what a calorific day.

I can hardly keep track of where I am anymore. Everything is happening so fast, we have already explored Spain, Nice and Italy. I know I am still in Italy because I am never hungry. The food here is to die for. I have managed to eat an entire pizza to myself almost every day we have been here, followed of course by a giant serving of gelato, atleast once if not twice a day. Did you know there is such a thing as Coconut gelato? or Nutella gelato!! I need to get out of Italy asap, there is too much to eat and not enough room in my stomach. I will come back though, the Trevi fountain promised me so after swallowing up my coin.

I never got around to writing about the South of France, but I could cap it off at "they weren't lying" in all those sweet photos painted of the place, with poppies and bakeries and old stone walls. We stayed in Carcassonne which I am told is where they filmed one of the many versions of Robin Hood. I could have stayed forever, minus the language barrier. When I was in Asia they thought it was cute when I stumbled through their language trying to compose an accurate as possible sentence. Apparently in Spain, France and Italy it is NOT cute when you cannot speak the language, in fact you become an ignorant American tourist, one who has over populated their museums, stepped on their expensive leather shoes on the subway and asks to pee for free in their toilet, all of which are culturally inappropriate.

Minus a few crisis's such as our tent being infested by slugs half the size of my hand, a couple electrical blow ups and getting trapped in an elevator, everything is fine and well (mom this is for you). I am learning so much. I keep finding myself in a celebrity star struck state when I come across a piece of art I have always dreamt of seeing. I got butterflies in my stomach in Spain at the Salvador Dali museum when the "Persistence of Memory" was staring me in the face, only two weeks prior I had written an essay on it for an exam, it was surreal (no pun intended). Or Michelangelo's "David" at the Accademia in Florence. This statue has appeared in every history text book I have owned since high school and there it was not in a book but right in front of me. Much bigger than I had imagined I might add. I missed my beloved "Birth of Venus" by Botticelli because I got lost and dehydrated in the leather market, plus the line was too long and I had to get back to our campsite. My favorite part of Florence was the locks of love, where lovers attach locks to the bridge to declare their commitment to each other, there were a lot of locks, it was beautiful. I will forever regret not seeing it as it is my favorite, until next time the poster I bought off the street will have to suffice. I joined th cattle call through the Vatican to see the Sistine Chapel, another moment of chills although the Italian guards did make things uncomfortable with their constant shuushing and yelling at anyone who dare take a photo. Apparently Michaelangelo painted the best view at the back, where the poorer people would sit, he wanted them to have the best view. I like that, art should be for the masses, not the elite...in my humble opinion of course. St. Peters Basilica was unreal. Everyone needs to go there, it was by far the most impressive building I have ever been in. At first I thought it would bother me, that I would see how much money and gold and time they put into it while there were starving people right outside the place, which in my opinion is what a church is supposed to be for (taking care of the sick and poor). I changed my mind when I saw it, yes it was grand and it was beautiful and yes a ton of money was poured into it, but art is a gift and those people outside could have a piece of it. They could enjoy what they may never have been able to afford.

I would say the most striking piece of art so far was Donatello's Mary Magdalene. She kind of haunts me, I can't get her out of my mind. She looked worn out and used in every way possible. It broke my heart to look at her because I knew she had experienced so much pain and judgment, no doubt a lot of this was from the church. I obviously cannot relate to her profession in any way, but I do know how it feels to be judged harshly by people who call themselves your "brothers or sisters in Christ". If there is one thing (okay maybe two things) I cannot stand they are self righteous judgment and hypocrisy. We are supposed to carry and love each other, not stand back and judge. I struggle quite often in calling myself a Christian because of all the judgment people have felt by other Christians, obviously not every Christian is like this. I get it though, I can see it from an outsiders perspective, I know what it feels like to walk into a church and think everyone is crazy,judgmental, hierarchical, or an incredibly encouraging and loving place, I can see both sides. I have had panic attacks in church and ran away, I have be hurt more by people in a church than those not, I get it I really do see how many people in this world resent anyone associated with religion. This is not to say that the church is a bad place, I think it is a great place, I suppose I am just ranting because I know a lot of people who have been hurt unnecessarily and turned off by it, plus this statue broke my heart so it has been on my mind lately. So why do I still believe there is a God? I just know because I know because I know. I know from the bottom of my heart, from the pit of my soul from the whatever depths you think a human can have, that he is real. Everyone needs to calm the heck down, stop focusing on other peoples flaws or sexual orientation and love God and love people.

That was kind of heavy but I'm telling you this statue was heavy on my heart.
So yesterday at the Colosseum in Rome I got trapped with 13 other people in a small, sweaty, glass elevator which just happed to break when we got in it. It kept going up to the top of the Colosseum and then dropping! We got out of course, but I don't know if I will ever think of elevators the same.

alright this novel of a post is ending now.
I need to watch the Roman sunset instead of write about it.