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Published: January 23rd 2018
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I was really excited to go to Rome because I knew it would be beautiful and it did not disappoint. Although I was only in the city for two days I could tell from the short time I was there that the city is magical. I enjoyed seeing all the famous attractions however if I go back in the future I would love to spend a lot of time just walking the streets because the buildings are gorgeous and there are so many amazing street performers. Even though we were only in Rome for two days we managed to see a lot of the major attractions such as the Vatican, the Trevi fountain, St. Peter's Basilica, the Colosseum, the Pantheon and the Roman forum.
Vatican: I was raised catholic and went to catholic school for many years so I was excited to see the Vatican after having heard about it my whole life. Even though our group was visiting the Vatican in January, which is one of the least busy months for tourist, it was still insanely crowded. The whole experience of traveling with a large group and being in a crowded place was very overwhelming and stressful. I
think the amount of tourist took a lot of specialness out of the experience for me. Although I did enjoy hearing Elisabeth talk about the different art pieces we saw. I will try to remember what she taught me and try to go back in the future with a smaller group and try to zone everyone else out so I can focus on the art and what it represents. I would also need to do more research on where to eat near the Vatican because what I had was not the best. I would assume most places in that area would be pricey however I am sure there are better quality places then the one I ate at.
St. Peter's Basilica: After we saw the Sistine Chapel we went in to St. Peter's Basilica which I found out is the largest church in the world. When you first walk in to the right there is a marble statue of Mary and Jesus Called Pieta by Michelangelo. I had learned about the statue in art class in high school but I never thought I would see it in person. It is truely impressive how he was able to put
so much detail into the fabric of Mary's dress. I was also shocked at how massive Alter in the front of the church (The Baldachin by Bernini) Elisabeth said it was ten stores high.
The fountains: After we finished lunch around the Vatican we toke a long walk back to the hotel to see some of the amazing fountains in the city including the famous Trevi fountain. One of my earliest memories of Rome is from watching the Lizzie Mcguire Movie. In the Movie Lizzie goes on a school trip to Rome and makes a wish at the Trevi fountain. So I was very excited to get to have my own Lizzie Mcguire moment. We got to the fountain after the sun had set so we went back the next day to see it again and get some more pictures.
Pantheon:
I heard about the Panthoen several times in art classes in school but I don't think I ever knew there was a whole at the top of the dome so you can see the sky when you are inside. It's designed so the rain or snow flows into the drain. Elisabeth said that it was
spectacular to see snow following through the top of the dome. I would to see that one day.
Colosseum:
The Colosseum was probably my favorite things that we visited, which I did not expect prior to seeing it. The Colosseum is a place where people used to watch gladiators fight to the death so I wasn't that excited to see it however the architecture it's self is pretty spectacular. It is also very impressive that it is still there, most of the seats are no longer in tact but the basic structure is still there. The weather was also great during the day we visited so it was sunny and not too cold.
Gelato: Another one of the highlight of the short trip to Rome was getting probably the most amazing gelato I have had thus far. I got it at the same place President Obama got his at when he visited Rome. It was called Giolitti and it was a short walk from the Pantheon. The smallest size was 2.50 euro which cheaper then most place I have seen. The line was insane and stressful but it went pretty quickly.
Frienze vs. Roma I have spent a lot more time in Florence than Rome so it's hard to compare these two cities however from my experience these two cities are very different in positive and negative ways. I love Florence however I could tell there was something special about Rome. Rome however was almost unbearably crowded. I could not imagine what it would be like in the spring and summer when it is at its peak tourist time. Florence is a lot less crowded with tourist and because of this I believe people are a little nicer to tourist. Some people in Rome where very rude where however in Florence most restaurant owners or shop clerks are pretty friendly. A couple days ago my friends and I walked into a paper shop and when the owner found out we were students he took us to his worktable and gave us a demonstration on how he makes his prints. Growing up in the south, I am used to southern hospitality and I think Florence has that more then Rome.
Steps: Friday (Jan. 19) 14,417
Saturday (Jan. 20) 20, 236
Sunday (Jan.21) 18,425
Monday (Jan. 22) 16,562
Tuesday (Jan.23)
13,580
Total steps: 83,220
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