Mom's Visit and Venice

For Spring Break, my mom came to visit! It was a lot of fun and I loved showing her around Rome.



We went to St. Peter's and actually attended Mass there, which was very nice. We walked around St. Peter's and saw the Pieta and the tomb of St. Peter.

We also went to the Catacombs of San Callisto. I had not been to the catacombs in Rome yet and it was interesting to compare them with the ones we saw in Naples. In Rome, the catacombs are less spacious and we saw less frescoes. It was still very interesting, though. The catacombs are near the Via Appia, so we walked over to find the beginning of the original Via Appia.

We also visited the Vatican Museums. It was so crowded in the museums! It was very cool to see all of the artwork, including the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel was very beautiful. It is hard to believe that just recently the conclave was meeting in there. When we visited, it was full of visitors and guards who kept telling people to be quiet and stop taking photos.

The entrance to the Vatican Museums

I gave a presentation on this statue, the Laocoon, for one of my classes. It really is an amazing piece.

School of Athens

The staircase at the end of the museum

We also went to the Palazzo del Quirinale (the residence of the Italian president), the Colosseum, the Forum, the Palatine Hill, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, and the Spanish Steps.

At the Roman Forum

Trevi Fountain

My mom and I also went to Venice. Venice is absolutely beautiful! It was still cold when we went and while it was sunny when we arrived, it rained during the next day. We walked around Venice and went to Murano, an island known for its glass.

We returned to Rome on Good Friday and went to the Via Crucis with the Pope at the Colosseum. Unfortunately, my mom's phone was stolen on the subway, but we were able to see most of the stations. The Colosseum was lit up with candles and there was a cross lit up also across from the Colosseum. It was a very impressive sight. Because the meditations were written by two people from Lebanon, we saw a lot of Lebanese flags.

On Saturday, we had planned to go to Easter Vigil at St. Peter's, but after waiting in line for four hours in the rain, we did not get seats. We decided to go out to dinner and buy a big chocolate egg. It was nice to just have a calm night since my mom was leaving early the next morning.

It was so nice to have my mom here and show her where I've been living for the past couple of months. But we saw a lot of Rome and Venice and ate some good food. It was sad to see her go, but I'll be home at the end of May. It is hard to believe that I am more than halfway through the semester!