Well, I've concluded that St. Peter's deserves its very own posting in this blog because it is absolutely marvelous. This is the biggest Basilica in Rome and absolutely marvelous. The way the light comes in through the domes is spectacular.
And the scale is absolutely enormous! The place is huge! Despite my lack of adequate funds for the trip, I decided to make the purchase to climb the steps for 4 euros. You get to climb up and see the interior of the dome and also the exterior of the very top of the Dome.
Unfortunately, the interior viewpoint was covered by a protective grid to keep people from falling in. It also prevented me of taking any pictures that were decent, either of the dome or the floor below. Anyways, I continued to the very top, where I could see the rest of the Vatican City and most of Rome as well. It was the best view in Town.
The only problem was, it was STIFLINGLY HOT! Climbing through a VERY narrow passageway, one could feel the walls and floors were wet with the sweat dripping off the thousands of people fililng through the tunnels. Not a pleasant line to stand in!
But the view is definitely worth it at the top.
The interior of the church was also very inspiring. There isn't anything I can say that would truly do it justice. It definitely ranks as the greatest building I've ever seen, if not the biggest.
St. Peter's is DEFINITELY the highlight of my time in Rome.
Tomorrow, I'm gonna have a little change of pace, when I go to the sleepy little resort village of Amalfi, which is down south near Naples. I intend to catch up on all that sleep that I never get in Japan or anywhere else for that matter.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Climbing the Dome
Well, I've concluded that St. Peter's deserves its very own posting in this blog because it is absolutely marvelous. This is the biggest Basilica in Rome and absolutely marvelous. The way the light comes in through the domes is spectacular.
And the scale is absolutely enormous! The place is huge! Despite my lack of adequate funds for the trip, I decided to make the purchase to climb the steps for 4 euros. You get to climb up and see the interior of the dome and also the exterior of the very top of the Dome.
Unfortunately, the interior viewpoint was covered by a protective grid to keep people from falling in. It also prevented me of taking any pictures that were decent, either of the dome or the floor below. Anyways, I continued to the very top, where I could see the rest of the Vatican City and most of Rome as well. It was the best view in Town.
The only problem was, it was STIFLINGLY HOT! Climbing through a VERY narrow passageway, one could feel the walls and floors were wet with the sweat dripping off the thousands of people fililng through the tunnels. Not a pleasant line to stand in!
But the view is definitely worth it at the top.
The interior of the church was also very inspiring. There isn't anything I can say that would truly do it justice. It definitely ranks as the greatest building I've ever seen, if not the biggest.
St. Peter's is DEFINITELY the highlight of my time in Rome.
Tomorrow, I'm gonna have a little change of pace, when I go to the sleepy little resort village of Amalfi, which is down south near Naples. I intend to catch up on all that sleep that I never get in Japan or anywhere else for that matter.
And the scale is absolutely enormous! The place is huge! Despite my lack of adequate funds for the trip, I decided to make the purchase to climb the steps for 4 euros. You get to climb up and see the interior of the dome and also the exterior of the very top of the Dome.
Unfortunately, the interior viewpoint was covered by a protective grid to keep people from falling in. It also prevented me of taking any pictures that were decent, either of the dome or the floor below. Anyways, I continued to the very top, where I could see the rest of the Vatican City and most of Rome as well. It was the best view in Town.
The only problem was, it was STIFLINGLY HOT! Climbing through a VERY narrow passageway, one could feel the walls and floors were wet with the sweat dripping off the thousands of people fililng through the tunnels. Not a pleasant line to stand in!
But the view is definitely worth it at the top.
The interior of the church was also very inspiring. There isn't anything I can say that would truly do it justice. It definitely ranks as the greatest building I've ever seen, if not the biggest.
St. Peter's is DEFINITELY the highlight of my time in Rome.
Tomorrow, I'm gonna have a little change of pace, when I go to the sleepy little resort village of Amalfi, which is down south near Naples. I intend to catch up on all that sleep that I never get in Japan or anywhere else for that matter.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Guy in Rome does as the Tourists Do!!
Hello everyone,
Your favorite Roman Holidayer is still reeling from the heat in this city! Its really hot here! If anybody reading this is considering coming to Rome, CONSIDER COMING IN MARCH. Yesterday I went on a guided tour of the Vatican City, where I saw just about everything there was to see in the Vatican. The Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's.They also took me to see the Basilica of St. Mary the Major and the Basilica of St. John.
I have to say, I was honestly a little disappointed in the Sistine Chapel. The paintings on the ceiling especially were quite a bit smaller than I had imagined them to be. I honestly thought they would be a bit larger and easier to see. I didn't think I would be squinting and wishing I'd brought my glasses. It didn't help also that there were WAY too many people crowded into the place.
