Rome

It is finally time for me to write about my fall break. In short, I LOVE ITALY!!! But that is not very descriptive. Because I have so much to share, I've decided to tell the story in pieces. I will share one day of my trip each day. This way, I don't get burned out writing about it and you guys get bored and stop reading about it. So, here I go...

Day 1

On our first day in Rome, we (meaning myself and friends, Nick, Chase, and Laura) decided to wander around the city and see some of the main tourist attractions without any sort of agenda. 

We started at the Trevi Fountain, a fountain unlike any other in the world I believe. It is enormous and beautiful.  Of course this means that a zillion tourists constantly surround it, but they are there for a reason. Just look for yourself.

Some wandering from the fountain lead us, next, to the Pantheon. From the outside you would never suspect that it was a building to take note of, in fact, I had no idea it was the Pantheon! The real beauty of the building is found inside. There are many important historical figures entombed within the Pantheon but I was most excited to see Raphael.  

The Pantheon ceiling. 

Next we made our way down the main street in Rome, ending with the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II.  The palace, as I refer to it, although I'm not sure if that's correct or if I made it up, is extraordinary.  The whole building is made of white marble with beautiful pictures carved into it and statues scattered throughout. Inside, we found a museum about the building but I was more interested in the structure itself. 

Continuing on our tour of the city, we came upon some ruins, not so surprising considering Rome is full of them, but these were more special than the others. These ruins marked the spot where Caesar was assassinated.

Strangely, the ruins are now home to dozens of stray cats. They seem to flock to the spot.

After stumbling upon the ruins, we headed to the Piazza Navona to see Bernini's Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, or Fountain of the Four Rivers. The Piazza was packed with tourists and vendors selling all sorts of touristy merchandise of course but that's what you get when you go to a big city. I still can't believe the precision that Bernini sculpted this fountain with, it was amazing!

By the time we found the Fountain of the Four Rivers, we were starving, so we located a small sandwich shop just off the Piazza Navona that was recommended to us. After a delicious lunch of salami and olive sandwiches we continued our wandering back towards the city center, and the Forum. 

The Forum consists of an enormous area of ruins left by the ancient Romans. We wandered around the area for three hours and did not see everything it had to offer.  You can find a complete list of the structures that are left here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Forum

The day was wonderful. We had beautiful, warm weather. The restaurants we ate ate were delicious, and we got to see so much of the city.

We ended our day with this view of the Colosseum and gelato.

Enough said.