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Melanie's Travels - Europe 2005
I went to the Borghese Gallery today which houses some of the best art in Rome. The gallery is housed in the former residence of a Roman cardinal so the grounds were immaculately kept. I made a mental note to return tomorrow to enjoy the fountains and well kept grass, but in the meantime I purchased my ticket and went into the gallery. I had always been a big fan of Bernini, but seeing his works in person was absolutely amazing. No other sculpture can compare to the movement and emotion he captures in his works. I wandered around the sculpture gallery trying to avoid the huge Japanese tour group that arrived, then I went up to the picture gallery where I saw Raphael's Deposition. I have seen so much art while in Italy it is weird to think that I just walked past this Raphael like it was any other work of art.
I spent the afternoon sleeping, ever since our arrival in Rome, my sleep pattern has reversed. The heat makes it nearly impossible to do anything during the day, so sleeping during the hottest hours and staying out late seems to be the best route to take. Back at the hostel I made plans to go out with our roommate, Anthony, and Hannah showed up a little while later and because I didn't want another incident like the night before, all three of us headed out together. Anthony hadn't seen Rome at night so I decided that we should walk by all the major highlights. First we went down to the Coliseum and walked around it then we went to the Forum, which usually stays open late but because today was the day of the Assumption of the Virgin it had closed early. I don't think Italians are really that pious, I just think they like an excuse to get off of work, and boy do they have a lot of excuses.
Hannah was upset because she had wanted to get pictures of the Forum since she didn't have her camera when we went yesterday. After a bit of pouting she decided that she would just climb the fence and break in. Yes, we probably broke about a dozen laws, thank God we didn't get caught. Anthony didn't know quite what to think, he kept asking me, "do you guys do this kind of thing often?" and I had to be honest and tell him that yes... we did, although usually not to this scale. After our criminal act, we headed down to the Trevi Fountain and then to the Pantheon. I tossed my coin into the Trevi Fountain to ensure my return to Rome and after convincing Hannah that there was really no way she could break into the Pantheon (she was convinced that she could scale the roof and drop through the hole in the ceiling) we headed down to Campo dei Fiori to finish off the night.
Campo dei Fiori is notorious among the backpackers crowd. It is filled with young students and travelers, all looking for cheap beer and a good time. Both of which are plentiful.
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