But the Last Judgment definitely lived up to its reputation. Much easier to see than the scenes of Genesis on the ceiling, it was awsome. Perhaps its one of those places you have to see again and again in order to truly appreciate.
The Basilica of St. Mary the Major and St. John were honestly more enjoyable experiences. St. John's Basilica was especially great, with fantastic statues depicting all the Apostles. It was also equipped with an enormous Bronze door dating from the second century. The Basilica of St. Mary the Major had a fantastic gold covered ceiling and 2 beautifully decorated chapels off to the side. Both were much larger than the sistine chapel, and with imposing sets of pillars and columns both outside and inside, they were much more interesting to walk around in.
The tour took a turn for the morbid when we stopped at a complex of catacombs! This was another highlight, if only because it was nice and cool underground. I learned some interesting things about the catacombs, including that they were in use and being built much longer than I had originally thought. Even as late as the 7th century, people were still ocassionally being buried in them, although at this point it was an oddity. They were only in regular use until about the 4th or 5th century. They also were not the secretive places they have the reputation of being, where Christians would hide out to escape the persecution of the Romans. They existed before and after Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire.
They were not the scary places you see in Indiana Jones either. No spiderwebs and rats running around. They were tunneled through a type of volcanic rock layer. Some of the tombs even had frescoes painted into them.
Am I the only one who was slightly disapointed with the Sistine Chapel? Not to say that I didn't like the place, because I definitely was impressed. But I think maybe its a bit over rated. Perhaps I wrote one too many papers about the place in High School or College classes and brought all sorts of high expectations. What do you guys think? If you've seen the Sistine Chapel, was it overrated? Post a comment below or send me an email.
Stay tuned for my next day in Rome, which will include a viewing of Michelangelo's sculpture of Moses! And if this heat keeps up, an afternoon in the hotel taking cold showers!
Your favorite Roman Holidayer is still reeling from the heat in this city! Its really hot here! If anybody reading this is considering coming to Rome, CONSIDER COMING IN MARCH. Yesterday I went on a guided tour of the Vatican City, where I saw just about everything there was to see in the Vatican. The Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's.They also took me to see the Basilica of St. Mary the Major and the Basilica of St. John.
I have to say, I was honestly a little disappointed in the Sistine Chapel. The paintings on the ceiling especially were quite a bit smaller than I had imagined them to be. I honestly thought they would be a bit larger and easier to see. I didn't think I would be squinting and wishing I'd brought my glasses. It didn't help also that there were WAY too many people crowded into the place.
But the Last Judgment definitely lived up to its reputation. Much easier to see than the scenes of Genesis on the ceiling, it was awsome. Perhaps its one of those places you have to see again and again in order to truly appreciate.
The Basilica of St. Mary the Major and St. John were honestly more enjoyable experiences. St. John's Basilica was especially great, with fantastic statues depicting all the Apostles. It was also equipped with an enormous Bronze door dating from the second century. The Basilica of St. Mary the Major had a fantastic gold covered ceiling and 2 beautifully decorated chapels off to the side. Both were much larger than the sistine chapel, and with imposing sets of pillars and columns both outside and inside, they were much more interesting to walk around in.
The tour took a turn for the morbid when we stopped at a complex of catacombs! This was another highlight, if only because it was nice and cool underground. I learned some interesting things about the catacombs, including that they were in use and being built much longer than I had originally thought. Even as late as the 7th century, people were still ocassionally being buried in them, although at this point it was an oddity. They were only in regular use until about the 4th or 5th century. They also were not the secretive places they have the reputation of being, where Christians would hide out to escape the persecution of the Romans. They existed before and after Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire.
They were not the scary places you see in Indiana Jones either. No spiderwebs and rats running around. They were tunneled through a type of volcanic rock layer. Some of the tombs even had frescoes painted into them.
Am I the only one who was slightly disapointed with the Sistine Chapel? Not to say that I didn't like the place, because I definitely was impressed. But I think maybe its a bit over rated. Perhaps I wrote one too many papers about the place in High School or College classes and brought all sorts of high expectations. What do you guys think? If you've seen the Sistine Chapel, was it overrated? Post a comment below or send me an email.
Stay tuned for my next day in Rome, which will include a viewing of Michelangelo's sculpture of Moses! And if this heat keeps up, an afternoon in the hotel taking cold showers!
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Oh Yeah, and....Rome Is Pretty Dirty!
I forgot to mention, Rome is also kind of dirty. And everybody smokes all the time, everywhere, so you are constantly walking around in cigarette butts.
