Easter Sunday and the Via Appia

Last weekend we had a four day weekend because of Easter! We had Friday off and Meagan and I spent the day shopping and relaxing. Then on Saturday a group of us went down to Ostia Antica to sit on the beach and enjoy the sun. Then on Sunday for Easter I went to St. Peter’s to see the Pope!! A whole group of us got up for an early 5:30am breakfast before heading over to St. Peters to wait in line until 8:30. At 8:30 they opened the gates and put people through metal detectors before letting them into St. Peter’s Square. Once people passed security, they literally ran to get seats! I even saw nuns pushing people to get ahead in line and running to get a good seat!


Easter Sunrise on St. Peters

I ended up with pretty good seats, but almost immediately after sitting down, it started raining. We had to wait 2 hours in the rain before mass started and then we had to sit through an hour of mass in the rain too! Although I was freezing and wet, it was worth it. It was really amazing to be in St. Peter’s Square listening to the Pope on one of the biggest Christian holidays during the year. There were so many people and everyone was excited to be there—it was awesome!



St. Peters Square full of people!


My view of the Pope

This week was full of classes. We worked hard on our studio projects because we have our mid review on Monday afternoon! On Thursday we went up to see the church of San Pietro in Montorio to do some drawing. One of the niches was designed by Bernini and it was beautiful!


Niche by Bernini in San Pietro in Montorio

On Saturday I walked along the Via Appia, which is a road from Ancient Roman times. The cobblestones on the ancient roads were enormous! Along our walk, we saw ancient baths, tombs, burial sites, and really cute old buildings. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, the sun was out and the flowers were starting to bloom, and the walk just put me in a great mood!


Pretty view of the walking path


Really cute house along the Via Appia


An ancient tomb


View down the Via Appia


Ancient vs. Modern cobblestones


Me on the Via Appia

Today, I am preparing for my mid- review tomorrow (and taking breaks here and there to post my pictures!) I miss you all and I hope you are enjoying reading about my adventures! I feel so lucky to be able to spend all of this time abroad!