Beautiful Bones

It's very hard to get up in the morning when your room is super dark and you are comfortable (even if you are considering the fact that you may have bedbugs but aren't entirely convinced - those red bites aren't coming from no where but Jeff doesn't have any... I'd rather not know), but I pulled myself out of bed and down to breakfast (a bun with butter, juice and a hot chocolate) without Jeff as he just wasn't interested.

We dressed and took the subway to Castel Sant Angelo.

We wandered through a small market and made a few souvenir purchases before entering the castle that was built around a tomb... A place that has been used by popes and others for numerous reasons. It was wasted on me but the views from the top were very pretty. I am tired of history and Rome is not the place to be tired of it... I'd rather eat gelato, walk around and enjoy the archicture.

We came across the Piazza Novona (a square) that was full of artists displaying and selling their work - there were dozens of artists with many different styles, it was neat to walk through it all. There were also street performers in costume (still creepy) and people playing music for some change. It was very warm in the sun and so it felt like a summer afternoon.

Afterward, we headed to the Pantheon - a church for over 2000 years and a structural masterpiece. It was initially built as a temple to the gods of Ancient Rome. The Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the middle, open space of the dome and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft). It is one of the best preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history. We had lunch outside the steps with hundreds of other people (free = busy).

We then had gelato while we wandered up and down a street looking for a crypt we had read about. It was dedicated by Cappucini monks to their deceased brothers. They took the bones of 4000 monks and decorated the walls and ceiling and made elaborate displays in honour of them. We thought it was going to be really creepy (Jeff was creeped out a bit) but really it was very sweet and a very loving and respectful gesture to honour the monks' brothers. The time and effort it must have taken to organize and place each bone must have been extraordinary. I was fascinated after the initial, "these are real bones, of real people" moment passed. It really was a work of art and dedication. There were five rooms or so, full of bones.

Here's a picture from google, as we weren't allowed to take any pictures (not that that stopped people, just like the Sistine Chapel, so disrespectful!):

http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jacklee/London/images_Italy/20030924-Rome-CimiterodeiCappuccini-CryptofSkulls.jpg
(I have this picture on a postcard I bought)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/utrechtwillem/2568467396/
(This is one of the ceilings)

We then walked slowly back in the direction of our hostel - my knee was aching and Jeff's foot hurt (some weird muscle pain...). We're falling apart at the seams! We picked up dinner ingredients for the last dinner we'll be making ourselves while on our trip as the next two nights warrent quality pizza and pasta! :)

We had wine and cheese with crackers as a snack while doing some leisurely reading and relaxing around 5pm and are now just starting dinner (7:45pm). Our gelato, wine and cheese habit may die out when we get home or we'll have to excercise a little more... lol

Hope everyone has an enjoyable Friday as we begin to wind down from nearly eight weeks of adventures.

See you soon,

Amanda

P.S. Did you know that the word 'cappuncino' is related to the 'cappuncini' monks? The monks' brown robes and lack of hair in the middle of their head, leaving a white spot, gave the locals the idea to name their frosty coffees after them.