Vatican City/Rome

June 30

We toured the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica today. The Vatican City is the worlds smallest country. It is not part of Italy, but has it's own government. The head of state is - you got it, the Pope. The museum has many fine works of art, shown as a display or as part of the buildings themselves. The pinnacle of the tour was going inside the Sistine Chapel. Seeing these marvelous paintings by Michelangelo of which I have seen pictures all of my life was astounding. The chapel was actually smaller than what I had imagined. It is in this chapel that conclave is held where the new pope is selected by a large group of cardinals. St. Peter's basilica is the largest cathedral in the world. It was enormous inside and seemed to go one forever. The church was filled with sculptures, paintings and other works of arts, the most famous being Micelangelo's Pieta.
That evening, we gathered at a restaurant in Rome and were serenaded by an Italian singer with an accordianist where they sang traditional Italian songs as we celebrated our last evening in Italy. It was an amazing trip, particularly to hear the choir sing so much.

Rome

June 29

Today we visited ancient Rome. We visited the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Pantheon. Our tour guide, a woman named Monica, said that Rome was a city full of "wows", and as we followed her along a street, she would say, "get ready for another big wow - Mama Mia, the Pantheon!" It was amazing to actually see and touch these ancient structures that have been around for 2000 years. While in the Pantheon, the choir impromptudely sang in the center of the building. All of the crowds of people immediately became silent and surrounded the choir, taking videos and pictures. They were thrilled with the singing. Rome is a large city, with lots of crowds and heat, so it was a different experence for us, but still very enjoyable. That evening, the choir sang at a mass at a church next to the Vatican. They seemed to fit in very well with their music. The priest of the church said that they could come back any time and sing for them. After the mass, they gave another concert at the same church. This was the last time this group of kids would sing together.

Siena

June 28

We traveled from Florence to Rome, and on the way, visited the Tuscan village of Siena. Siena is perched atop a hill, and so the entire city is made up of winding, hilly streets. At the center of the town is a large piazza, or plaza that is the location of the Palio, an intense horse race that takes place every July 2 and August 7. The town is divided into neighborhoods, each with its own mascot such as panther, snail, etc. Each neighborhood is represented in the race, and they are very enthusiastic about their particular horse winning. We saw the preparations the town is making for the race, including applying a thick layer of dirt to form a track surrounding the piazza.