When in Rome...

I arrived in Rome late in the evening on Thursday March 20, and stayed with my cousin Sam. As you may remember, I ran into him in Paris. I woke up early on Friday morning to explore the Vatican City. First stop was the Vatican Museum, where I met up with Nick, CJ, and RH. The museum was massive and held some of the most beautiful and elaborate works of art I have ever seen. From sculptures to rugs to paintings, the museum had it all. We spent about three hours in the museum before making it to the Sistine Chapel. The interior of the chapel is incredibly detailed. I am so glad I got a chance to visit the Vatican Museum.

We then made our way to St. Peter's Basilica. The St. Peter's Square, the plaza in front of the church was massive and chairs were set up to host thousands of people for Mass on Sunday. The church itself was absolutely breath taking. The interior appeared to be made entirely of gold and marble. At this point, I have been to a lot of churches in Europe. None lay a finger on St. Peter's Basilica. We easily spent an hour admiring the beauty of the church before venturing to the top. We climbed over 500 steps to the interior of the dome and had a view of the entire church from the inside. After climbing through a very narrow spiral staircase, we reached the outside. The view from atop the most powerful church in the world was inspiring. The world's smallest sovereign state, is also one if the most influential.

Following a great day at the Vatican City, I met Nick, Audris, Carmen, Kristina, Kyle, Morgan, and Ashley at our apartment. We struck gold with AirB&B yet again. The apartment was lavishly decorated, perfectly located, and very spacious. It was easily within walking distance of both the Vatican and the Colosseum.

Once we were all settled went around town for an early dinner. I enjoyed a delicious Penne Arrabiatta. Later in the evening we made a stop for gelato at Della Palma - home to over 150 flavors of gelato. I enjoyed a large cone of Chocolate Strawberry, Banana Mango, and a soy chocolate gelato. Delicious is an understatement.

After our sweet treat we made our way to the Trevi Fountain. I tossed a coin into the fountain, as per tradition, to ensure a return trip to Rome someday. An estimated 3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each day, and are used to subsidize a supermarket for the needy in Rome. We all took our obligatory photos with the fountain, and Kyle decided to take a swim.

On Saturday, my final day in the ancient city, we rushed to the Colosseum. We got a full tour of the facility, which was home to gladiator fights way back when Rome was an empire. We also got a tour of the Roman Forum and the ancient ruins.

Following the tour, I explored the ruins a bit before heading to the Pantheon. I only stopped in briefly, as I had a train to catch, but the Pantheon can't be missed. Unlike most of Rome's ancient architectural wonders, the Pantheon remains very well maintained.

While Rome wasn't built in a day, I saw a good bit of it in just over a day. A beautiful city indeed, I can't wait until I return. Ciao!