before, but there is no comparison to the real thing.
Speaking of pictures, I'll get a few posted soon. In my Jet-Lagged stupor this morning, I forgot to get my camera -- but I'll be back later to every place I went today. Classes start tomorrow, with half-periods of orientation in each. They are all back to back -- and that's enough to disorient anyone!
Buonasera!
Sean
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