Day 5 - Churches and Villa Borghese

We awoke to a deluge of rain. After breakfast Professor Goldman led us around to a few churches so we could see the insides of them. He told us that this was a precursor to the churches we would be seeing in Florence. They were all really decorative; gold, brass, and marble was everywhere. I couldn't get a lot of great shots because my flash is very diva-ish and temperamental and the lighting in the churches themselves just weren't conducive to my beginning photographer mentality.

After seeing this churches we walked north from the hotel to the Villa Borghese. Well, what we thought was the Villa Borghese. Our leaders led us astray twice, but the gardens were still gorgeous to look at, even in the monsoon-like weather. We found our way to the actual Villa and made our way inside. We were not allowed cameras, so please don't go asking for them. We saw rooms upon rooms (which, were beautiful by themselves) of sculptures and paintings. It was very overwhelming. The one sculpture I found the most intriguing was the one with Apollo chasing after Daphne, the wood nymph. In case you don't know or remember the mythology, allow me: Apollo (the god of music) was in love with Daphne, a wood nymph. He chased after her, but she did not return his affection. In the end she asked her father (I can't remember who he was exactly, I want to say he was the god of the local river in the forest where Daphne lived, but don't quote me), to turn her into a being that would not bring about Apollo's affection. Her father then turned her into a tree.

Picture this if you can: a man desperately clinging to a woman who is literally turning into a tree. Her feet have disappeared, her torso is metamorphosing into a tree trunk (complete with bark) (the bark was SO intricate, I couldn't imagine the hours taken to achieve that effect), and leaves all around her. This piece really made me stop and look.

(The Villa Borghese... now the Borghese Museum)

After going through the art galleries we went off to lunch. I cannot remember what we did between lunch and night, however I do know that it was that night that we had a dinner on Dean Newrock. The food itself was superb but what really stopped me was the service. We had 5 courses, each a small dish, and each served so promptly. It was a brand new type of dining experience for me and I was happy to have another chance to try some new Italian on the waiters.

After dinner we walked back to the hotel and prepared ourselves for Florence!