Day 81: Rome

My alarm didn't go off. I woke up at 6:19 am. I panicked. Brushed teeth while dressing, grabbed bag and bike and ran out the door. I arrived to the station at 6:28 am. I called Alonzo to see what train they were on and ran to catch up. I made it.

On the train I read some more of my book and then took a little bit of a nap before arriving to Rome. We took a crowded bus to our hotel. Once we checked in, I took a quick shower to wake up and fix the outrageous hair that I was sporting from the morning rush.

We met in the lobby and ventured towards the former University of Rome. Next, we went to the S. Luigi dei Francesi church and viewed some work by Caravaggio. We saw his famous Calling of Saint Matthew. After this, and finally, we stumbled upon the pantheon. It was massive and incredible. Words can hardly even begin to describe how amazing it was to see this in person. The dome of the pantheon is the top of a perfect circle of which the pantheon was built upon. The next few stops include: S. Maria sopra Minverva church (which includes a statue by Michelangelo and frescoes by Filippino Lippi), Palazzo Venezia, and the church of S. Pietro in Vincoli.

Next, THE collosseum. We got to walk around inside and it was spectacular as well. Knowing the history and the age of this architectural masterpiece made it almost surreal. I walked around and envision what it must have looked like when it was brand new. The people in the crowd cheering and applauding the brutalism that transpired within. We all split up and group of us walked around for a while longer before getting some lunch. I had some pasta with cheese and a cappuccino. We then met at the Forum to see some incredible ruins of the city that was once so prosperous.

We attemped a few more churches throughout the day including: the church of Ss. Martina e Luca, the Gesu, Sant'Agostino, Sant'Agnese, the Piazza Navona, San'tIgnazio (which had a fake dome painted on a canvas on the ceiling), and atlast the Trevi Fountain. The fountain was magnificent in scale and beauty. It was built by Niccolo Salvi and later continued by Guiseppe Pannini.

I made a wish and threw a coin over my left shoulder as I faced opposite the fountain. We were then given free time. I wandered back to the hotel and met up with Alonzo and Brad. We rested for a while and then met up with some others at a restaurant near our hotel. We each got salads (which is what the restaurant is known for). After eating we all got some wine and headed back to the hotel. We played some chess, listened to music, played some cards, and then once the wine had been consumed, we wandered the streets. We came upon a piazza which a lot of other people came upon too. We spent a while there talking and having a good time. At last, at about 2 am we decided to go back.

I was exhausted from the extremely busy day and fell asleep almost immediately after laying down.