And once again, here are just some snippets of the sites I've seen and the places I've been.

This work was a gem that I stumbled upon in the lobby/art gallery of the famous (and truly spectacular) Music Park here in Rome. It is called "Siu puo farae si deve..." and was done by Guiseppe Gallo in 2005. I stared at it for a good 10 minutes or so until Emily peeled me away... it's just such a fun game for the eyes.

This, for all you non-art history majors, is the incredibly famous wine harvest mosaic from the ceiling of Santa Costanza. While this mosaic shows a typical Bacchic wine harvest, it has been a subject of argument (by historians) whether or not this iconography may actually be read as early Christian symbols. Either way, whether or not you care about this sort of this, you must admit that the craftsmanship is gorgeous.

And here is my Art Conservation class again, this time in the Necropolis on the Isola Sacra just outside of Rome. These tombs were excavated in the 1930s, and house many beautiful, if poorly preserved, windows to what Roman life was like in Ostia.

Here we are in Venice! This was just a quick snapshot I took while crossing one of Venice's 400+ footbridges... I love the way the light is falling on the water and the way the vertical aspects of the architecture seem slightly warped.

Here's an artsy-fartsy view of the side facade on San Marco's, la chiesa piu famosa a Venezia. The rest of it was under construction (and with due cause... Venice floods quite often), so I tried to find a piece of it free of scaffolding. Just look at those details!

This is the view from the Per Rialto, Venice's equivalent to the Ponte Vecchio in Firenze. Curving over the Grand Canal and covered in lots of closet-sized shops, this bridge offers a thoroughly picturesque view of the Venetian landscape (or waterscape, as it were). It was pretty foggy and a bit cold the whole time were were there, but it didn't matter. Regardless of the weather, Venice is still one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Strolling along the waterside behind Emily, Ilana, and Claire (along with the rest of my class) as we went to see the Church of Santa Maria della Salute. Although it too was under construction, the architecture and decoration on the inside were bright and lovely... almost as much so as these three ladies, here.

Finally, here I am posing between the gates of what is probably mio museuo preferisco (not just in Venice but anywhere): The Peggy Guggenheim Museum. This collection houses some astounding works by Ernst, Magritte, Pollock, Calder, and, my favorite, Kandinsky... most of whom Ms. Guggenheim supported and encouraged. We weren't allowed to bring our cameras inside, but I will tell you that even going in for the second time this place made my knees go weak.

So of course, despite my lack of tempo libero (free time) and increasing desire to start pulling my hair out, things here continue to be as wonderful as could be expected. I just keep reminding myself that no matter how much work I have, at least I get to do it in an Orange grove overlooking the city.