The Grateful Dead

Friday afternoon Bonnie and I went on a touristic excursion. We decide to wing it and knew we would just stumble upon something interesting. We ended up at the Forum and snuck in through the exit of the Palatine Hill. It was a beautiful day so we decided what would be better than seeing a crypt decorated with bones. We met up with Sasha and headed on our way. Good thing we did not eat before entering the crypt because we were all nauseas once we had left. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures. It was a little disturbing to say the least. According to Capuchin rule, monks were not allowed to be buried therefore this lovely arrangement was their creative way to get around the statute. The walls were decorated with bones and skulls of deceased Capuchin monks collected from over 100 years. There were bone chandeliers and intricate patterns covering the floor. We walked out with a loss of words.

Just some pictures before the crypt

Missed the Ring and Kissed the Hand

Saturday was a big day for Vatican City. It was the Consistory of Cardinals. I wasn't able to get tickets to the event, however I did something equally as cool. For a few hours, there were courtesy visits to the new Cardinals. My fellow Catholic friend Kyle and I wandered down the Vatican a little after 4 for the Vatican meet-and-greet. As you can imagine it was a little crowded, but with some American style line maneuvering we were inside the Vatican. We just got in a line not knowing who exactly we were meeting, but we figured whoever we met would be an important person to introduce ourselves to. This time we weren't entering through the Basilica doors, we were entering the Pope's residence building. We walked through the side doors I have seen many times before, but never imagine I would ever walk through them. I was in awe. Kyle and I were like little kids in one of the coolest playgrounds ever. Every turn we made we both gasped in amazement. We walked up the ornate staircase into a series of rooms I never knew existed. My jaw literally dropped.

 Once we settled down a bit we realized we had to introduce ourselves to newly elected Cardinals. We were freaking out. We had no idea what to do. The first Cardinal we met was Cardinal Monteiro de Castro. Based on the Spanish being spoken around us we assumed he was from Spain. Wrong. He was the former Archbishop of Lisbon. We had no idea what to do. What do you say? How do you address them? Do you kneel? Do you shake their hand? We let others go in front of us so we could see how to act. Everyone did something different! Some people kissed his ring. Others hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. We were clueless. We were so desperate we even asked a Swiss Guard what to do. The moment came and I awkwardly shook his hand with both of my hands. I think he sensed my nervousness.  He was kind enough to chat with us for a bit which made it less terrifying. We continued through the rooms and came across some more Cardinals. The same emotions of nervousness took over. Did we offend the last one? What do we do?!?! Apparently the next Cardinal was of important stature. Everyone in front of us knelt down and kissed his ring. We were freaking out. It was my turn and I had no control over what my body was doing. I missed the ring and kissed his hand. Kyle made the same mistake too. Cardinal Versaldi knew we were from America, shook his head and blessed us. We were too embarrassed to take a picture with him. We quickly scurried off. The anxiety from meeting the Cardinals was exhausting, so we settled on exploring our surroundings for the rest of the evening. After walking around every square inch we were allowed to, our visit ended in the courtyard of the Pope's Residence. It was an incredible experience. I was in amazement each minute I was there. 

 Our entrance for the day

Check out that view

The Courtyard

Just meeting some Cardinals

An important embrace

Oopsies...

The Cardinals in the rooms we entered

Unbelievable

A Nice Little Bike Ride Through the Park

This weekend we were finally back in Rome therefore we wanted to do all the touristy things we don't have time for during the week. We probably should have planned our outing a little better. The three main things we wanted to see were all closed due to the time we arrived. We should have known better, but oh well we still had an amazing day. The day started off with another visit to the Spanish Steps. We had to force ourselves to leave. I could have stayed and sat there for hours. We reluctantly continued our journey. We lost track of time at the Spanish Steps and by the time we reached our first tourist destination, it was closed for the afternoon until 4:30. We faced the same problem with our next stop.

