An Evening in Roma

Roma Italiana~

The weekend in Rome, Italy was one I was looking forward to all semester. It definitely did not fall short of an amazing time. A city full of pizza, pasta and gelato is right up my alley! We started off the trip with pasta of course and I ordered spinach and cheese ravioli in the most delicious sauce ever. Right from the start, I knew this was going to be a great few days. From there was started our sightseeing at Circus Maximus. It seems as though all I have learned in my history classes did not stick very well, so it was nice to have Mike with me to tell me all the Roman history and to translate all of the Latin. Circus Maximus was a huge stadium used for the infamous chariot races. Now all in ruins, it hardly compares to the great Colosseum; this was our next stop. 

                                                                  

It was crazy to see the inside of the Colosseum where they have opened up the floor to see where they held the prisoners and wild animals like lions and bears. One thing I learned was that there were certain times when they filled the stadium with water and had naval battles inside for the crowd to watch!

Then we headed to the Roman Forum which used to be the main hub of the city where there was a market and many important buildings. On the top of the Roman Forum was Palatine Hill where all of the elite would relax and enjoy walks through gardens. The top of this hill also gave an amazing view of the whole city. 

 

We ended the sights of the day with the Trevi Fountain. It was under construction so there  wasn´t any water flowing, but it was beautiful as always and I still tossed a coin and made a wish.

That night we headed over to a place called Fluid for dinner. There was huge drinks there and also an unlimited buffet of food. Needless to say we took full advantage and stuffed ourselves silly of bread, salad, dips, pasta and cake all night,

Day two was spent in the Vatican City. First stop was pizza for lunch were I tried two different kinds. Delicious; I doubt there is a bad place to eat in the entire city. The Vatican Museum was a maze of endless museums and rooms filled with ancient and unbelievable artwork and relics. The big event was the Sistine Chapel, where unfortunately there is no photography but boy was it beautiful. 

      

                     

After this we took a stop in St. Peter´s Basilica. This is an unbelievable building and church. It is ginormous and filled with intricate architecture, paintings and adornments around every corner. We got pretty lucky at one point as we were suddenly stopped to make way for something while we there. All of a sudden a procession started of all of the altar boys, priests and clergymen of the Basilica processed out for mass that day. At the end of the line was a cardinal who was leading the mass, what a sight and experience!

That night was Halloween so we went out to celebrate, even though we didn´t have any costumes. It was very eventful as every bar was decked out in spider webs and skeletons. Ended the night with a HUGE cone of Gelato, filled with three flavors, dipped in chocolate and a cookie to top it all off. One of the best desserts I have experienced.

   

 

The last day was spent seeing everything we had missed the other days. We stopped at the Pantheon and saw the inside where they had hallowed out the top dome to allow for a skylight in the olden days. Another plate of spaghetti and meatballs and we were off to Saint Angelo´s Castle.

 This was an actual castle with cannons and medieval hallways full of stone (also very confusing because there ARE secret passage ways). The top of the castle had another beautiful view of the city that was breathtaking. Another cup of Gelato and then it was time to head off to the airport. Jam-packed weekend full of wonderful sights, food and fun. I will certainly be back to Italy again.