Jettlagged Day in the Eternal City
After a long flight I have finally landed in Rome, arguably one of the most interesting cities in the world. The flight was rather uneventful, consisting of a layover in Malaysia.
However, my first impressions of Rome include the following: 1. This city is extrordinarily hot! Its too hot to keep pounding the pavement and seeing sights. I managed to visit the Coluseum, the Palatine Hill, and the Trevi Fountain before giving up. I had to make 3 stops for water and 2 stops for ice cream to fight the heat. I think I may skip some sight seeing on my last day in Rome and make a trip to the beach.
I got yelled at by some fascist cop for dipping my feet in the Trevi Fountain (everybody else was doing it too). Otherwise, it was a very pretty fountain, in a very pretty area. The Colluseum would have been nicer, if it werent so hot!!
Anyways, I'll be on a guided tour of the vatican tomorrow.
However, my first impressions of Rome include the following: 1. This city is extrordinarily hot! Its too hot to keep pounding the pavement and seeing sights. I managed to visit the Coluseum, the Palatine Hill, and the Trevi Fountain before giving up. I had to make 3 stops for water and 2 stops for ice cream to fight the heat. I think I may skip some sight seeing on my last day in Rome and make a trip to the beach.
I got yelled at by some fascist cop for dipping my feet in the Trevi Fountain (everybody else was doing it too). Otherwise, it was a very pretty fountain, in a very pretty area. The Colluseum would have been nicer, if it werent so hot!!
Anyways, I'll be on a guided tour of the vatican tomorrow.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Belly Button Weekly Caption Contest
Hey everybody,
In an effort to make this more exciting, I've decided to do a weekly caption contest! You have the option to post a response stating your proposed caption! I'm going to give you some examples for this one, so you all get the idea. The captions should be posted in the "comments" link that is just down below to the right of this post.
OK now, everybody write funny captions! Let me know what u think of this idea!
Everybody do the Visited Countries Listings!
This is a list of the countries that I have visited for more than a day. I stopped in the airport in New Guinea, but that doesn't count. Everybody do this and lets take a look at where everyone has been! Send your results to me! You can see the map! You can do it yourself on this website!
This was an idea I stole from Brenden Pitt. He's currently ahead of me, but I'll be catching up with him this summer when I go to Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. WHERE DO YOU STAND?
Ohse Park Cactus House
Yesterday, I went to the cactus house at Ohse Park to see a familiar site. I took my friend Kame there to see the cactus they have on display there. Here are some pictures of the cactus. Most of the cactus on display were from Mexico, but some were from South America and even a few from Africa. A few looked like they belonged in a science fiction movie or something. Here's some pictures for you.
Also, I've been getting ready for Italy Summer 2006! I'm going to Italy, Belgium and possibly Amsterdam. I'll spend 2 weeks alone traveling in Rome, the Amalfi Coast, and Valle d'Aosta near the North. Then I meet up with my Dad and we'll go through the Cinque Terra, hiking between different towns nestled in the cliffs on the West Coast. Should be good fun! After that, my Dad and I are going to see most of Florence.
When my Dad returns to the US, I'll be visiting my friend Pat up in Belgium. A German-American living in Brussels, Pat works for a NATO Day Camp program. In Brussels, I'm going to see the much hyped "carpet of flowers" festival, as well as visit the NATO base with Pat. Pat and I also have loose plans to go on up to Amsterdam for a day or 2.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Lazy Day in Koriyama
Today, I was happy to "park it" for awhile here at my house. The last 3 weeks or so have been rather hectic. This morning I woke up late, only to have the power shut off for most of the morning while some utility poles were fixed.
I called my mom, and then called my friend Pat in Belgium to discuss my upcoming tour of Belgium. He works with a kid's Day Camp on the Nato Base, and it looks like I'll be able to go on a field trip with him and his kids. He said its a very multi-lingual group, so it should be interesting.
Then, this evening, I went to the gym for an hour or so, and had ice cream afterwards with my friend Ikua. They have a Baskin Robbins here in town, and it was packed.
Anyways, since there wasn't much of anything interesting happening today, I thought I'd leave you with a funny picture or something, so here it is.
I'm also adding a couple new links to check out. You can now visit my friend Tom's website
or my friend Dan's blog. I bear no responsibility for the content of either of these websites, and have only just visited them myself. Seriously though, Tom and Dan are both English teachers here in Koriyama and might be of interest.
Friday, July 07, 2006
My 1/2 Marathon in 二本松!!!
