The Catacombs, Frascati, and an avalanche of homework
Hey, kids. Friday we went to the Roman catacombs. If you don't know, the catacombs are underground Christian burial sites just outside the city. Essentially, it's a cool, damp labyrinth of tunnels and packed-dirt passageways. There are slots in the walls of varying sizes to accommodate both adults and children, for the average life expectancy hovered around 30. Shuffling through these tunnels, then being told that only about two percent of the burial grounds are open to the public, immediately reminded me of the T.S. Eliot quote, "I had not known that death had undone so many." After that we visited the church of the Capuchin monks, who decorates their walls with past members' bones. Yeah, that's right--bones. Interestingly, they had different themes for each room--one was mostly skulls, the other femurs, while another was shoulder blades and ribs. Like seriously, who thought of that? Who said, "You know what we should do, cover this place in dead members' bones." Brilliant! (Guinness beer commercial voice).
The next day, me and two friends went to the small town of Frascati about half an hour outside of Rome by train. It was great because the tourist season is on the decline and the town was relatively empty. We ate some very good fungi (mushroom) pizza, then climbed to the town's highest point and rewarded ourselves with cuban cigars--which are not illegal over here. Brilliant! Sorry, that was unnecessary; the commerical is just stuck in my head. Right before leaving, I also grabbed some cheese and hometown Frascati wine.
On the downside, I have an avalanche of homework that I have to finish before Wednesday, since we leave for Amsterdam Thursday morning. I have an Art History paper on the Pantheon, another essay on Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms, and a powerpoint presentation on how the European Union plans to combat terrorism in the future. Plus, I really need to put a dent reading-wise into For Whom the Bell Tolls for next week. If I get all of this down I'll be able to relax and enjoy Amsterdam so much more. Alright, kids, I must run. In the words of my very wise uncle in Flordia: work hard, stay sober. Cya!