Although I decided to make my last entry completely about my weekend in France, I spent the 3rd to the 7th of August in Italy. It’s strange reflecting on how at the beginning of my time in Oxford, I was more excited for France than I was for Italy. They’re both countries I’ve always wanted to go to, but France slightly more so – and I was surprised to find myself favoring Italy.
Like in France, some of it may be more circumstantial. I travelled to Italy with some of my by-then close friends from the Oxford program, so even the tough parts of the journey were fun from beginning to end (except for almost missing our flight there – eek). Italy had the same effect on me that Oxford has again and again – an immediate sense of wonder. The streets and sounds of Italy were pure poetry.
Although we originally planned to spend time in Florence as well as Rome, we ended up feeling a bit too rushed and decided to stick to a day trip to the beach while spending the rest of our time in the center of Rome. Rome itself was full of life, and I still cannot get over how beautiful Italian is.
Our first day we went to the Vatican, and managed to tag along with an affordable tour group last minute to the Sistine Chapel and its accompanying museum. I was afraid of feeling a bit underwhelmed, as I did with Paris. But every moment of the Vatican was special, and I actually cried while looking up at Michelangelo’s masterpiece. We learned a lot about the history of the chapel as well, and the Chapel is a testament to Michelangelo’s almost otherworldly passion for creation. The artist almost went completely blind while painting the chapel, and painted it for years with his head back and residue falling into his eyes.
St. Peter’s Basilica ended up being one of my most favorite churches I saw in Europe, easily blowing my previous favorite, the chapel of Merton College, out of the water. Although that was all we got to see in the Vatican, I couldn’t be happier with my experience there, only made better by the great people I ad with me. The amazing food didn’t hurt either – it was right outside the Vatican where I had the best lasagna of my life.
One of my favorite parts of our trip was taking the time to step away from the major tourist attractions and have a beach day in a small and rural town called Sabaudia. After talking to some locals, we actually found out we stumbled onto a hidden treasure – the small mountain island to the left side of the beach was the same one Homer referred to as the home of the goddess Circes, and is called Mount Circeo. The Mediterranean water was an otherworldly experience as well, the temperature of bath water.
My enjoyment of the more secluded parts of Italy definitely didn’t prevent me from enjoying the more famous sites of central Rome. The Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and Roman Forum were more beautiful than I ever expected. My favorite was easily the Colosseum, which we visited by sunset. After befriending a painter working by the architectural giant, we had our dinner with the Colosseum directly in view. 
Every moment of Italy was truly special, and I hope to go back someday no matter what.