ROME

This weekend (September 12-14) was our excursion to Rome! We had a blast seeing the seat of the great Roman Empire, as well as the Vatican City.

Friday, September 12

The day started bright and early. We loaded on to the bus at 7 a.m. and rode 4 hours to Italy's capital. There we were met by our tour guide Fabrizio, who took us on a walking tour of Rome. We started our journey the Spanish steps and then traveled to the Trevi Fountain (where I tossed in a coin!), Hadrian's Temple, the Pantheon, the Piazze Navona, the Campo de Fiore, and the Ponte Sisto.

The Pantheon is absolutely spectacular and was probably my favorite thing on the tour. Originally, the temple was built by Agrippa, but it was destroyed. It was rebuilt by Hadrian in honor of Agrippa (as you can see by the inscription on the front). Later, the Christians converted it from a temple built to honor the twelve major gods of the Roman pantheon to a Christian cathedral. Two of Italy's kings are buried there, as well as Raphael, the great Renaissance artist. The huge dome of the temple, one of the architectural wonders of ancient Rome, was the inspiration for the Duomo in Florence.

The Piazza Navona and Campo de Fiore are two major squares in Rome. The Piazza Navona originally housed the structure where Roman naval games took place. The piazza is still in the shape of a giant oval. In the center is a fountain honoring rivers on four major continents: Africa (the Nile), Asia (the Ganges), Europe (the Danube), and the Americas (the Rio della Platta).

The Ponte Sisto is one of the oldest bridges in Rome, spanning the Tiber River. It was built in ancient Rome, but is now a pedestrian only bridge. It offers great views of the river and St. Peter's cathedral.

We had a free afternoon, so Katy, Aneisa, and I walked to ancient Rome. We saw the foundations of the Circus Maximus (where I had a great urge to re-enact Ben-Hur.) Then we walked up the hill, looking at the Palatine Hill, Colosseum, and Forums, respectively. On our way, we wandered into a lovely basilica near the ruins. We then climbed Capitoline hill for some spectular views of the Forums.

For dinner we went to a restaurant in the Campo de Fiore called La Carbonara. We were about to be served outside when it started pouring rain! All of the customers crammed into the tiny building as gusts of wind knocked over the umbrellas that sheltered the tables. We were seated fairly quickly by the waiters, who at this point were dashing around like mad, and our food was delicious! I had ravioli stuffed with spinach and ricotta.