Week 6-Part 1

When I think of ultimate sightseeing vacation destination, I think of Rome. I had always wondered whether Rome was truly as fantastic a place to visit as I always thought. I am very pleased to say it was. On Friday morning, we met up with a friend of Samantha’s. He works for a university in Dallas and had just moved to Rome to work at their study abroad campus in Rome. I don’t know what we would have done without him. He did a great job of welcoming us to Rome and making sure we saw everything we could our first day.

Our main undertaking for the day was to visit the four major basilicas of the Catholic church. But first, we had to try some real Italian cappuccinos. It was the most delicious cappuccino I have ever had. The first church we visited was St. Peter’s Basilica within the Vatican. It is believed that this structure sits directly above the burial site of St. Peter. Its architecture is that of the Renaissance, and pictures could not do it justice. It has a beautiful façade surrounded by St. Peter’s square, and the inside is even more stunning. We also visited the tombs, which were also very beautiful. Many important people were buried in these tombs, including 91 popes, the Holy Roman Emperor Otto II, and many more. The second basilica we visited was St. John Lateran, which is the seat of the Bishop of Rome. It is the oldest of the four, and I thought was just as impressive as St. Peter’s. Next we visited St. Mary Major, which is the largest Catholic Marian church in Rome. Again I found it absolutely breathtaking. After grabbing some of the cheapest and most delicious pizza I have ever had, we visited the last basilica, St. Paul Outside the Walls, which was my favorite. It had a very unique façade, preceded by a courtyard complete with palm trees. After our extremely busy day we walked along the river to dinner at a genuine Italian restaurant in a less touristy part of town. We learned quickly that going out to eat in Italy is an event, not just the simple act of eating some food at a restaurant. The meal took us two and a half hours, and many of us didn’t even make it past the second course because it was so much food.   It was delicious, as was all of the tons of gelato we ate throughout the weekend.

After I spent the whole day sleeping on Saturday, it was time for round two on Sunday. On Sunday we tackled the major must-sees of Rome, starting with the Coliseum. It was really interesting to see the labyrinth of passageways and structures that lay beneath the actual floor that the audience could see. It was amazing how much of the structure was still standing, and you could really get a feel for what it might have been like to be a spectator in the Coliseum as you walked around and read the various informational boards. They also had an area with a number of artifacts related to Roman royalty, gladiators, and the like that were really neat. Next we headed next door to the Roman forums, which was basically the city center of Roman public life. Many of the structures around the forum are still standing and many are recognizable, which I think is incredible since the ruins are so old. After a quick lunch break we visited the pantheon, which now stands as a Catholic church. It was a little strange standing in the completely circular structure with its huge dome. Finally we had our last big Italian meal and visited the Trevi fountain after dark. It was beautiful all lit up.

On Monday morning, it was off to Berlin for our final week in Europe. Rome was a great weekend, and I definitely wouldn’t mind visiting it again someday. It was very touristy which was kind of exhausting, so it was not somewhere I would like to stay for a long period of time. Can’t believe we are heading into our last week. Tschüss!