Buongiourno tutti!
I promised a Rome entry; unfortunately I haven't had any time until now to post! Because this is a shortened semester with a full semester worth of classes, we have a relatively heavy workload – more on classes in my next entry.
Last week was our trip to Rome. We had a long weekend in the city from Thursday through Sunday – and there was hardly a moment to rest! We all purchased “Roma passes” which allowed us free entry to three sites and unlimited bus and subway access (if you should find yourself in Rome for more than a day, I'd highly suggest doing the same – it makes travel so much easier throughout the city).
Thursday, immediately after unpacking, we toured the Vatican Museums (including the Sistine Chapel), St. Peter's Basilica, St. Peter's Square, and the surrounding sites. We found an amazing pizza place near our hotels for dinner and crashed early, exhausted.
Friday morning we had our hotel breakfast at 7:30, then took the metro to the Colosseum, which was one of my favorite places we visited. It was absolutely surreal to stand inside something so enormous and so ancient, especially considering the violent history it holds. It truly feels as massive as the modern Turner Field, only made of stone, and far more sinister! From the Colosseum we toured the Roman Forum, which was once the economic and political center of the world and is now ruins (makes you wonder what this world will look like in another two thousand years). We passed an archaeological site in the forum, which normally would have made me want to grab a trowel and dig in (no pun intended...) except that it was nearly 95 degrees in the sun. From the Forum we got some lunch and then toured the Capitoline Museums, where some of the most famous and important Roman art and history is held. From here we walked to the Pantheon, another of my favorite sites. It was originally constructed in the first century, AD and is an architectural achievement, even by modern standards. It was originally a Roman temple to all of the gods (thus the name “Pantheon”), and is now a Catholic church. From here we walked to the beautiful Trevi Fountain, then to Termini (the major bus/train station) to shop in the bookstore, then dinner and another early night!
Saturday we had our 7:30 breakfast again, followed by a tour of the Borghese Museum. The Borghesie Mansion was once the home of Borghese and his wife, who happened to be Napoleon's sister. The stories of the lives of the people who once lived in the home are as fascinating as the priceless artwork inside. One of the best parts about the home/museum is the expanse of gardens that are now a public park. After an afternoon in the gardens, we walked back to the hotel to get ready for one of the highlights of the trip: dinner at Hard Rock Cafe! After a few weeks of nothing but pizza and pasta, a cheeseburger and some fries could not be turned down! And it did not let us – or our stomaches – down. What's even better is that we met some students from Louisiana and Ohio who were also studying in Italy. We jokingly refer to the Hard Rock as the 'other' American Embassy, as we were able to order American food in English, listen to American music, and meet American students. We love being in Italy, but it was a nice change of pace! After dinner, we got absolutely lost trying to find some other students (this was about the time I realized I must've left my cell phone at the restaurant), ended up witnessing Rome's “white night”, and saw a street accordionist play my favorite tango of all time (Por Una Cabeza). We walked by every landmark we'd seen during the week trying to find the hotel without our map, which we finally did very, very late that night (or, rather, early that morning).
Sunday morning, after breakfast, we walked to the Hard Rock in hopes of retrieving my phone – to no avail. A call from my roommate's cell confirmed that my SIM card had been removed, as the number was no longer in service. It has officially been stolen. Fortunately, my American cell functions here – though expensively – in case of emergency. We shopped around, found some lunch, had some gelato, and loaded the bus for “home”.
The verdict is in: between Chicago, New York, and Rome, Rome has the best pizza in the world (Rome also takes the prize for best gelato [Il Carruso], in case you were wondering)!
That's my trip to Rome in a nutshell – hopefully the photos will help illustrate the rest!
Ciao!
amanda 'giunio'
