When in Rome

Tossing coins into the Trevi Fountain

Piazza Navona

Roma is definitely a large, crowded, touristy city that I would not want to stay in more than a few days but it was good to see such a historical place. Our first night, we had an orientation followed by our welcome dinner where we got to meet each other and then got rested for the day ahead of us. Monday, we went on a guided walking tour through the historical center of Rome, going through the Piazza Navona which was built in the 1st century A.D. on the Stadium of Domitian. We also saw the Pantheon (Basilica di Santa Maria ad Martyres). We ended the tour at the Trevi fountain where we threw pennies in the fountain for good luck! Afterwards, we took a bus ride to the Coliseum which was fascinating to see and be in after seeing so many pictures of it all my life. The architecture involved was so intricate and detailed; I was very amazed to hear that no one is sure who the architect actually was (poor guy is receiving no credit).

Coliseum

Tuesday we went to the Vatican City. It was raining so hard all day off an on unfortunately. We took a bus from the hotel to the Vatican area and upon arrival we received headsets so that we could listen to our tour guide throughout the day. We first saw the St. Angel Castle which was so beautifully built and when we reached the top, we were able to see all of the Vatican city (see picture). We had a 20 minute lunch break before going into the Vatican city, so Carly and I sat down at a restaurant, not realizing how long it would take to get our food and have time to eat it too. It was very delicious though! 

View of the Vatican City from St. Angel Castle

We waited in the long line, in the pouring rain, very anxious to get into the sacred Vatican City. It was so unbelievable being in such a holy place, and being able to look up and see the pope's studio where he can be seen at times and I have seen him on tv. St. Peter church is the most beautiful place I have ever been, with the sacredness adding to the experience. As we walked around the church, we learned the history of the building, heard stories of the saints, and saw the statues all around us. There was a map engraved in the ground on the center of the floor with all the churches around the world and size of them each. We got to touch the feet of St. Peter and say a prayer in one of the chapels in the front of the Vatican. To end, we walked through the basement of the Vatican seeing the late popes and the tombs they are still buried in. It was so fascinating to relate all of the stories and history of the Catholic religion that I grew up learning all my life and now to see it makes it so much more real. 

St. Peters Cathedral

Unfortunately, we didn't get to go to the Sistine Chapel because it was raining way too hard and had already been such a long day, and we had a 30 minute walk in the pouring rain to get home ahead of us. To finish off the day, a group of us walked across Rome in the rain to find a hole-in-wall authentic Italian restaurant, where we shared a family-style meal. We split into 2 tables of 5, getting to know one another a bit more, and then walked home in the downpour with the streets almost flooding around us. I was very anxious to get to Florence and out of such a large city and to be able to not live out of a suitcase like I had been doing for the past 10 days. Tomorrow is like Christmas, with Florence awaiting us, a dream I have dreamt for many, many months now! 

Ciao,

Tarra