And the dog days of summer arrive...

It's seriously getting very very hot in Rome, and we don't have air conditioner in my apartment. I've been relying on a table-top fan. My roommate reassured me that it doesn't get hotter than this before August, and I'm hoping she's right. It's amazing how spoiled we are by air conditioner.

In other news, Italy lost the EuroCup match against Spain last night during penalty kicks after a half hour of overtime. Afterwards, the town had "the atmosphere of a funeral," as a friend said.

During the day yesterday, I went with a friend on an 8-hour trek through Rome. There were some specific sights I wanted to see, and I got to see all of them except a church that didn't open until 6 PM, how strange. I even got to see a chapel with all of its decorations made from the bones of some 4,000 monks and soil from Jerusalem. I was told that during the 1800s, when the chapel was built, Europe was in tumultous times and the art had some macabre tendencies. However, photography was not allowed for various reasons. In some decorations, scapulae were used to make wings, and two sacral bones framed by metatarsals made hourglasses. Even parietal bones were used as the "dishes" of a balance. It's amazing how short people used to be. My friend told me that one theory says "older" civilizations such as Italy or China have "less fear of predators" so they don't need much physical size and can conserve energy. When I mentioned that Italians who grow up in Norway are huge, I was told that it fit into the theory. How strange.

We went to the top of a hill and looked through a keyhole to see a garden walkway that perfectly framed St. Peter's of the Vatican.

I also got to see a church on the Forum that was built on top of three Roman temples from the 3rd-2nd century BC. We got to go underneath the church and see the Roman foundations and pilars. Another church had the tomb of Alexander Mancini, the famous painter. One church even had the original image of Our Lady of Guadalupe!

And yes, I found the church (which has banned the filming of Angels & Demons inside of it for good reason), which has the Bernini statue "The Ecstasy of St. Theresa." I have always wanted to see this statue in person, and it was every bit as beautiful as I imagined it. My picture does not do it justice! Kind of like the time I tried to take a good picture of the Pieta...

The church was pretty gorgeous too. You know what they say, "If it ain't Baroque, don't fix it."

I am just completely amazed at how beautiful and richly decorated everything is. Even the "shabbier" (read non-Baroque) church have breath-taking mosaics and paintings.

In lab news, I am still working with Daniele and Michele C on the self-administration choice project. My rat is still alive, great success! There is also talk of a lab trip to Ariccia this week, I'm excited.