When in Rome . . . eat a lot of Gelato

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March 26 - 30
Wednesday March 26
My train ride to Rome was not bad at all. I had a (narrow) bed and they even provided breakfast! Upon arriving in Rome, I dropped my stuff off at my hostel and went to go see the Ancient ruins. The Colosseum was the first stop. I took a tour that included a tour of the Forum which I thought was interesting. The proper name of the Colosseum is the Flavian Amphitheater as it was built during the Flavian dynasty starting in 72 AD and finished in 82 AD, and was built after the reign of Nero to give some of the city back to the people. The first games were held in 80 AD and lasted 100 days The nickname 'Colosseum' was most likely given to the amphitheater because of the colossal statue of Nero that stood nearby. There were levels both under and above the stage and at least 80 entrance/exits. Even though most of it has fallen into disrepair, it was an amazing site. The hugeness of the place was astounding and it was easy to imagine the gladiator fights that must have taken place inside. Almost immediately the quote from Gladiator, "Are you not entertained?" popped into my head. We then made our way from the Colosseum to the Roman Forum walking up a street that, our guide told us, used to be much narrower but was enlarged by Mussolini so that he could have a view of the Colosseum from his office. The Forum was cool. It once housed temples, including the temple of Vesta and a temple for Julius Caesar, and celebratory pillars as well as the Senate where Caesar was murdered. The Senate is still standing, though highly repaired. I also went up Palatine Hill which stands behind the Forum. I then walked to see my most disappointing sight in Rome the Circus Maximus. This great racetrack is now nothing more than a grassy field with a worn dirt track around the edge. Very sad. After being thoroughly disappointed, I bought my first gelato, chocolate, and that served to raise my spirits, and then I walked back to the hostel. My hostel, Freestyle, included dinner in the price which I had not encountered before, but I wasn't going to complain. After dinner, I went with three other girls to look at the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and the Piazza Navona by night.
Thursday March 27
On Thursday, I set off with Rachael and Kerry, two girls living in England that I had met the night before, for the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica. Thankfully, the line wasn't too long and we got in almost right away. We happened to be by the Swiss guards when they were changing positions, which was pretty neat. St. Peter's itself was huge and amazing. There were so many statues and chapels and alters and relics, it was awe-inspiring. On entering, you are immediately drawn to the right where Michelangelo's Pieta is housed behind a wall of glass. Looking at it, I remembered studying it in art class and the unbelievability of standing in front of the real thing hit me. The rest of the basilica was beautiful. The dome is covered in mosaics, including ones of the gospel writers and their symbols. And under the dome stands the alter which is built directly above the remains of St. Peter. It was pretty amazing. After we had gazed at the basilica for a while, we joined the queue to go up to the top. We had to climb about 570 stairs to get to the top, but the climb was well worth it. The views from the top were great as much of the city was laid out below us. It was only when we began to fight our way down from the top that we ran into problems. Rachael and I lost Kerry. We couldn't find her anywhere. So we waited for a while, went down, came back up and checked, but we couldn't find her anywhere. After this fruitless search, we went and found some lunch and then went back to the hostel, hoping that she would turn up. It wasn't until after dinner that she returned. As soon as we had eaten, we headed out into the rain to see the Colosseum and Spanish steps all lit up. If the Colosseum was impressive in the daylight, it was even more so at night. The damage was better hidden, as was any scaffolding, and there were no people peering out of the various openings. It was easier to imagine how it might have once looked. Once again the Gladiator quote popped into my head, and then a girl walking by said the quote out loud. That made me really happy. We then wandered on to the Spanish steps and got gelato at a small shop with lots of choices. It was very good.
Friday March 28
On Friday Kerry and I ventured down to St. Paul's Basilica. Inside it had statues of the twelve disciples all with their symbols. I tried to learn a few more, but I feel that I failed miserably. After St. Paul's Kerry and I started wandering and then met Rachael at the Spanish Steps for lunch, gelato, and generally sitting in the nice sunshine. We then started to wander and ended up at the Head of State's residence. We got there just in time to see the changing of the guard. And it was a massive changing - flags were exchanged for guns, there was a band, and suddenly everyone started singing what we could only assume was the Italian National Anthem. It was pretty cool to have everyone just start singing, although I did feel a bit out of place as I didn't know the words. We deduced that the Head of State or someone equally important was returning or coming since as soon as the ceremony ended about 6 large drab colored vehicles pulled up and zoomed through the gates. After wandering some more, I returned to the hostel for dinner and Kerry and Rachael headed to the airport. After dinner, I headed out into the night to take pictures of the Republic and St. Peter's. Then I returned to the hostel for a good night's sleep.
Saturday March 29
Saturday I set aside for a self-guided Angels and Demons tour. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown takes place in Rome and is a chase all across the city to catch a mystery murderer. My first stop, however, was not on the tour; it was San Pietro in Vincoli where the chains of St. Peter and Michelangelo's statue of Moses stands. Then I started my tour. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember what I was looking for in most of the church's, but all of the churches were beautiful anyway. The tour included St. Maria del Popolo Church, St. Peter's Square, St. Maria della Vittoria Church, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Castel Sant’ Angelo. Castel Sant' Angelo was my favorite as it was once an ancient Roman building where the ashes of the emperors were kept. It also offered a good view of St. Peter's. My tour took all day, especially since St. Maria del Popolo didn't reopen until 4, so I spent a good chunk of time in Piazza del Popolo. There was a Leonardo da Vinci museum there that had interactive machines that da Vinci had built. All in all a very enjoyable day, especially since I started to get a tan!
Sunday March 30
Sunday was perhaps one of the best days in Rome. Daylight savings finally hit Europe, so I was up even earlier than normal to go wait in line to see the Sistine Chapel. On the last Sunday of the month entry to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel is free. So I waited in an incredibly long line for an hour and a half to get in. It was well worth it. Aside from the Sistine Chapel, there are artifacts and picture gallery and so much more. The rooms leading up to the Sistine Chapel were painted/designed by Raphael, and they were amazing!! I won't insult them by trying to describe those rooms. And then you came to the Chapel itself. There was no spot left unpainted. Even curtains had been painted on the lower portions of the walls. At the same time, it was not what I was expecting. I was expecting more of a chapel shape or look to the room, but I didn't see that at all. I was also expecting the Creation of Man to be more front an center, but it was up on the ceiling. The painting was amazing. The only thing that ruined the experience were all of the people taking illegal pictures and making the security people keep yelling "No pictures!" and "Silence!". It was also very crowded. Once I managed to wind my way back out to the outside world, I started to make my way to lunch. I had been craving a burger, a good burger for days. So I went to Hard Rock Cafe. The ceiling was painted with little cherubs all playing musical instruments. It was great. And the burger was the best that I had had probably since I had left home. Listening to Queen and Billy Joel and eating a burger - can life get any better?

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Photos

The Roman Senate
When Julius Caesar was murdered

Trevi Fountain
The Trevi Fountain by night

The Keys of the Kingdom
A mosaic of Jesus giving Peter the Keys of the Kingdom