Pompeii and Naples

It's been a busy couple of weeks since my last post because of midterms and spring break. A couple of weekends ago I went to Pompeii and Naples for the trip included in the IES program. It was nice not having to plan anything.

First we went to Pompeii. The rain held off until after we had finished touring, which was nice. We did not stay that long, so we just saw the highlights. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be! And there is still a lot of Pompeii that has yet to be uncovered. We saw the amphitheater, a couple of houses, the brothel, and many stores. Fortunately, it did not rain while we were at Pompeii, but the rain clouds were covering Mount Vesuvius. 

The view from a hill overlooking excavated Pompeii

One of the streets of Pompeii

The columns outside of the baths

One of the baths

A plaster copy of some poor person killed by Vesuvius

The frescoed walls of one of the houses

The forum, with Mount Vesuvius in the background

After a delicious lunch of appetizers like fried dough, grilled vegetables, and some sort of potato pie, and pasta, we went to a vineyard on Mount Vesuvius and tasted wine and olive oil. The soil is supposed to be very fertile there because of the volcano.

We arrived in Naples and had some free time. My friend and I went to the Castel dell'Ovo and walked around Naples. Our favorite thing to do was try to decide if the people we passed were in the mafia. Apparently they have some connection to buffalo mozzarella. 

Castel dell'Ovo

The church of San Francesco di Paola in Piazza de Plebiscito

After heading back to the hotel, we had dinner with the group. We had pasta with vegetables, tilapia with potatoes and spinach, and Pastiera Napoletana, which is a pie with orange, ricotta cheese, and wheat, typically eaten in the spring. 

The next morning, we woke up early to see the sunrise over the water. Although it was cloudy to the east, we could see the sun's rays shining through. It was so quiet and we only saw a few people, who were probably in the mafia.

The sun peaking through the clouds with Mount Vesuvius on the left

It was worth waking up early

We went on a walking tour around Naples, seeing many churches and some ancient Roman sites. The most beautiful place was Santa Chiara. In the center there is an orchard, with decorated columns, extending the scenery with the blue of the sky and the vines of the orchard. 

The interesting facade of one of the churches we visited

Inside Santa Chiara

Orange trees inside Santa Chiara

Naples is also known for their nativity scenes. In Santa Chiara, there is a beautiful nativity scene from the 18th century. They are so detailed! We went down the street where you can buy pieces for them, and I was so tempted to buy some. 

This Nativity scene was beautiful - I want one!

Next, we had pizza! It was the best pizza that I've ever had in my life. We also ate more fried dough, suppli (fried rice and mozzarella balls), and arancini (fried rice, mozzaralla, and vegetable balls). 

Best. Pizza. Ever.

We also saw the catacombs of San Gennaro. The catacombs were surprisingly spacious. 

Inside the catacombs

There were many frescos, like this one of a family. There are multiple layers as a new layer was added every time a member of the family died.

A family tomb - a new fresco was painted each time someone died

More catacombs - the layout actually mirrors the main streets of Naples

Naples was so different from Rome. The buildings were packed together and there was garbage on the rocks by the sea. But it has a different kind of beauty, I think. It's interesting to see how full of contradictions it is. The famous city destroyed by a volcano is now the most densely populated city volcanic region in the world. As the tour guide pointed out, they sell the Nativity scene pieces and next door to those they will sell Nativity pieces with strange figures, like Osama bin Laden's head on Barack Obama's body. The city itself is very sketchy and dirty, yet the coast is so beautiful. 

And as we were leaving, I finally saw the whole Mount Vesuvius through the bus window

Mount Vesuvius finally!

Habemus Papam!

The past few days have been so busy! Midterms are next week, so I've been trying to focus on studying and of course, I stood out in the rain for hours waiting for the new pope to be elected.

On Wednesday morning, we stood outside in St. Peter's Square in the rain, among a sea of umbrellas. I hadn't expected to have the pope elected so quickly, so seeing the black smoke was not too much of a disappointment. 

Black smoke - a little disappointing, but expected

The crowd, waiting in the rain

However, on Wednesday afternoon, as we headed to St. Peter's at 4:30, I was hoping that there would be a new pope. After the first vote that evening was inconclusive, we took a coffee break and returned at 6, standing near the front of the square so we could see the chimney. A little more than an hour later, I saw the white smoke. I had this feeling of pure joy and could not believe that I was really going to see the new pope! The bells started ringing and we rushed forward to get a better spot. As everyone closed their umbrellas, the rain finally stopped. 

White smoke finally, ahhh!

There was such an energy in the square, with people from all over the world joining together to greet the new pope. Around me, there was a group of American students, a couple Slovakians, some Mexicans, many Italians, an American family, and a few French people. There were flags from all over the world, from Mexico to South Korea to England. 

The Vatican and Italian military bands marched in, along with the Swiss guards. They played the Vatican and Italian anthems, which all of the Italians in the crowd sang. It was very beautiful.

After an hour of waiting, they turned the lights on upstairs and eventually the cardinal came out to announce "Habemus papam!" and that the new pope's name is Francesco. The people around me started talking in different languages, asking who the new pope is and where he is from. There was a lot of excitement that he was from Argentina. In front of me, a group of Italians confirmed that it's the first Francesco. The crowd started chanting "Francesco" and it's just too infectious to not join in.

Finally, the pope came out and the crowd went wild. The cardinals were out on the balconies and it was an amazing sight. Pope Francis led the crowd in saying the "Our Father", "Hail Mary", and "Glory Be." He then addressed the crowd in Italian and ended saying "Buona notte e buon riposo." 

I still cannot believe that I was really there. You know how sometimes when you anticipate an event, you build it up in your mind and then afterward you are disappointed that it is over? This experience was better than I could imagine and one of the happiest moments of my life. I am very blessed to be in Rome during such an important time.

The crowd as we were leaving. We were so close to the front!

I am very pleased with the new pope. He is not from Europe, which is a huge change, but one that I believe will be good for the Church. He is a Jesuit, smart, and also humble. I believe that he will lead the Church in the right direction. It will be interesting to see if he retires as well and if Benedict has set a precedent for future popes.

Also, I was interviewed by KHOU, the Houston news station. It was a little awkward, but here's the link to it if you want to watch: http://bit.ly/ZzvRnL. It's about a minute in.

 

A Busy Week in Rome!

This week was so busy! On Wednesday, I went to the last papal audience with Pope Benedict XVI. It was amazing to be there! It was so crowded, with people from all over the world. He addressed the audience in several languages. Everyone there kept saying "Viva il Papa!" and there were signs thanking him in several languages. It was so incredible to see the Pope in person before he left! I hope to see the next one in a few weeks.

On Friday, I went on a field trip to Tarquinia and Cerveteri to visit the Etruscan tombs. The necropolis in Tarquinia had tombs with the frescos still remaining on the walls. All of the objects in the tombs have been removed and are in museums. We saw some of the sarcophagi in Villa Giula in Rome the day before. This is one of the tombs in Tarquinia:



You have to descend down the stairs to the tomb and it feels like you are Indiana Jones. Here are some of the frescos in the tombs:

In Cerveteri, the necropolis is arranged like a city, with streets and neighborhoods. It was gorgeous there.

This weekend, I finally went to the Colosseum! It only took four weeks to get there.

Also, I ate a lot of gelato this week. My favorite flavors are chocolate and dark chocolate.