A/N- I am finally updating this story! Hey, you know what would be grand?
Pleasantly surprise me by reviewing this story as well as my new story,
"Can this Be Real?" I really would be a happy camper. Another thing that
you might find convenient- in my history class, we just finished learning
about the Renaissance. Be honest, has this story taught you nothing about
Europe and European history? Research was fun.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 28: The Vatican.
21 June 2002
Okay, I have to say that today it hit me. Crazy as this sounds, I am starting to get homesick. I had a lovely day. I really did. Nothing went wrong or anything, but today I realized I really missed my bed and my room and my house. I know what you are thinking- college will be a drag, but I will survive. I have survived this, haven't I?
Anyway, enough about that, on with my day. Sticking with our groups still, we went to Vatican City, the smallest country in the world, and the country within Rome. When we got there, we went straight to the Sistine Chapel and the museum round that.
In the museum, we saw all these sculptures and other works of art. We didn't really care about these, though. They were nice and all, but we really wanted to see the Sistine Chapel. The wait was killing us. When we finally reached the outer doors of the Chapel, we had to wait even longer, because it was so crowded. Finally, our turn came, and it was unbelievable and so surreal for some reason. I guess I have always seen parts of the painting on the ceiling, especially the part where God's fingers are touching Adam's but actually seeing it right in front of me was just not registering.
After being stuck in the crowd for the longest time, one gets a good look at the details. I saw a lot of incredible depictions on this, and the history of this painting is so fascinationg. If this trip has done nothing else, it has definitely made me think about majoring in Art History. Michelangelo was incredible. I was so fascinated by the ceiling, I almost forgot about the altar. Lucy told us the history behind the altar earlier.
Michelangelo was already old when the Pope asked him to paint the ceiling. Usually a sculptor, but feeling since the Pope asked, he had an obligation, he agreed. Fifteen years later, the ceiling was finished and Michelangelo could stop painting for a while. . .or so he thought. After it was finished, the Pope realized the altar looked a little bare, and asked if Michelangelo would paint this. At first Michelangelo refused and said he was retiring. Somehow, he ended up reluctantly agreeing to it, but he decided the painting would be his way. He was not happy about having to do this at an old age. He started to paint, and the painting had a lot of nudity and not a lot of religion associated with it. There were a lot of common people in the painting suffering and doing abnormal things. Critics who saw it before it was complete insulted the work, so because of the critics, he added people at the bottom that looked strikingly like the critics and made them evil or suffering. One of the people was naked and a snake was wrapped around his leg and looked like it was about to bite the man's -you know. Also, there was a body falling from another part of the painting that looks like a huge blob and is rotting and miserable looking. Michelangelo claims this to be his self-portrait. Anyway, three years later, he finished, and the Pope saw it and hated it, so he hired artists to paint over the nudity and add more clothing. About ten years ago, this painting was restored, and the other paint was removed, so it is currently pretty close to its original state with the nudity and everything.
Enough history, now this was really fascinating. This picture seemed to symbolize something and I found it very interesting. As soon as we exited, I bought a few pictures of the paintings because we are not allowed to take pictures of the Sistine Chapel.
After we exited the chapel, we saw the guards standing at their post. The guards in the Vatican had some funky costumes-Michelangelo designed them, actually. We watched them for a minute, and then had time for shopping a little. I bought a few things for myself and something for Matt.
Then, we all got back on the bus and headed for our hotels. Lucy announced that we would stay in our hotels that afternoon and pack our bags and rest. We could travel to another person's room. She said we would have to be ready at around seven for dinner.
In the bus, Anna, Miranda, Sarah, Gordo, Bryan, and a few others, including me agreed we would have a small party in Miranda's room for a while.
Once at the hotel, we all went to Miranda's room and sat in a cleared space on the floor. There were also a few other people I recognized but didn't know personally. Once there, Anna briefly introduced us to the unfamiliar ones. There was Spencer, someone who went to Sarah's school; Justin, who I guess I haven't mentioned lately, and Matt, not to be mistaken with my brother. Actually, Matt looked a lot like Gordo. He was average height, has curly black hair, like Gordo's, and his eyes are the same. I also think he is Jewish. Anyway, so once everyone was introduced, we decided to play a game.
