You can’t see all of Rome in one day (or two): Never has a
truer statement been spoken. Two days is all we had to see the magic that is
Rome and two days was not nearly enough. However, we did the best that we could
to hit all of the major attractions in Rome and enjoy the beautiful city in all
of it’s glory. We departed for Rome on Thursday at 8:00 a.m. and arrived at
11:45 a.m. We quickly stopped at our hotel to drop off our bags and then
immediately set out on our adventures to take in as much as we could before the
day was over. We took the metro Circus Maximus where got off and walked to view
the Imperial Palace, the Forum, and the Vittoriano monument (all seen within 4
hours). I can’t even begin to describe how surreal it felt to be standing in
the center of thousands of years of history. You see pictures of all of these
national monuments in textbooks and on the news and you think you understand
it, but you really don’t until you’re standing there, in person, looking up at
the Temple of Saturn and you realize how magnificent these ruins are.
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| Imperial Forum |
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| Temple Antoninus and Faustina |
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| Imperial Forum |
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| Temple of Saturn |
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| Downtown Roma |
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| Temple of Hercules |
After we finished at the Imperial Forum, we met at the Arch
of Constantine where we waited to enter the Colosseum. Looking at the Colosseum
from the outside and then actually entering it, I have never felt so
infinitesimal in my entire life. Breath taking does not even begin to describe
the experience. It is amazing to think how the Romans were able to built such
enormous and magnificent structures without any of the technology we have
today. The Colosseum was definitely my favorite monument; I could have spent
hours sitting there inside taking in all of the history that the place
provided.
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| Colosseum |
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| Me at the Colosseum |
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| Colosseum |
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| Me at the Colosseum (Selfieeee) |
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| Arch of Constantine |
After the Colosseum, the professors took us out for pizza
and then walked us back through Rome to our hotel. At this point is was past 11
p.m. and Rome had definitely gotten the best of me so as soon as my head hit
the pillow I was out like a light.
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| Vittoriano Monument (The Wedding Cake) |
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| Colosseum at Night |
The next day we woke up at 7:30, ate breakfast, and headed
out for our second jam-packed day. We began the day walking through the Jewish
Ghetto on our way to the Pantheon, walked to the Ara Pacis (August’s monument
to celebrate the end of the civil war that killed Caesar and involved the whole
Roman World), and then finished the group tour at the Spanish Steps. Beautiful,
beautiful, beautiful: all of it. (Well, the Spanish Steps were actually a
little disappointing, but still, beautiful)
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| The Pantheon |
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| Inside the Pantheon |
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| Me, Erica at the Spanish Steps |
After the Spanish Steps we were set loose on our own to stay
in Rome. A few of us spent the rest of the afternoon shopping and exploring
Rome and researching the best place for pasta in Rome. And man, oh man, did we
find the BEST place! It was called Trattoria dell’Omo, on the outside it looked
like your typical whole in the wall place. No flashing lights, no fancy
decorations just a narrow dining area with a few tables and a few pictures on
the wall. Because it looked so ordinary it was overlooked by all of the
tourists and definitely a local spot. The restaurant is run by one grandmother,
her son and his wife, and her grandson; that’s it, just the four of them! The
grandmother stayed in the kitchen the entire time making each pasta dish from
scratch, made to order. I WAS BLOWN AWAY! Definitely the Italian meal we were
all waiting for. The meal took over 3 hours, but we were surrounded by good
company, delicious food, and a few bottles of wine, which made it the perfect
night!
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| The Amazing Grandmother |
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| Zucchini Stuffed with Veal |
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| Homemade Ravioli with Butter and Sage |
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| Tornatella Cacio e Pepe |
The next day we woke up around 9, ate breakfast at a café
(had my first cappuccino and actually LOVED it) and then headed to the Trevi
Fountain. The Trevi Fountain was extremely disappointing because it is under
construction so the fountain was drained and there was a plastic barricade around
it so you could not get close. Of course the one thing I really wanted to see
was closed (and during Tourist season no less!!) but it is still cool to say I’ve
been there ;)
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| Pastry & Cappucino |
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| Trevi Fountain |
We hopped on the bus at 1:50 and that was the end of my Rome
adventure!! Visiting all of these international monuments was definitely
extremely surreal and I am so grateful to have been able to experience them
myself.
Ciao, tutti!
