sajawata

Monday night I arrived late to the most disgusting hostel. grossss. But affordable for Rome.

Tuesday I took a tour of the Colosseum and met a nice girl from New Zealand. (Another Sarah W, how many of us are there in this world!) The Colosseum is very interesting even if it is in poor condition. It is still amazing to imagine it in its full glory and of course to imagine the things that took place there! Sarah and I walked around the Forum next to the Colosseum and then over to the Pantheon. The Pantheon is fabulous! Amazing to believe it is 2,000 years old and in such amazing condition. The dome is so fantastic in its scale and simplicity. After this we walked for hours and hours: the Trevi fountain, the Spanish steps, Column of Marcus Aurelius, Piazza Navona…. Rome is amazing in that there is something amazing to see in nearly every area. Every time you turn the corner there is another fabulous church, square, fountain or sculpture. That being said it seems a shame Rome is so dirty. Also there are few crosswalks so the chaos is fueled by people running across streets and cars honking at them everywhere. That evening we headed to Campo de Fiori for drinks with another girl we met that day. Fun night.

Wednesday I heard the Pope was giving a speech in St. Peter’s square so I went over not expecting much due to the fact that I didn’t have a ticket to get in. Luckily the guards weren’t checking tickets so I got into the square and was able to get a seat very near the front. The pope came in on his chariot and rode around the crowd. Actually I couldn’t believe how casual the whole thing was. He was mixed in with all the people (I was almost close enough to touch him, wonder if he knew I’m a horrible non-Catholic) and there were ‘marching bands’ playing the song played at all American graduations. The whole thing was shockingly common. Was amazing to see however. Afterwards I headed to the Vatican Museum to see the the Sistine Chapel etc…. Spent several hours walking through the maze of halls which were so overwhelming it was difficult to appreciate them in their full glory. Headed back to St. Peter’s to go inside the Basilica, which again was overwhelming in it’s scale and detail. That night I met up with Sarah and we went for a drink and antipasti dinner. Then joined the party that was the Spanish steps and we people watched for a while.

Thursday I did a little shopping (although most of it was window shopping, my budget was exhausted) and a little more sightseeing: Castel Sant Angelo, back to the Pantheon (so fabulous it’s worth seeing twice), some smaller streets and other churches. Was very nice to have a totally open day to go wherever whenever.

I didn’t enjoy the food as much as I did in Milan, too much pizza and gelato. Is ok though, the art and architecture was so fantastic there wasn’t much time to eat anyway. Such a fantastic crazy city.

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