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Europe, Italy

The Holy See

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Templum Vaticanum Inscription Vatican City

The Holy See is the smallest country in the world with a population of just under 800 people (none of whom are permanent residents) and a total area of 0.2 square miles, but is a mighty site to see! The atmosphere of such a spiritual/religious/historic site as St. Peter’s Basilica is indescribable. It is absolutely gorgeous, and so opulent, and so humbling at the same time. We toured the Basilica for quite a while, just wandering around and staring at everything. Even the Holy Water font at the entrance was beautiful. (ps: had to google that. I knew it wasn’t a Holy Water bowl, but didn’t know what it was called!)

Crossed Keys St Peter’s Basilica Vatican City
Dome of St Peter’s Basilica Vatican City
Holy Water Font St Peter’s Basilica Vatican CIty
There was an interesting plaque on the wall as we were waiting for the elevator to the midway point of the climb to the top of the Dome.

“Praise be Jesus Christ! The elevator will take you into St. Peter’s Basilica, the heart of the Catholic Church. Make sure your clothing and your behaviour are respectful of this sacred place, built around the tomb and the memorial martyrdom of Peter the Apostle. St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius Loyola, St. John Bosco, St. Theresa of Lisieux, S. Maximillian Kolbe, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta all prayed here. May the spirit of the holy pilgrims inspire your prayer and reflection. Peace be with you!”

 There are 320 stairs besides the “lift” to get to the top. The staircase becomes very narrow and the walls actually start curving to match the shape of the dome. Definitely one of the craziest staircase I’ve ever seen. It would be a claustrophobe’s nightmare. When we were planning the trip, I knew one of the dorky things I had to do was send postcards from the Vatican just for the postage stamp. Nuns run a little gift shop with all sorts of religious items at the top of the dome. We bought postcards, stamps, and some gifts.

View from St Peter’s Basilica Vatican City
Interior Stair Well St Peter’s Basilica Vatican City
St Peter’s Square viewed from St Peter’s Basilica Vatican City

After gawking our way through the Basilica, we went through the museum. The double helix spiral staircase in the Vatican Museum is also crazy. One side for ascending and one for descending, and it is LARGE! The Vatican Museum is the richest in the world–not surprising given that it does house the Sistine Chapel. Photos are forbidden inside the Chapel, and there are security guards all over the room to make sure all visitors are compliant.

There were people sneaking photos, but they were promptly scolded, and threatened with eviction–kind of embarrassing in an almost silent room. Tourist ignorance abounds–we saw a woman climbing on a statue in the gardens, and she was viciously yelled at by a guard. Seriously, what kind of ass climbs on a centuries old irreplaceable work of art?!?

Double Helix Stairwell Vatican Museums Vatican City
Madonna and Child Vatican Museum Vatican City
Art Work Vatican Museum Vatican City
Golden Pope Mobile Vatican Museum Vatican City
Art Work Vatican Museum Vatican City
Art Work Vatican Museum Vatican City
Art Work Vatican Museum Vatican City
Golden Pope Mobile Vatican Museum Vatican City

Only after we returned home did I find that I have a familial connection to the Vatican City since the 1600’s. Who knew?!? I’m not Catholic, but I am related to ancient Commanders of the Pontifical Swiss Guard (*scroll down, find my old last name and you’ll see what I mean. Just bizarre!) I find the Swiss Guard costume comical. Is there a sane reason why they have to wear clown suits?

Swiss Guard Vatican City
Swiss Guard Vatican City

Everything about the Vatican was impressive. The art work, the architecture, the obscene opulence, and sense of spirituality from the worshippers–there is so much more that I could write about, but I wouldn’t do it justice.

Visit for yourself, and you’ll see what I mean!
Europe, France

Iconic

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Charles de Gaulle étoile Paris
*Not my photo; I can’t remember where it is from.

One night we started walking the Champs-Élysées with the intention of ending up at the Arc de Triomphe. There is so much traffic on the roadways of the Charles de Gaulle étoile that there is an underground pathway to get to the Arc.

Word on the internets is that motorists are not always insured for accidents that occur on the étoile. Insurance companies might cover each parties losses regardless of who is at fault as long as each company agrees to pay for their own client. So confusing. (ps: I stole the ariel photo from the internet, and can’t remember where to give credit to the photographer.)

We had to climb stairs to the top of the Arc. Surprise Surprise! The view was pretty good, but limited with some haze in the sky. The sparkly Eiffel Tower still looks gorgeous. I could have taken a hundred photos of just the Tower. Sadly, I wasn’t able to take any good photos of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, but did get a few of the Arc itself.

Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower
Europe, France

Paris: Musée du Louvre

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Edmé Bouchardon's Barberini Faun, Louvre Paris
Edmé Bouchardon’s Barberini Faun

The Louvre was phenomenal! It is the largest and most visited museum in the world, and after spending an entire day there, it is easy to see why. Yes, it seems odd to take photos of art, but it would have been impossible to remember everything we saw. The building itself is unbelievable. Even the elevator is interesting. But, it isn’t just the walls, or the paintings, or the sculptures–the ceilings are elaborately decorated, and even the very rooms for displaying the works are perfectly set. Loved it, would go back in a heart beat.

There were tons of people in the museum, a lot were on speedy little tours to the Nike of Samothrace, the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa and then off to their next touristy destination. We had a good 8 hours at least to wander around. I know whole-heartedly that I didn’t see everything the Louvre has to offer, but I did make a good dent in it, and saw exactly what I wanted to which was perfect. I found the sculpture and European art most aesthetically pleasing. The detail in some of the pieces was insane.

