Terza Settimana

Ciao everyone!

I just returned from a weekend trip to Rome on Sunday evening and have been frantically trying to get caught up with school, laundry, and my health since then. Let me start by saying that Rome is absolutely AMAZING! I am already trying to figure out when my next opportunity to visit there will be. Although I was sick for our trip, I managed to see everything and love every minute of my time there. I am lucky enough to be in a program, API, that has well planned excursions. We traveled by bus from Florence to Rome and stayed in a hotel near the city center. Each morning, guided tours were arranged for us and then we were given the afternoons and evenings free to explore on our own. 

During our first morning walking tour, we saw the Spanish steps, Trevi Fountain, and a few different Piazzas with street markets. Below you can see how crowded the Spanish steps were in the morning. One of the biggest differences between Rome and Florence were the bigger crowds and faster paced lifestyle. Rome felt similar to Seattle in that regard, while Florence feels more like a suburbia type town.  

Next was the Trevi Fountain, an unforgettable sight. Of all the outdoor architecture I saw in Rome this was my favorite. Following the superstitions of the fountain, I threw a few coins with my right hand over my left shoulder with my back to the water. Legend states that doing so will allow you to return to Rome again one day. I made sure to throw several in for good measure. We returned to the fountain on our own the second night with a bottle of wine to share and less people. The fountain looked completely different in the evening with glowing water and the the statues appearing to be gold.

Next stop was the Pantheon. The best word to describe all the monuments in Rome is shocking. Seeing them made me realize how young the United States are and how little historical monuments we have. I have never been in the presence of so many ancient buildings that have withstood all the tests of time. The sheer size of them alone is shocking but even more so is the detailed artwork that accompanies each monument. Considering the patience, careful planning, and precision that was required to construct these doesn't seem like anything that would ever take place in America today. 

Amongst these monuments are countless street markets, restaurants, vendors, and people roaming the city. With the weather being a little bit warmer than Florence we were able to eat lunch at outdoor restaurants in different Piazzas and enjoy people watching. The street artists were some of the most fun to watch, as they captured snapshots of the city on paper right before our eyes. Nearly every Italian we came across spoke English well, making communication with the locals even more simple than in Florence. 

On our first evening, we signed up for Rome's Ultimate Party (a pub crawl). Upon arrival, we felt very out of place considering the group was an interesting variety to say the least haha. However, we made fast friends with the others and ended up having a great night. Having never been to Rome, this was a perfect solution for our group because we were toured through the city night life by local bartenders. If anyone watches the show Shameless on Showtime, you may recognize one the the bartenders below, she was the spitting image of Fiona! She had no idea who that was but she said Americans tell her that almost every night haha

On Saturday morning we visited The Vatican. After a short bus ride from our hotel, we were in a completely different country! This was my favorite day of the trip considering all the Catholic history I have learned during my years at SMM and Archbishop Murphy. As corny as it may seem, I had tears in my eyes the entire time we were in St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. I haven't included many pictures here because they truly don't do it justice. All I can say is the feeling of walking into a church as large as St. Peter's Basilica knowing I was in the home of the pope as well as the burial site of the popes before him was incredible. I blessed myself with the Holy Water, touched the foot of St. Peter, and stood before the Pieta. Never has my appreciation of the Catholic religion that I have grown up with my whole life been so great. 

I wish I had a picture of the Sistine Chapel to include but the guards were very intent on not letting 

any pictures be taken, but I strongly recommend everyone see that once in their lifetime. 

Our last tour on Sunday was the Colosseum. From both the outside and inside, it is monstrous. Hearing the many events that took place there and imaging the crowds of Romans watching was surreal. I have seen the Colosseum recreated in movies like the Gladiator but experiencing the feeling of being inside it  made me appreciate the history that occurred there so much more. 

On the Thursday night prior to departing Friday morning for our weekend trip, a group of girls in my program and I celebrated Valentine's Day together at a local Mexican restaurant. We decided this would be the best place to avoid witnessing the countless PDA Italian couples that would certainly be more romantic than ever on such a day, plus sangria and nachos were on the menu :) Even though I was missing my loved ones on Valentine's Day, there could not be a better place than Florence to appreciate the holiday.

Keeping with the theme of amor, we are headed to Paris this weekend. A group of about 10 girls and I  planned this trip on our own. Although we won't have the luxury of guided tours and four star hotels, we are looking forward to the adventure of traveling on our own in new place. I will report back next week to let you know how it goes!

Arrivederci!