Okay, the we was more like they, but I agreed, thinking things can't be worse. In fact, when they decided that we would play "Truth or Dare," I almost left the room, remembering my last experience. Miranda, however, convinced me to stay under the conditions that I wont be asked to do or say anything too harsh and also I got to start the game.
I started with Miranda. Miranda chose dare.
"Okay," I started. I hate making up these things. "I dare you to do the chicken dance in your bathing suit."
Miranda looked at me like that was the dumbest thing, but she couldn't do anything but agree, so she went and changed into a bathing suit and I put on the music to accompany her as she did the chicken dance. It may not have been clever, but our space was limited, so it was funny. At least people laughed. After the dance was over, it was her turn she challenged Anna, who chose truth.
"If you had to date anyone on this trip, who would it be?"
Anna looked around and smiled. "What do you mean? I am already dating someone on this trip."
"Who?" Miranda asked.
"That," Anna started, "Was not the question. You will have to wait until next time."
Everyone looked around, and then Anna challenged Sarah. Sarah chose dare.
"Okay. I dare you to kiss . . . Spencer."
"What?!" Sarah said as she blushed. Spencer also blushed.
"Why Spencer?" Miranda intervened.
Sarah shook her head at Anna, who said, "Oh, you all missed a lot today. You see, this kiss should not be a problem for them considering their history. Right, Sarah?"
"Shut up!" Sarah said as she laughed. This was getting interesting.
"What?" Miranda said, curious about this.
"Well, as it turns out, Sarah and Spencer used to date each other before David came along. Today, I guess you could say, their relationship got closer once again," Anna explained.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, lets just say they were caught making out outside the Sistine Chapel."
"We were not making out!" Sarah protested. "We were just talking."
"Sure," Anna said, obviously not believing. "Well, that is your dare, Sarah. In fact, I dare you to FRENCH kiss him for at least ten seconds."
Spencer, who had remained quiet, started to protest. "We are just friends."
"Then this shouldn't be a problem," Anna said.
Sarah rolled her eyes. She looked defeated in this game. She stood up and said to Spencer, "Come on, and let's get this over with." Spencer reluctantly stood up. Anna set her watch and then said go. Once she said go, Sarah leaned in and started kissing Spencer as Spencer just sort of stood there and kissed back. They French kissed for the ten seconds, and seemed so pleased to get it over with. They sat back down, both feeling embarrassed, as we laughed at them and their expressions.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Anna asked.
Sarah ignored the question and picked me. I picked dare.
"Lizzie, if you thought what I did was funny, wait till you hear mine. I dare you to French kiss Gordo for thirty seconds." She said.
Now, I guess this wouldn't be a problem for most people, but Gordo and I have barely kissed each other, let alone French kissed each other. Trying to be a good sport, I agreed and stood up. Gordo stood up, also. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He mumbled.
"I guess." Before he could say anything else, Sarah gave us the cue to go. I leaned in and started kissing Gordo like we did before, but then I heard Sarah yell, "Its French kiss." So, feeling the pressure, I suddenly stuck my tongue into Gordo's mouth and I could tell that Gordo was initially shocked, but went a long with it. Feeling like a fool, it seemed like forever until Sarah finally yelled stop.
Well, that was highly unenjoyable. Not only do I hate to kiss in public, but I also had no idea what I was doing when we kissed, and I don't think he knew what to do either. It was too awkward and I now sympathize for Sarah.
After a few more rounds of truth or dare, we finally quit and went to our own rooms. Gordo came with me, as his room was right across from mine, and as I turned around to say goodbye, I saw how Gordo looked nervous and had is hands in his pockets.
"Is everything all right?" I asked.
"Yeah, I guess. I guess what happened back there was a little awkward, that's all."
"Yeah, I agree. I will never play that game again. Although, I must say, it was an interesting experience, despite the embarrassment."
"Really?" Gordo looked at me. "How was it interesting?"
"Well, we haven't done it before, and now we know somewhat what it feels like to kiss like that." I said. I could not believe I was having this discussion.
