Week 7: Rome
My weeks 5 and 6 were pretty normal with just school and soccer – plus spending a lot of time in bed with a fever – so I have saved my blog writing for something more exciting: Rome. This past weekend my roommate Ruth and I took a total of 4 buses and 5 planes to visit the Eternal City. I have never been one to choose the urban setting, but in just 48 hours I fell head over heels in love with Rome. On Saturday morning we started our sightseeing at the Colosseum. It is one of those places that no matter how hard you try, pictures just cannot do it justice. It was so amazing to walk down a normal city street and spot the Colosseum standing tall and mighty right beside the metro station. You are living in the modern world but inside you are standing on almost 2,000 years of history.
After the Colosseum, we explored the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum, also known as Old Rome. The paths were never-ending and everywhere I turned was another fallen column, beautiful ancient building, or statue. But that was only the beginning of the Eternal City. We left Old Rome to find lunch and explore the slightly more modern Roman beauties. Again it was as though everywhere you turned was another beautiful structure; an obelisk, a fountain, a statue, the Spanish Steps, or the Pantheon. And in between all of these are narrow streets full of shops and pizzerias. My absolute favourite part was the Trevi fountain. Ruth and I visited it three times during our 48 hours in Rome. The artwork is incredibly beautiful and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to throw in a few coins. I could have spent hours by the Trevi fountain eating gelato and watching hundreds of tourists throw coins and take pictures.
On Sunday we visited Vatican City. Again it was simply incredible to see the amount of marble and intricate artwork that is in Rome. I did not see Pope Francis but I certainly did see more than enough statues of previous Popes. From the Vatican, it was just a short walk over to the Tiber River which has the most elaborate bridges I have ever seen. There were almost as many statues on the bridge as street vendors.
Walking around the city we stumbled upon a gorgeous view of Rome looking out at the Piazza del Popolo. I have grown so accustomed to the rain from Ireland that hopping over a few puddles to get this picture was no problem at all. Every part of the city surprised me with something beautiful. Rome is a city that I will not soon forget.