After the Sistine Chapel, we went to St. Peter's Basilica, which was one of the biggest churches I have ever seen. It was gorgeous as well, and I also got to see the Pieta which was really cool to see in person. We then broke for lunch and returned to do more touring of the Museo di Risorgimento, a museum dedicated to the unification of Italy, for my General Studies course that I have since dropped because I hated it so much, but that is another story... The museum itself was also boring and I wish I could have done other things instead of going to this museum but oh well.
We then stayed in a HOTEL! which was very different from the hostel experiences we had been having. It was nice to have big showers and air conditioning and we took advantage of every little luxury we possibly could, including watching CNN because it was one of the only things on TV in English. We all got ready and headed out to dinner with Chelsea's friend, Anna Porges, a girl who I danced with back in the day. It is such a small world and it was good to see her after all these years. She took us to one of her favorite local restaurants and a few bars in the Campo de Fiore, which was a really nice piazza with a ton of bars and chairs in the middle.
The next day we enjoyed our free breakfast at the hotel and headed out for some sightseeing. We took the metro to the Spanish steps, and from there continued to the Trevi Fountain, which was unbelieveable in person. It is just HUGE and very beautiful. We all threw coins over our shoulder in hopes that we would be returning one day, so I am hoping it comes true because Rome is an amazing city.
We then met our class at the Pantheon, which has had many uses over the years but originated as a Roman temple. It was really cool and elaborate inside, and has a hole in the ceiling so when it rains, the water comes inside and drains through the floor. I kind of wish it was raining when we went because it would have been really cool to see! After that, we headed over to the Imperial Forum, which is where the Roman Republic once stood, but now is in ruins. It is pretty amazing that no one touched these stones over the years. But it was cool to see things that were built for certain purposes, and to walk through a place that was walked by people so many years ago.
The last stop: the Colosseum. This was definitely my favorite site in Rome. When I first saw it, it was very surreal. It didn't look like it was really standing there. The Colosseum was just awesome to look at and really cool inside too. It was used for entertainment purposes for the people of the Roman Empire. All in all, Rome was pretty awesome and filled with so much history it was hard to explore it in just two days!
We got back to Florence, and Anna spent the night with us in Florence. The next day we went to Fielsole, which is a small town outside of Florence that has the best view of the city. It was breathtaking and just so beautiful. We also got gelato there (of course) and walked around the town before heading back to Florence to have dinner with Ben's parents at Il Latini. It was such a fun night. We started off at their rented apartment with wine and cheese, and then headed to the restaurant for a multi-course meal that was out of this world. The waiters just kept bringing out food. I never had an empty plate! It was great and we even rode the ferris wheel in Piazza Republica at the end of the meal, which is something we have wanted to do since we got here. Overall, it was a great weekend!
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