So I went to Rome this past weekend and all I have to say is that city is awesome! It all started out on Friday morning at 6:30 am. Emily, Nate, and I got on the slow train to get to Rome and made it there by 11:00. We then found a Hostel for the two nights and started exploring. First up: The Coliseum.
This structure was the focus of the hit film Gladiator. It was the home to hundreds of battles and many men and animals died. This place was really cool to see, but I came to the conclusion it would have been much cooler to see it when it was in use. Interesting fact that I learned about this place: It was made of marble and had three walls that went around the exterior. When they decided to create the Basilica di San Pietro in the Vatican City, they took much of the marble off of the Coliseum to make the Basilica. That is why many of the walls are missing and it looks like it was destroyed in a war or something.
Next up was the Palatine Hill. This was the spot of the Roman Emperor's palace and was constructed on the supposed site of where they found Remus and Romulus as infants, the supposed founders of Rome. We decided to pay for a tour guide of this place and it was well worth it. We learned a lot about what went down on the hill, how it was pretty much the biggest building to ever be constructed in Rome, how it was made almost entirely of marble, how that marble also went to building the Basilica, and what the rooms would have looked like. Now its basically all ruins and you can only see where some of the walls and cornerstones were. It was nice to have to tour guide to tell us what we were looking at about some Roman history.
Friday night we went to a pub and met some cool Dutch entrepreneurs who were in Rome on business. They bought us poor college kids some drinks (which was nice) and then I had some interesting conversations with an old Scottish guy....most of which I can't repeat on hear because my mother is reading. Most of what he said was obscenities towards...well...everything.
Saturday was spent entirely at the Vatican. In the morning we went to the Vatican Museum and its pretty cool, they have history from all over the world, including stuff from ancient Egypt. They also have a lot of art, including the art in the Sistine Chapel. Now, the Sistine Chapel is one of the most amazing and beautiful things I have ever seen (besides Liz, but she's not a thing, she's a beautiful woman). Anyway, the place was amazing. The people Michelangelo painted looked like they were about to pop off the wall and give you a high five or something. It was really cool! While at the Vatican we also saw the Basilica di San Pietro, the place where all the marble went. This place was amazing...its the biggest cathedral in the world. It is also the place where the Apostle Peter is buried. Apparently he was the first pope. Didn’t quite learn that in Lutheran Catechism class. We saw the big alter over his tomb and then climbed to the top of the dome to see the entire city. Beautiful.
Sunday we went to the Spanish Steps and the Pantheon. The Pantheon is one of the oldest buildings in Rome. Basically it’s a huge concrete dome. Architects today still dont know how it was build with the technology during Roman Times. I tried to take pictures of how massive it is, but my camera isn’t that good. I’ll try to panoramic some pictures and let you all know when I upload them. The last place we went was the Fontana di Trevi which is a really cool fountain in the heart of the city. I threw two coins in and apparently that means that the wish I made will come true when I come back to Rome. Guess I will have to go back someday.
That was pretty much my whole weekend. If you have the chance, go to Rome, its pretty much amazing. Ciao for now.