"I guess so. Next time, I hope it will be more special, though."
"Yeah, me too."
I turned to enter my room. This day was an interesting day.
**&&**
A/N- Wow! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 28: The Vatican.
21 June 2002
Okay, I have to say that today it hit me. Crazy as this sounds, I am starting to get homesick. I had a lovely day. I really did. Nothing went wrong or anything, but today I realized I really missed my bed and my room and my house. I know what you are thinking- college will be a drag, but I will survive. I have survived this, haven't I?
Anyway, enough about that, on with my day. Sticking with our groups still, we went to Vatican City, the smallest country in the world, and the country within Rome. When we got there, we went straight to the Sistine Chapel and the museum round that.
In the museum, we saw all these sculptures and other works of art. We didn't really care about these, though. They were nice and all, but we really wanted to see the Sistine Chapel. The wait was killing us. When we finally reached the outer doors of the Chapel, we had to wait even longer, because it was so crowded. Finally, our turn came, and it was unbelievable and so surreal for some reason. I guess I have always seen parts of the painting on the ceiling, especially the part where God's fingers are touching Adam's but actually seeing it right in front of me was just not registering.
After being stuck in the crowd for the longest time, one gets a good look at the details. I saw a lot of incredible depictions on this, and the history of this painting is so fascinationg. If this trip has done nothing else, it has definitely made me think about majoring in Art History. Michelangelo was incredible. I was so fascinated by the ceiling, I almost forgot about the altar. Lucy told us the history behind the altar earlier.
Michelangelo was already old when the Pope asked him to paint the ceiling. Usually a sculptor, but feeling since the Pope asked, he had an obligation, he agreed. Fifteen years later, the ceiling was finished and Michelangelo could stop painting for a while. . .or so he thought. After it was finished, the Pope realized the altar looked a little bare, and asked if Michelangelo would paint this. At first Michelangelo refused and said he was retiring. Somehow, he ended up reluctantly agreeing to it, but he decided the painting would be his way. He was not happy about having to do this at an old age. He started to paint, and the painting had a lot of nudity and not a lot of religion associated with it. There were a lot of common people in the painting suffering and doing abnormal things. Critics who saw it before it was complete insulted the work, so because of the critics, he added people at the bottom that looked strikingly like the critics and made them evil or suffering. One of the people was naked and a snake was wrapped around his leg and looked like it was about to bite the man's -you know. Also, there was a body falling from another part of the painting that looks like a huge blob and is rotting and miserable looking. Michelangelo claims this to be his self-portrait. Anyway, three years later, he finished, and the Pope saw it and hated it, so he hired artists to paint over the nudity and add more clothing. About ten years ago, this painting was restored, and the other paint was removed, so it is currently pretty close to its original state with the nudity and everything.
Enough history, now this was really fascinating. This picture seemed to symbolize something and I found it very interesting. As soon as we exited, I bought a few pictures of the paintings because we are not allowed to take pictures of the Sistine Chapel.
After we exited the chapel, we saw the guards standing at their post. The guards in the Vatican had some funky costumes-Michelangelo designed them, actually. We watched them for a minute, and then had time for shopping a little. I bought a few things for myself and something for Matt.
Then, we all got back on the bus and headed for our hotels. Lucy announced that we would stay in our hotels that afternoon and pack our bags and rest. We could travel to another person's room. She said we would have to be ready at around seven for dinner.
In the bus, Anna, Miranda, Sarah, Gordo, Bryan, and a few others, including me agreed we would have a small party in Miranda's room for a while.
Once at the hotel, we all went to Miranda's room and sat in a cleared space on the floor. There were also a few other people I recognized but didn't know personally. Once there, Anna briefly introduced us to the unfamiliar ones. There was Spencer, someone who went to Sarah's school; Justin, who I guess I haven't mentioned lately, and Matt, not to be mistaken with my brother. Actually, Matt looked a lot like Gordo. He was average height, has curly black hair, like Gordo's, and his eyes are the same. I also think he is Jewish. Anyway, so once everyone was introduced, we decided to play a game.