After two failed attempts, we would give the last thing on our list a try; Villa Borghese. We never made it into the Galleria as planned, but in my opinion we did something better. The four of us rented a surrey bike to use as our mode of transportation around the beautiful gardens. It was a brilliant idea, and extremely fun. We pedaled around to see the horse track, the Temple of Diana, and other gorgeous things the Borghese family owned. We were quite the spectacle as you can imagine, four girls laughing, riding, and obnoxiously ringing the bell whenever someone was in our way. We quickly pedaled by the Galleria, stopped, and were ambushed with laughter and tourist photographers. Because of the scene we created, we decided it was best to visit the Galleria another day. The gardens of Villa Borghese became our playground. I never thought I could have so much fun in such a historical setting. 

The Spanish Steps

Our ride for the day

Temple of Diana

Just hanging out Borghese Style

A Valentine's Day Coincidence

On Tuesday, Christina and I decided we would take a brief excursion before our classes began for the day. Last week I was telling her how I wanted to be like Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday and put my hand in the Bocca della Vierta, "The Mouth of Truth". She had gone there for her on-site class recently, so she agreed to be my tour guide. We meandered over and waited in line to take our picture with some Italian school children. I got to have my Audrey Hepburn moment. It was brief, but I still got it. After snapping the photo, we wandered inside the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, the building the mouth is attached to. While walking around the church I noticed a box containing a skull in a chapel on the left-hand side. I looked and saw that the box contained the relics of St. Valentine. What a coincidence! On Valentine's Day, I find the remains of the saint the day is named after! Who would have thought? It was an interesting start to the day.

The Temple of Hercules, located across the road from the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin 

It didn't bite my hand off, great sign

St. Valentine on his special day

Ponte Rotto, the "Broken Bridge"

The Heartrending Trip to Auschwitz

On Saturday the large group of us took a tour of the Auschwitz and Auschwitz- Birkenau concentration camps. As you could imagine, it was an extremely emotional and unbelievable today. The tour began shortly after 10:30, and we were led to the entrance of the mother camp. As we entered we were greeted with the large gate stating "Arbeit Macht Frei" meaning "Works brings Freedom"; the misleading sign of fate for those who saw it. Some of the barracks in this camp have been turned into exhibits. In these barracks we were shown the thousands of glasses, shoes, suitcases, back braces and prosthetic legs, and other valuables the Jews and other prisoners were forced to leave on the platform once they arrived. After seeing these valuables from what the prisoners called "Canada" (a land they thought was full of prosperity and wealth), we moved on to see hundreds of pounds of hair that were shaved off all of the prisoners. It was mortifying. The Germans would use the human hair for rugs and other things. We continued our tour through the barracks and stopped between Block 10 and 11. In between these two blocks is the infamous "Wall of Death". It is here where the Germans would ruthlessly shoot prisoners. It made my heart ache. Then we went through Block 11. In Block 11, prisoners were kept waiting to be led to the "Wall". The tour continued through the basement of Block 11 where prisoners were kept in cells with no windows or standing cells with at least three or four other people. After the barrack tours we were lead to the remaining crematorium. This was not only disturbing, but one of the most vile things I have ever seen. I could not wrap my mind around it all.
After the tour of Auschwitz I, we took the bus over to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the three camps that make up the Auschwitz complex. It is here where over a million people met their fate. The moment I still cannot shake from my thoughts is when we were led from the platform to the largest crematorium. We walked the same steps thousands of Jews walked as soon as they were told they were unfit for work. We walked the same steps they walked to their death. The living conditions here were indescribable. I cannot even imagine what they went through. I had four layers of clothing on, and by the end of the day I could not feel my feet. I cannot even begin to fathom what it was like with minimal clothing, no shoes, 750 calories worth of food a day, and the wrath of SS officers.
The images from our trip to Auschwitz have not left my thoughts. My mind is still processing all of the horror that I saw. Although it was awful to see everything, it truly gave me an appreciation for how wonderful my life is. I have no reason to complain ever again. I will continue to count the endless blessings I have been given.


Here are a few pictures from the camps. If you would like to see more you can e-mail me.

