TOMBS, TOMBS, TOMBS

     Yesterday was an over all stressful day. I think that it has finally set in for everyone that we are living in a foreign country. Today is Dr. Dubs birthday. We decided to go to the United Color of Bennetton store and buy her something pink to cheer her up. Danilo gathered us all up and told us to get Dr. Dubs to have a meeting with him. We were to set up the sitting room with the pink champagne and the birthday cake made by the Pope's pastry shop in Albano. Danilo said that he would make up some story that we were bad and he wanted to talk to her about it. When she walked in, she was in tears. She said it was one of the best surprises for her. Yesterday just put her over the edge. We danced around for the night to music and had a great time. Tomorrow we are headed to the Catacombs of ancient Rome. It shall be interesting walking around in the catacombs.

     Jenna, Rachel, Ali and I are headed out to Barcelona tonight immediately after we visit the catacombs. All of the catacombs are outside of the old Roman walls. Christians were not allowed to be buried within the walls. One thing that I find interesting is that one woman donated the majority of her family land for the Christian cause of burial. I have to admit that I was not expecting what I was about to experience. Death and cemeteries always carry a certain cord with me. I can just hold it together enough to look like I have it together. When we arrived to the catacombs we walked into a nice brick building. Now, if this is what it is going to be I will be rather surprised. Out of the darkness of descending stairs to the levels below comes our tour guide. I have to say that she was about the weirdest tour guide I have ever met. She introduced herself in this spacey type voice. She kind of reminds me of Professor Tralawney from Harry Potter. She only said one thing to us before be descended down stairs into the necropolis. She stated that we are to never stray from the group. A researcher years ago got lost down there for 3 days before someone found him. That is how vast these tombs are. We all exchanged a look of fright towards each other as we walked down the stairs.

     "Tombs, Tombs, Tombs," our guide exclaims as our eyes adjust to the dimly light darkness. The tombs were dug out into the volcano dirt. The best way to describe what the tombs look like would be a maze of hallways of volcanic dirt. In the walls are the coves that the once whole bodies were laid to rest. The majority of the tombs were opened and the bodies removed. The closed tombs have either a tombstone of sorts over the opening or it is bricked up. Our guide suggested we put our hands in one of the open tombs to feel the cold volcanic ash. She stuck her hand in to show that it was not going to disappear on us. When she pulled her hand out she did something so weird. She smelled her hand. WHY??? I don't have a big problem with death as long as I don't linger too long. Our tour guide was lingering too long. We all started to freak out a bit. She did explain that the rich would be buried in a family room of sorts. In these rooms were paintings off the disciples or of Jesus. Little dishes were carried down to the tomb filled with oil that would light the way.  Towards the end of our tour, our guide took us to one of the most famous rooms. This room was very different than what we have been walking through. This room had vaulted ceilings. On one part was a painting of the last supper about the main tomb. She told us that this tomb was most likely the patriarch of the family. It is hard to put into words how beautiful this room was. How can death be beautiful? As we ascended the steps back to the living, I felt in awe of what I had experienced. I think it is honorable to be able to see where populations past were buried and now are an example to the present.

   Rachel, Jenna, Ali and I had to rush back to the trains station because we were headed out to Barcelona later this evening. We decided to fly out tonight so that we have a full day tomorrow. This will be our first experience flying with RyanAir, the student's discount airline that can either be a dream come true or a nightmare. Now, we have to fly into Girona which is really close to France. Then, we will have to take a 2 hour bus into Barcelona where we will catch the subway to our hostel. This shall be interesting.

Change of Tide

    Have you ever had one of those days when you think that everything will be great but turns for the worse real fast? I have and today is that day. I woke up to the most beautiful skies in Castel Gandolfo so far. I can even see the Mediterranean Sea from my window. Being here, everything seems to speak in a different light. My pictures are loading currently from the weekend trip. I am waiting until we head into Rome for the day. We are headed to Trestevere neighborhood.

    OKay, I knew today was going to be weird. I ended up taking a ten minute shower and took nearly an our to get ready. Most mornings it is the other way around. This was the first day that I did not feel welcomed in Rome. Every time I tried, I seemed to mess something up or get blamed for something else. When we were on the bus, we struck up a conversation with an older lady headed to one of the hospitals to visit family. Danilo took advantage of having an Italian lesson.
    The first church was okay. It was designed in the Byzantine style. The church is well known for the St. Anthony statue. Adorers from around the world write letters to St. Anthony asking for help. Well, since today was about to get worse, I asked for Serenity to accept the day and move on. After our visit at the church we went over to Blue Ice to have gelato. I didn't want any and everyone kept baggering me to get some. Dr. Dubs came over to talk to me and asked what was wrong. I just burst out crying. This was the first time that I did not want to be in Rome. Everything just seemed overwhelming. In the end, I needed a good cry.
    The group ended up splitting up in two: one group went to the Jewish Ghetto and my group went to go buy Dr. Dubs birthday present. Her birthday is coming soon. We headed to the Louis Vitton store since it is her favorite to buy her a small gift. We ended up running into the Colorado couple that we met on the boat to Capri. It was so random. We ended up exchanging emails in hopes that we could see pictures of the shared moment together on the boat. We took a look around and didn't find anything. This day just needs to end.
     Looking back on this day I think that it is important to remember. I think up until this point my head was in the clouds walking around Rome. This brought me back to life or else reality. I needed to have a day like this to remember that one must pay attention every single moment. Catastrophe can happen when least expected. The day did continue to get worse for me......accidental accusing of stealing, turning my back on one of the most holy Madonna statues in Rome, tripping over a valuable set-up, etc......like I said it got worse. Everyone needs a day like this to remind themselves that they are human.