Orvieto, Yesterday's Class, and Ostia Antica Round 2.

Okay, so here are a few pictures from Orvieto:

This is what every other store looked like. I've never seen so much decorated, hand-painted pottery in my life.

I fell in love with this store -- handmade, wooden kitchen supplies! I bought three different kinds of spoons and a cutting board. One of the best decisions ever.

The Duomo in Orvieto.

While we were there, we did the underground cave tour and when we were walking to the side of the hill, this was the view. 

Etruscan underground caves. Apparently they are underneath the entire city and have been used since the 4th century BC.

Little bug on a beautiful flower. :)

I wouldn't mind living in the castle in the background.

Such a gorgeous view.

And here are some pictures from yesterday's class:

The columns inside the Church of Saint Mary of Angels and Martyrs are the original columns standing in their original places from the Baths of Diocletian. It looks like they end at the base, but really they extend another 6 feet below the church. Michelangelo added stucco to the "bottom" so it would appear as if they ended at the base. 

St. Peter's Basilica.

The baldacchino inside.

Selfie in a lookout window at the Castel Sant' Angelo.

The view from on top of the Castel Sant' Angelo.

 Today, we went back to Ostia Antica to look at some of the early cults that formed in Rome. 

The Temple of Hercules, most likely, with a statue of Gaius Cartilius, a mayor for Ostia who was elected eight times.

One meeting place of the cult of Mithras that met in an underground passageway under a bath complex.

The remains of one of the first Christian basilicas in Rome.

Seven Days Till Takeoff Part 2

Well this was supposed to go up yesterday, soo... pretend like I posted this on Tuesday.
I'm pretty sure it seems like I got to Rome a few days ago... Uhh where'd the time go?! It's been a full month and I cannot believe it. We have exactly seven more days left until we return back to good ole 'Merica, and it's such a bittersweet feeling. I'm so excited to get back to all the people I love and care about, yet I'm so sad to leave the city, country, and culture I've fallen in love with. I want to post pictures from yesterday's day trip to Orvieto and today's class; however, uploading pictures to this blog can be super slow and annoying. And since finals are coming up on Saturday, I'm not sure how often I'll be uploading pictures, or blogging for that matter. We have class tomorrow down in Ostia Antica again, and then Thursday and Friday's classes combined on Thursday since public transportation on Friday will not exist. The ATAC (Rome's bus and metro company) workers are doing some sort of strike, I don't know.. Point is, from Thursday night around 9 pm to Friday afternoon, there will likely be no busses or metros running. So Dr. Anderson decided to have two class sessions on Thursday, and I'm perfectly fine with that -- just means I'll get to study more on Friday before two of the three finals scheduled for Saturday. 

Yesterday, we went to Orvieto and I have well over two hundred pictures. It is such a cute little town on top of a mountain. Maybe on Saturday after both of my finals, I'll post pictures from this cute Medieval town. We had such a blast.

Today, we went to the Baths of Diocletian -- the largest imperial baths built, only slightly larger than the Baths of Caracalla. Inside of the ruins exists the Church of Saint Mary of Angels and Martyrs. After that, we traveled to St. Peter's Basilica and got to explore the beautiful basilica designed by many people that took over 200 years to complete. Visiting St. Peter's was by far the most people I've had to deal with on this trip.. even more people there than at the Colosseum it seemed like. When we were done there, Dr. A led us to the Castel Sant' Angelo, or the Castle of the Holy Angel. This used to be the Mausoleum of Trajan and Hadrian. Around Medieval times, it was converted into a lookout post for the Vatican. On the top of the Castel, there is a wonderful view of the city of Rome. I promise I'll post pictures soon though. :)

Septimius Severus Snape.

Okay, everyone on this trip has an obsession with Harry Potter. So of course when we started the Severan dynasty with the emperor Septimius Severus, he inherited the nickname "Septimius Severus Snape." Anyways, other than that, class was kind of boring yesterday. I'm a huge fan of early antiquity, as in the Julio-Claudian and Flavian dynasties, but not late antiquity. 

The Arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman Forum.

It depicts battle scenes, rather than triumphal processional scenes like the Arch of Titus does. There are also personifications of the places that Severus conquered during his campaigns.

Arch of the Money-Changers/Silversmiths/Bankers -- the Latin word "Argentariorum" has a lot of meanings. It was completed in 204 AD, and in the 7th century it was incorporated into the side of the Church of San Giorgio de Velabro.

The Church of San Giorgio de Velabro.

On the night of July 27th, 1993, a car bomb destroyed the facade of the church. It was intended to be somewhere else, but the person had set the timer wrong. They quickly rebuilt the front exactly how it had been. Thank the Lord it was late at night and no one was around or injured -- unlike its original intention.

The Baths of Caracalla.

Caracalla was the son of Septimius Severus who built these baths as an imperial gift to the people. They are massive -- 20 to 24 football fields could fit into these baths! In the front part, they are setting up for the Rome Opera that is held every summer. I wish we could go to a performance, but they don't start until June 30th.

People restoring and fixing the floors of the baths.

I thought this was pretty cool. How awesome would it be to say that you restored something that had been built centuries ago?! ...oh no big deal.

More ruins of the baths.

The Tiber Festival!

Last night, a few of us went to explore the festivities by the river. It was by far one of the coolest things I've been to here. There are restaurants, shops, arcades, and couches lined down the Tiber. They hold it every summer and is a big deal in Rome. It would be a perfect date night spot, just saying.

I got to sleep in this morning and it was a grand feeling!! Nothing interesting happened today for the most part, other than studying for finals.. mehhh. We bought train tickets to Orvieto for tomorrow and I'm really excited to go there. I hear it's absolutely beautiful and the underground caves are really cool. I'm hoping to post pictures tomorrow night when we get back, if it's not too late. Because starting Tuesday, we have four more days of classes left. I cannot believe this trip has gone by this fast. But hey, time flies when you're having fun/the experience of a lifetime!