Blogs from Rome, Lazio, Italy, Europe

Woke up this morning to a murder of crows losing their minds over something at about five. Other than that, we had a great sleep at the monastery in our three little beds. The monastery is called St. Maria alle Fornaci, which I have assumed means St. Mary of the Fornication, and it has a very tasty included breakfast. After breakfast we caught a cab to the Pantheon, which is an amazing building defined thusly: The Pantheon (from Greek: Πάνθεον, an adjective meaning "to every god") is a building in Rome, Italy, commissioned by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD. The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of ... read more

Say what you will, no one else saw today the marvelous things I saw. Except for like, a hundred thousand other people. It was busy at the big destinations in Rome (italian pronunciation: Rrrrrrrroma), and for good reason. First we had to get there. My parents, Geoff and I bundled into our little rental car on the first sunny morning we've had in days. We found the tiny train station, Poggia Mirtito, and got on the train in the direction of Rome. It was seven euros each for a day pass that included the metro in Rome. These had to first be validated in a little hidden validating machine inside an abandoned building. Getting on the train wasn't much of a problem. Then we had to figure out when to get off. All roads lead to ... read more

We missed a few days of blogging but not of material to blog about. After our firt day in Roma and meeting with the Cardinal, we finally got some good sleep (contrary to our previous blog, train sleep with seven people in one sleeper car is not the best way to catch up on rest!) Our hotel is at the base of the Spanish steps, a beautiful piazza near the Vatican. It really was special even compared to the hundreds of other piazzas we found as we wandered aimlessly though the maze of alleyway which they call streets in Rome. We also came to realize that it is better to pay more for good food then to search through the many streets for something cheap - when in Rome, eat like the Romans. Today we had ... read more

After getting off the plane, Lisa and I went through to the baggage check. After a wait (which I would come to realize as a characteristic of Italian culture) we finally got our bags and headed to the transport company that Temple Rome arranged to take us to our residence. Keep in mind we never had to go through customs or anything, which was surprising. After being shuffled between about 4 different drivers our bags were stuffed into the van and ready to go. And here is where I got my first taste of Italians and their driving. The driver was a guy maybe a few years younger than me, with a finely trimmed beard and hipster buddy holly glasses. He wore a shirt a size too small and tight pants. His partner in the passenger's ... read more

or in English "a lifetime isn't enough for Rome". For those of you who have been there, you probably agree with this statement. Besides the long list of archeological sights and museums, there is something eye-catching around every corner. Whether it be one of Rome's gigantic monuments, or one of the MANY churches or statues, or just the beauty of people-watching in a place that's so cultured and alive, this city has it all. If a lifetime isn't enough for Rome, then 3 days DEFINITELY isn't enough, but we tried our best to see as much as possible in a small amount of time. I did this trip with one of my university friends, Ciara, who is also living in Europe as au pair. She was a great travel buddy as we were both very anxious ... read more