Nike of Samothrace
Venus de Milo
Vénus de Praxitèle
Napoléon 1er en costume du Sacre
Philopoemen
Philopoemen
Sleeve detail
Detail – Le Comte Stanislas Félix Potoki et ses deux fils
The most ironic room I found was the room with the Mona Lisa. Obviously, the Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in the world. It is small, walled off by ropes, and covered with thick bullet proof glass. At the opposite end of the room is a MASSIVE painting maybe a half dozen people were looking at. Literally hundreds of people were jostling for a glimpse of the Mona Lisa. I didn’t fight with the sea of people to take a photo. (That one is Jon’s).
The Mona Lisa, Musée du Louvre Paris
Fighting for a glimpse of The Mona Lisa
La Noces de Cana, Musée du Louvre Paris
La Noces de Cana – opposite the Mona Lisa, and no on is even looking. It is the largest painting in the Louvre’s collection!
Europe, France

Versailles: I love Paris in the spring time!

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Palace of Versailles, Paris FranceOne of the best parts of our vacation was the two days we went to Versailles. We went more than once because it was so amazing. The Château de Versailles is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it is well worth the 30 minute train ride outside of Paris.

The first trip we toured through the Château and part of the grounds. It wouldn’t be possible to tour through the entire grounds even if you had a whole week. The second trip we managed to cover more of the gardens. Thanks to the interwebs, I have Versailles vu du ciel for you. Gotta love satellite imagery.

One of my favorite movies was filmed at Versailles. So before you start shuddering, I too, do not like Kirsten Dunst, but I LOVED the movie Marie Antoinette. I suppose it helps if you like the history of it all, and know some background of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

The weather was cooperative, so we ended up with some great photos, several hundred at least. Obviously I’m not going to upload all of them; you only get a few.  If only we’d been able to see the fountains and gardens at their peak.  Even during the winter/spring the palace grounds were gorgeous, and meticulously maintained.

See for yourself,
~j

England, Europe, United Kingdom

British Museums

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Squatzi London PassVisiting the British Museum in London is free, and it is absolutely worth the time. (The website has A History of the World in 100 Objects which is pretty cool.) We wandered the entire museum. A few of the high lites – The Rosetta Stone, the Hoa Hakananai’a, Egyptian Art & Mummies. The museum even has a Haida Totem Pole from BC. We also went to the Natural History Museum, and the Tate Modern which are also free. I’d have to say of the three, the British Museum was the best by far.

During our shortened stay in London we managed to visit several other sites as well. Tower Bridge and Tower of London were interesting. And, the HMS Belfast The Imperial War Museum was kind of neat to see, but there were a trillion school kids on the ship with us and they were not well behaved! All of them were wearing their little school uniforms running around like little psychos all over the ship.

London BridgeThe most mundane part about London that was also one of the best=Marks & Spencer food shops. We need more grocery/food opportunities like this in Canada. M&S has outstanding policies for a retailer. Here’s a quote from their site:

We launched Plan A in January 2007, setting out 100 commitments to achieve in 5 years. We’ve now extended Plan A to 180 commitments to achieve by 2015, with the ultimate goal of becoming the world’s most sustainable major retailer.

Through Plan A we are working with our customers and our suppliers to combat climate change, reduce waste, use sustainable raw materials, trade ethically, and help our customers to lead healthier lifestyles.

I don’t know if shoppers actually appreciate that the food has no GMO’s, or that M&S support fair trade, but it was kind of refreshing. If we had not had to deal with the whole passport fiasco, and actually been able to enjoy another day in London, I’m sure we would have seen so much more.
Europe, France, Italy

European Graffiti

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I started collecting photos of graffiti in Paris. There was no shortage for the rest of the trip. My preference is for the stencils–not that it takes as much effort to spray a stencil as it does to spray a huge wall of street art; I just like them better. Parisian graffiti was pretty mellow for the most part. Italian graffiti had some serious anti-Bush sentiment. See if you can tell the difference.
Europe, Italy

Orvieto Duomo

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Orvieto DuomoWe went to A LOT of churches on the trip. Most were absolutely amazing, but none were quite as fanciful as the Orvieto Duomo (at least on the outside–clearly St. Peter’s Basilica is way fancier on the inside!).

Wikipedia has some learning for you. Abridged version–the Duomo is very glittery; when the sun shines on the front it is gorgeous. Story goes, that in Bolsena, Italy, a traveling priest doubted the transubstantiation as occurs in the Eucharist. His Host began bleeding, bled more, and stained the alter cloth. Upon seeing this miracle, the priest’s faith was restored. This alter cloth is now stored in the Duomo. During Corpus Christi celebrations, the Corporal of Bolsena is displayed on parade around the city.

Now after this Catechism lesson, here’s for the science believers! (Straight from Wikipedia, so you know it is true!)

It is only within the last ten years that the Academies of Science would not have been sorely puzzled to explain so strange a phenomenon. Now, no one thinks of denying it, since the discovery of a microscopic fungus, the spores of which having germinated in the meal or dough, offer the appearance of clotted blood.
Le Jardin de l’Epicure, Anatole France
Orvieto was exactly what we needed after the horrible experience we had in Venice. There was so much to do and see in such a little place. We toured the Orvieto underground, went to St. Patrick’s Well, shopped, had amazing gelato, and a fantastic hotel room. If you’re going to Italy–stopping in Orvieto is a must!
Orvieto Duomo
Orvieto Duomo
Orvieto Duomo
Orvieto Duomo