Over the weekend (July 22-23) we went to Roma. At first I was not super excited because we were traveling with 50 other students from a different program, but in the end we only saw then maybe 3 times. I also was not excited because this was the last big excursion of my study abroad experience.
We had to meet at the train station at 6am (uffa!) and I have never been one to sleep on the bus. The drive to Roma is about 3 hours and another hour of traffic, so it already started off as a long day. Once we got to Roma the first thing we did was go to The Vatican. We saw the Vatican museums with about one thousand of our closest friends, and then we were literally herded into the Sistine Chapel. Let me say the chapel is amazing, its the rude guards literally herding people and being rude to people that makes the experiance very unenjoyable. We then went into the world's largest church... Saint Peter's Basilica. This church is amazing and relics it supposedly has inside is even more amazing. Just to name a few this church has the tomb of Saint Peter (hint... St. Peter's Basilica), is has a piece of the cross which Christ was crucified on, it has the spear that pierced Christ's chest, it has the cloth which Saint Veronica (patron saint of photographers) used to wipe the sweat from Christ's face as he carried the cross, and it has the chair which Saint Peter sat in. But guess what... Know one actually gets to see any of these things that the church has.
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| Top of Saint Peter's Basilica |
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| Sistine Chapel |
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| Inside Saint Peter's Basilica |
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| I liked this because I love the Da Vinci Code and this is from the movie! |
After The Vatican we had an hour break, which in Roma is about enough time to get out of the Vatican. We then went across Roma to the Colosseum and the Forum. We went inside the Colosseum and took many pictures, and then we walked through the Forum where we learn some stuff and took many more pictures. After the Forum I was ready to make my way to the hotel which we did, and I was very happy to do.
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| We tried to be Gladiators but we look more like Power Ranges! |
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| The Forum |
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| The Forum Again! |
The next day we started off bright and early with a brisk morning walking tour of Roma. we went to a small chapel where the inside had the most unusual display. Inside were the bones of around 4000 people displayed in different patterns. It was morbid but very interesting. The chapel had a great message at the end. It was "What you are now, we once were. And what we are now, you will be" it means live a happy life without any regrets. We then saw the Spanish steps which are named because at the bottom is the Spanish Embassy. When we reached the steps it had decided it was going to rain... and when it rains in Italia it is no joke, it pours. We then went to he first McDonald's in Italia, and i was the fanciest McDonald's I have ever been to. We then made our way to the Trevi Fountain to throw our coins and make a wish or three. This was another place where we took lots of pictures. After the fountain we walked some more. We went to the Pantheon and walked some more and then we had our free time. The roommates and I went shopping and then we went and got lunch at a really good laid back restaurant. I had Tiramisu alla fragola (strawberry), and it was amazing. After a great lunch we headed back to meet out bus to head back home to Firenze. It was a great weekend but it was nice to return to Piazza di Santa Croce (home).
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| Doing as the Romans do. This was the freshest water. It was so good! |
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| The group at the first McDonald's in Italy |
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| Trevi Fountain |
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| The Pantheon |
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| really good restaurant we went to n Roma where I had Tiramisu alla fragola! |
Hope you enjoyed my photos. Please leave comments, or suggestions of photos you want to see posted as well as ideas for photos I can take. Thank You.