これは私のブログです。私は時々日本語で練習して書きます。私の生徒のためにも日本語で書きます。７月２日では二本松町のロードレースをしました。ハーフマラソン２１㎞走りました。 ロードレースは難しかったよ。最初の半分は急な上りでした。疲れた。二本松は田舎ですね。雨が降りませんでしたしかし曇り空でした。二本松はすごい緑ですよ。
Well, I don't know if this is going to work or not, but the above is a brief description of my 1/2 Marathon in Nihonmatsu. While I can speak Japanese pretty well after two years, I still have very limited reading and writing skills. Japanese has 2 syllabary alphabets that I know well enough, but unfortunately they are only used for grammar and children's books. The writing system primarily uses characters derived from Chinese, and I've been putting off studying them for a long time. So, from time to time, for my own benefit in learning the writing system as well as any students that might be reading, I'm going to be writing some Japanese.
As for the 1/2 Marathon, It was a lot more difficult than I expected. I'll get the timesheet in the mail soon, but I finished 10 minutes later than my goal. I crossed the finish line after one hour and 41 minutes. It was a pretty good day for racing. Thick grey clouds threatened rain, but kept me cool during the run. Nihonmatsu is a very pretty area, filled with thick cedar forests and green rice fields over rugged rolling hills.
The problem was that the entire first half of the race was uphill!! It was exausting!! If it was flat, I bet I could've gotten a better time. Runners, is 1:41 a good time for a half marathon?
I'll have pictures soon.
Well, I don't know if this is going to work or not, but the above is a brief description of my 1/2 Marathon in Nihonmatsu. While I can speak Japanese pretty well after two years, I still have very limited reading and writing skills. Japanese has 2 syllabary alphabets that I know well enough, but unfortunately they are only used for grammar and children's books. The writing system primarily uses characters derived from Chinese, and I've been putting off studying them for a long time. So, from time to time, for my own benefit in learning the writing system as well as any students that might be reading, I'm going to be writing some Japanese.
As for the 1/2 Marathon, It was a lot more difficult than I expected. I'll get the timesheet in the mail soon, but I finished 10 minutes later than my goal. I crossed the finish line after one hour and 41 minutes. It was a pretty good day for racing. Thick grey clouds threatened rain, but kept me cool during the run. Nihonmatsu is a very pretty area, filled with thick cedar forests and green rice fields over rugged rolling hills.
The problem was that the entire first half of the race was uphill!! It was exausting!! If it was flat, I bet I could've gotten a better time. Runners, is 1:41 a good time for a half marathon?
I'll have pictures soon.
Last Saturday's International Day
Sorry, I am so late with updating this, but I have been busier than I've ever been in my entire life.
Last Saturday, my friend Jake and I decided to go to Asaka Kaisei High School's International Festival. The school invites people from as many countries as they can to do seminars on games, cooking, culture, international and cultural understanding and other things. A number of the schools here have this festival.
Originally being promised an opportunity to teach students to make traditional American Deserts, My friend Jake and I were disapointed when we were told to do "games." Not knowing what they had in mind, we taught the kids poker. I was a blackjack dealer, and my friend Jake taught 5 card draw. Being my first time dealing black jack, I wasn't very good at it, but caught on quickly enough.
Following Lunch, they herded everyone to the gym were each group was supposed to give a description or demonstration of what they did or learned. We weren't sure what to say or do on stage, so Jake gave a brief description and handed the mic to me. Not sure what to say, I made a few jokes from the peanut gallery, and took a picture. I think it is the first candid picture of an audience from a stage that I have ever seen. It was quite funny, and all the students laughed, but I'm sure everyone was thinking "What's up with this weirdo?"
After the obscenely long set of speeches, I met up with Hazuki, who was one of my best students at Mihota Chu last year. I joined her soccer team for their practice after everything was done. Even on weekends, Japanese Middle School and High School students still go to their school clubs and practice for 2 to 4 hours every day.
Hazuki is pictured here, as well as the Asaka crowd, and Stephanie, Anila and Tracy, who teach in the local High Schools.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Yamadera Last Week
Last week, I promised to write about my fantastic trip to Yamadera, which is a Buddhist monastery in Yamagata, in the mountains north of me. Well, it was quite nice. It had that wonderful feeling of "I'm in some fantastic whimsical Martial Arts film."
The place is actually a Buddhist Monastery of some significance, but succumbs to tourists like many others wonderful places. Its still quite impressive though. You begin by climbing steps up the side of a mountain. Soon, you come out to the top to find all these buildings nestled into a steep ravine. One shrine sits out on a ledge, as you can see in the picture.
It would be a fantastic place to visit again. I'd like to photograph it early in the morning. Anyways, here's the pictures.
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