Okay, the we was more like they, but I agreed, thinking things can't be worse. In fact, when they decided that we would play "Truth or Dare," I almost left the room, remembering my last experience. Miranda, however, convinced me to stay under the conditions that I wont be asked to do or say anything too harsh and also I got to start the game.
I started with Miranda. Miranda chose dare.
"Okay," I started. I hate making up these things. "I dare you to do the chicken dance in your bathing suit."
Miranda looked at me like that was the dumbest thing, but she couldn't do anything but agree, so she went and changed into a bathing suit and I put on the music to accompany her as she did the chicken dance. It may not have been clever, but our space was limited, so it was funny. At least people laughed. After the dance was over, it was her turn she challenged Anna, who chose truth.
"If you had to date anyone on this trip, who would it be?"
Anna looked around and smiled. "What do you mean? I am already dating someone on this trip."
"Who?" Miranda asked.
"That," Anna started, "Was not the question. You will have to wait until next time."
Everyone looked around, and then Anna challenged Sarah. Sarah chose dare.
"Okay. I dare you to kiss . . . Spencer."
"What?!" Sarah said as she blushed. Spencer also blushed.
"Why Spencer?" Miranda intervened.
Sarah shook her head at Anna, who said, "Oh, you all missed a lot today. You see, this kiss should not be a problem for them considering their history. Right, Sarah?"
"Shut up!" Sarah said as she laughed. This was getting interesting.
"What?" Miranda said, curious about this.
"Well, as it turns out, Sarah and Spencer used to date each other before David came along. Today, I guess you could say, their relationship got closer once again," Anna explained.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, lets just say they were caught making out outside the Sistine Chapel."
"We were not making out!" Sarah protested. "We were just talking."
"Sure," Anna said, obviously not believing. "Well, that is your dare, Sarah. In fact, I dare you to FRENCH kiss him for at least ten seconds."
Spencer, who had remained quiet, started to protest. "We are just friends."
"Then this shouldn't be a problem," Anna said.
Sarah rolled her eyes. She looked defeated in this game. She stood up and said to Spencer, "Come on, and let's get this over with." Spencer reluctantly stood up. Anna set her watch and then said go. Once she said go, Sarah leaned in and started kissing Spencer as Spencer just sort of stood there and kissed back. They French kissed for the ten seconds, and seemed so pleased to get it over with. They sat back down, both feeling embarrassed, as we laughed at them and their expressions.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Anna asked.
Sarah ignored the question and picked me. I picked dare.
"Lizzie, if you thought what I did was funny, wait till you hear mine. I dare you to French kiss Gordo for thirty seconds." She said.
Now, I guess this wouldn't be a problem for most people, but Gordo and I have barely kissed each other, let alone French kissed each other. Trying to be a good sport, I agreed and stood up. Gordo stood up, also. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He mumbled.
"I guess." Before he could say anything else, Sarah gave us the cue to go. I leaned in and started kissing Gordo like we did before, but then I heard Sarah yell, "Its French kiss." So, feeling the pressure, I suddenly stuck my tongue into Gordo's mouth and I could tell that Gordo was initially shocked, but went a long with it. Feeling like a fool, it seemed like forever until Sarah finally yelled stop.
Well, that was highly unenjoyable. Not only do I hate to kiss in public, but I also had no idea what I was doing when we kissed, and I don't think he knew what to do either. It was too awkward and I now sympathize for Sarah.
After a few more rounds of truth or dare, we finally quit and went to our own rooms. Gordo came with me, as his room was right across from mine, and as I turned around to say goodbye, I saw how Gordo looked nervous and had is hands in his pockets.
"Is everything all right?" I asked.
"Yeah, I guess. I guess what happened back there was a little awkward, that's all."
"Yeah, I agree. I will never play that game again. Although, I must say, it was an interesting experience, despite the embarrassment."
"Really?" Gordo looked at me. "How was it interesting?"
"Well, we haven't done it before, and now we know somewhat what it feels like to kiss like that." I said. I could not believe I was having this discussion.
"I guess so. Next time, I hope it will be more special, though."
"Yeah, me too."
I turned to enter my room. This day was an interesting day.
**&&**
A/N- Wow! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!