"Work brings Freedom"

Back braces and prosthetic legs taken upon arrival

The "Wall of Death"

Auschwitz-Birkenau

The Memorial to all those who died at Auschwitz

The barracks in Auschwitz-Birkenau

Schindler's List

After meandering around the city and seeing the Old Town and Jewish District, we headed to see the museum at Oscar Schindler's enamel factory. We crossed the river from the walls of the Jewish District to the factory, the same walk many Jews were thankful to make. The museum entitled Krakow under Nazi Occupation 1939-1945 is located in the administrative building of Schindler's factory. The whole factory is no longer still in tact, but the original entrance gate, staircases, and Oskar Schindler's office remain. The museum presents the history of Krakow's inhabitants, both Jewish and Polish, of Oskar Schindler, and of the prisoners of the Plaszow Concentration Camp he managed to save. The museum walks you through the years of the occupation in Krakow depicting what life was like via thematic units. In one of the exhibits you walk down cobblestone streets with Nazi flags hanging above you, just as the people of Krakow were forced to do on a daily basis. In another exhibit you are closed in by the "tombstone walls" just as the Jews were enclosed in the Jewish ghetto. Along the walls are excerpts describing life in the ghetto. One of the more emotional parts was watching interviews with people who were employed by Oskar Schindler at his factory. To hear them talk about how he saved them from the death camps and their eternal gratefulness was incredibly moving. It was important we visited the museum before we went to Auschwitz because it gave us a fuller understanding of the hardships going on in interwar Krakow under Nazi occupation.

The city-center exhibit (mentioned above)

Schindler's original office

Schindler's list of names

Krakow!

This past weekend a group of us hopped over to Krakow, Poland for the weekend. Once I had on my tights, yoga pants, jeans, 2 sweaters, 3 pairs of socks, 2 scarves, hat, gloves, and coat I was ready to brace the bitter cold Krakow had in store for us (and it was still cold). We arrived in the morning after taking a lovely 6:30 am flight. We had the whole day to explore the Polish city. First stop was the hostel, which was fantastic! The people there loved us because we were American (quite the rarity). In fact, one of the hostesses is coming to visit all of us here in Rome in March. I guess we made a good impression.
After a quick power nap, Bonnie, Christina, Sasha, and I were off to see Krakow. The exploration began with the area known as Old Town. This area is the historical center of Krakow due to its medieval roots. Then we trekked across town to the Jewish District. This is the area that was known as the Jewish ghetto during Nazi occupation. Here is where all the Jews were forced to live before they were taken away to various concentration camps. It was an eerie feeling walking around this part of town. We stumbled upon the Jewish cemetery and original Hebrew Learning Center. Some of the barricading walls were still intact. We had to take a break from the cold and warm up in a quaint coffee house in the Jewish District. It is in that coffee house I tasted the best carrot cake of my life. I must find it again. It was a nice moment to sit and soak in our historical and emotional surroundings. From here it was appropriate we continued our journey to Oskar Schindler's factory.

Despite the cold, I thoroughly enjoyed Krakow, Poland. It was beautiful, had delicious food, and the people were incredibly friendly. I really hope that I can find my way back there someday to see more of the rich culture and history the city has. I feel like I barely scratched the surface.

Market Square

The precious streets of Krakow

St. Mary's Basilica

Jewish cemetery within the Jewish District

Perogies, Perogies, and More Perogies

My search for the ultimate comfort food has come to an end. I have found what I have spent my life looking for; Polish food. I have never eaten anything so filling and delicious as I did this past weekend in Krakow. Everything I ate from goulash, potato pancakes, to jelly-filled donuts was absolutely delicious. My mouth was never disappointed. When we arrived in Poland I hadn't the slightest clue what Polish cuisine entailed. I quickly learned it was cheap and amazing. After a long day of traveling and exploring on Friday, we stopped at a precious little Polish restaurant for dinner. Between the four of us (Christina, Bonnie, Sasha, and I) we ordered quite the schmorgasbord of food: meat and cabbage perogies, stroganoff, goulash, steak with horseradish, stuffed pork, and of course extra-large sized Polish beer. We ate like royalty for a ridiculously cheap price. It was the first time since I have been in Europe that I wasn't licking my plate trying to get the last scrap. As my mom says, I was satiated. Over the two days we were there we only consumed two meals and didn't need any more than that. We were always stuffed. The tastes were things I had never had before. I already miss the food and I just got back this morning. 

One of the two plates of perogies

Goulash, potato pancakes, cabbage, and some french fries

The best (and only authentic) stroganoff I have ever had

The small sized beers