I saw Moses!

Last time I went to the market- I mean grocery store, I bought this instant cappuccino mix thingy with chocolate in it. I figured it would be a mocha-y drink that I could have in the morning. Well genius me just had one with lunch and while it was delicious, my afternoon plans of napping are now shot. Thus, a new blog post.

It's almost the weekend, and while everyone but about 7 people studying abroad are going to Venice this weekend, I am one of the few staying here. I was a little upset to hear that I could have seen Keara if I went, BUT not only did we book a trip to Paris together last night, I am also seeing her next weekend, and possibly the weekend after that, AND hopefully a day in March. Speaking of seeing loved ones, my family is coming in a few weeks too!! I cannot wait! :):):)

But back to the weekend, I don't have any big plans other that working on my project for painting class, and (finally) going to the Pope's Sunday blessing.

Last weekend I dragged my roommates to San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains). It's this small yet stunningly beautiful church right near the Colosseum. The in chains part refers to the fact that the church holds the chains of St. Peter when he was held in Jerusalem. In addition to that, it is known for holding the tomb of Pope Julius II.

You might be holding back a yawn but those art history majors out there might know that his tomb was designed by Michelangelo (hence why I dragged my roommates there). He carved this ornate Moses statue that is centered around other statues and columns (image to the right). It was supposed to have over 40 statues, but then Pope Julius II took him of the project for a while to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. By the time he got back to finishing the tomb, he had to scale it down. Then Pope Julius II died, so he halted the project once more. The Moses was one of his greatest masterpieces (then again, arn't they all) but Michelangelo was extremely frustrated with it. He believed that a sculpture was a soul trapped in a piece of marble just waiting to be freed. When he finished the Moses he looked at it, expecting it to talk back to him. When it didn't (don't laugh, all geniuses are a little bit crazy), he yelled and threw his chisel at the sculpture, making a nick in the knee. Apparently if you get close to the piece you can see it, but we couldn't get past the rope to get a close enough look. So anywho, that's how we spent our afternoon. Then my umbrella broke, which made me buy my shiny, new, obnoxiously large umbrella. But that doesn't seem as exciting now that I think about the fact that I put that in the same paragraph as me seeing a Michelangelo sculpture...

But alas, I am tired. I shall commence the afternoon nap.

PS- Impressed I figured out how to upload images? Because I am.