Roma

Okayyy…I’m finally going to start blogging about my weekend trips again. I’ve gone a ton of places since my last post so I’ll try to get more pictures and blogs up as quick as I can. Selina and I went to Rome about a month ago…it seems like forever ago and I can already barely remember the details of it (horrible, I know!).

Tiber River

Rome was our first trip out of Florence. We probably should have picked a more relaxed, smaller location to go for our first trip…but we managed and Rome was worth it! We went on a Thursday morning and left on Saturday night, so we only had about two and a half days to try to figure out the city and see everything that it had to offer…which is A LOT! Rome was also our first experience in a hostel. It was definitely different from a hotel, but for only 20 euro a night I convinced myself I could handle sleeping in a room with multiple strangers, showering barefoot in the tiniest shower imaginable, and drying off with a t-shirt (we didn’t realize we had to bring our own towels).

Our first day in Rome we took a bright red, embarrassingly touristy double-decker bus tour around the city. These buses are great because they show you the layout of the city, where places are in relation to each other, serve as a mode of transportation, AND give you a brief history of the city as well as the sites. What more could you ask for? That night we went to the Spanish Steps and to the Trevi Fountain, both of which were so beautiful to see at night.

On Friday we started out our day with the Colosseum. It’s hard to believe this building is still standing and in such good shape after 2,000 YEARS! We walked around on the inside and even saw a display of animal bones that were dug up from the actual animal fights so many years ago. After visiting the Colosseum, we walked to the Arch of Constantine and to the Roman Forum. The Roman Forum was the center of Roman political and religious life and practically the beginning of civilization itself. There were tons of ruins of old building and temples. We were seriously walking where Julius Caesar once walked…it was pretty impressive. After the Forum we were completely spent, so we took a break to gain some composure and then continued through the city to get to the Pantheon. The Pantheon is impressive and we got to see the tombs of Raphael and two Italian kings in it. After this we made our way to the most famous gelateria in Rome to have a much-deserved treat. We finished off the night by going back to the Colosseum to see it lit up at night! Perfection.

Trevi Fountain

The Colosseum

inside of the ColosseumArch of ConstantineRoman Forum The Pantheon
The next day was just as action packed…Rome really takes it out of you! We went to the Vatican City and went through the Vatican museum, Sistine Chapel, and then to St. Peter’s Basilica. St. Peter’s was unbelievable…massive doesn’t even begin to explain how large and out of control this cathedral actually is. The bronze canopy above the altar is 70 feet tall…just to give some sort of idea about how huge this place is. By the end of our two and a half days in Rome we were ready to get back ‘home,’ but I’m already so excited to go back again with my mom!

front of St. Peter's Basilica (check out how tiny the people look standing in front!)

the bronze canopy altar (70 feet tall!)