When In Rome

Wow, where do I start? Rome was amazing this weekend. It was my first field trip with the school, of the two provided in our tuition. I'm glad I chose Rome as one of them, it was well worth it. I feel like we saw almost everything Rome had to offer in only two days. On Saturday we visited the Colosseum and the Vatican. Sunday included a walking tour of the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and a three-course Roman meal! So the trip started at 5am, getting on a bus in a sleep-deprived state of mind. We arrived in Rome at the Colosseum 4 hours later. It was just as big as it seemed in pictures; its magnitude just dominating the Roman skyline. After passing by the Arch of Constantin, we went inside  the Colosseum and explored as much of the structure as we could. It was strange to see the floor gutted to show the underground passageways. The view was amazing, but it is even more amazing that this structure has lasted almost 2,000 years. I thought it was really cool that I was standing in the blueprint for every large football and/or soccer stadium in the world.

After a quick bite to eat, we were off to visit the Vatican. This was the first time I crossed the Italian border (well sort of) since arriving. I felt very special having a guided tour since I got to walk around with earphones and a radio, while listening to our guide educate us. We walked through the Vatican Museum, which is an extremely extensive museum of art and history. There was an unbelievable amount of fine art, sculptures, and architecture. We got to walk through the Sistine Chapel, but were not allowed to take pictures. Well I had to get at least one.

We also toured through Raphael's Room, which of course included tons of famous paintings. Before exiting, we went through the tomb of Saint Peter, and saw the caskets of popes buried below the basilica. After this was through, we went into Saint Peter's Square and Basilica. This had to be the biggest church ever. There were many things inside, one of the most prominent being Michelangelo's Pieta.

I touched the statue of Saint Peter's grimy worn away foot since it is said to be customary when visiting. That was it for Saturday so we got back on the bus and headed to our hotel. We decided to nap for awhile to catch up on sleep before heading out for a late dinner. We found a nice Italian restaurant, called L'esquilino, by wandering down the street from our hotel. I ordered Fettuccine Alfredo with bacon and peas, which was excellent. After dinner we proceeded back to the hotel to figure out the plans for that night. I sat in my room watching a soccer match (it was great to have a TV in our hotel room) while my roommate went out to get alcohol. He came back with what is now my favorite Italian liqueur, Disaronno. We hung out in the hotel for awhile before leaving to look for a bar/club to go to. We walked into a few places, but none of them seemed worthwhile. After exploring locally, we ended up at a kebab place for a late night snack. What a great food, I only wish we had them in the States.

The next morning we were up by 7:30 for the hotel's continental breakfast. I stuffed my face with some hot food before stuffing my pockets with bread and travel-sized packets of Nutella. It was becoming a beautiful day when we got on the bus. The sun was out and I couldn't ask for a better day for our walking tour. Our bus dropped us off at Piazza Navona. There was a large church as well as an obelisk in the center of the square with two fountains on each side. We went inside the church to check it out. It was interesting visiting so many places of worship on a Sunday because even though service was not going on, it was very holy with organs playing in most of them. From there we walked to the Pantheon. We walked in just before service began and it ended up being one of my favorite sights to see. I just couldn't get over the huge hole in the center of the domed ceiling. The sun was shining brightly through the top. The Pantheon was designed to handle any type of weather. There were small, barely noticeable holes in the concave flooring to allow for drainage when it rains.

Next we were off to the Spanish Steps. The history of Piazza di Spagna includes the mixing of a few different countries and cultures, including the Spanish embassy of course. I walked up to the top and got some pictures of the amazing view.

The next stop on our walking tour was the Trevi fountain. The water was beautiful and apparently the fountain was constructed to represent a more natural look in Rome with the water flowing over the sculpted rocks and other figures.

After that we walked by Piazza Venezia which has a large government building in the middle. The final stop on the walking tour was The Forum. This was a lot cooler than I imagined. I had not heard too much about this attraction but it ended up being one of my favorite places to see in Rome. Back way long ago, it was just as it sounds, a place for philosophers, leaders, and students to discuss politics. All that is left is knocked over structures and columns, but there are a few buildings left standing. It was just a beautiful and astounding place to walk around since there was more green space than the rest of Rome.

We couldn't explore as much as I would have liked to because we had to get the bus to take us to our Roman restaurant. And I was NOT going to miss the bus for that. Ristorante Gabriele was located just outside of the city center. It was a beautiful Italian restaurant surrounded by green trees and shrubbery. We were seated in the back room with about eight tables. Each table had bread and wine of course. The first course was some type of pasta. The second course was pasta carbonara. The third course was eggplant parmesan. And for dessert we had terramisouse. The final destination of the weekend were the Catacombs of St. Domitilla, the oldest in all of Rome. This included an underground tour of the small passageways carved out for the purpose of Christian burial many years ago. It was kind of creepy but I thought it was pretty cool. Going deep underground reminded me of a Howe Caverns experience at first. The only difference was that the passageways were smaller and we were surrounded by dead people laid to rest. This was the end of my weekend in Rome. Shortly after we got on the bus, I easily fell asleep. It had been a weekend to remember, but I was exhausted.