Well, I have been here a month, and I have seen some amazing places so far. My latest excursion was this past weekend to Rome! We left on Friday morning this time, instead of Thursday…But our train left at 6:45am! We left Florence and headed to Rome on a 4-hour train ride…but we took the regular train that stops at every train stop on the way. It is the cheaper train, and we weren't really in a hurry to get there…On the way home we took the fast train that only took an hour and a half…But regardless, I am mastering the train system!!! We got to Rome at about 10:30am and checked into our Hostel. Our room wouldn't be ready until 3pm, so we decided to get in a days worth of sightseeing! Unfortunately for us, it rained ALL DAY. It was freezing as well, and I don't have many warm clothes to wear. I am currently sick and was sick for the trip to Rome, but I lasted the weekend without any major problems. So what did we do first? Well we did as the Romans would do and we headed towards the Coliseum. We decided to pay the extra money to have a guided tour that we thought would be worth it, but our guide barely spoke English and we didn't really understand anything she said. That didn't really matter to us thought, because we were in ROME! The Coliseum was amazing. I had only ever seen pictures of it and had honestly only dreamed of going. So when I was standing in a 1600-year-old ancient Roman structure, I was speechless. To think that gladiators had fought and died here and that so many other significant memories had come from such a place was hard to take in. The tour didn't last that long, because there is only so much of the Coliseum you can see. Most of it is blocked off due to dangerous falling rocks or refurbishment. There are only so many pictures you can take as well…Pictures don't even do the Coliseum justice. It is amazing in structure and has so many stories to tell, but I have to admit, it was smaller than I had imagined…

After the Coliseum, we headed over to the Roman Forum and Palentine…Our ticket granted us access so we decided to check it out. There are no tours of the Forum, so we were basically on our own. We saw so many significant places in history including Temples of Saturn and Julius Caesar. There was so much to see, but it wouldn't stop raining and our feet were wet and we were soaked. We saw what we could before the wetness and coldness became too much, and we headed back in the direction of our Hostel to grab some much needed warmth and food.

On the way, we got to see the Monument of Vittorio Emmanuelle II, which was erected to celebrate the Unification of Italy…It has two vast chariots on the east and west ends of the buildings that are made of a dark bronze and contrast against the white marble. They are easily recognizable in the Roman skyline. Also in the monument, lies the tomb of the unknown soldier, which walked up the giant set of steps to see. It is always guarded, rain or shine.

After we ate, we headed back to the hostel to get freshened up. Later that night, we went out to a pub called Julius Cesar. We were the only ones in the bar for a while and got to know the bar staff. We got to play a genius game, where every time you ordered a drink you got to spin a Russian roulette wheel that had different orders on it. For example if the ball landed on "dance on the bar," you had to dance on the bar…If it said "kiss the bartender," you had to kiss the bartender…You get the picture…haha. Later on in the night, we met a group of German boys from Bavaria (a German state???) Anyway, they were probably the nicest group of guys I have ever met. They were so intrigued by us, and kept asking us questions about politics and our language and driving and so much more. At the same time, we were intrigued by them…It is not very often you find a nice group of guys who wants to talk about music and culture…We called it a semi-early night, because we had a lot to see on Saturday and we were exhausted from traveling all day…

We woke up at 8am on Sat. and got ready to spend the day in Vatican, which I learned was a separate country from Italy. It is the smallest country in the world, and has the biggest ratio of single people…Go figure…single people in Vatican…haha. We had heard that The Sistine chapel closed at noon, so we were determined to get in before it closed. After getting to the museum to take the tour, they told us that it didn't close until 6pm…So we waited around for quite some time to take our tour, but it was worth the wait and the money…The tour was absolutely amazing. I learned so much about Roman art, history and culture…I got to go inside the Sistine Chapel, which I've never even dreamed about doing…and I got to see some of the most intricate ceiling artwork I have ever seen, and probably ever will see. I saw some of the most famous sculptures in the world, and some of the most influential artwork in history, including the Belvedere torso, and the School of Athens fresco…as well as Michelangelo is famous ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and his sculpture Pieta. It really took a lot for me not to tear up, because I never dreamed that I would be standing in these places…

The tour ended at the Sistine Chapel, but we were free to go into St. Peter's Basilica, which was another experience in itself. We got to skip the line, which wrapped all the way around St. Peter's square, which is the largest square in Rome. When we got into St. Peters, I was surprised to find out that we COULD take pictures…Everywhere in Florence, you can't take pictures, so I was so happy that I could share the vastness and beauty of the Vatican with everyone! There are really no words to describe St. Peter's. Knowing that it is one of the most important churches in the world, I expected it to be lavish and breathtaking…But there is truly no feeling like the way I felt when I walked through the doors. To think that a place like that really existed was a miracle. It looked like it was out of a fairy-tale. When I looked down the long corridor, a beam of sunlight streamed through the window down onto the altar. It was almost as if it was a sign that I was meant to be there…that I am meant to be on this trip, seeing what I am seeing, and experiencing a world other than my own… When we were done at St. Peter's, we grabbed some food and headed back to the hostel to freshen up. We had spent all day in Vatican and decided that a perfect day needed to end with a perfect night. We got freshened up, went to diner and then headed out to see Rome at night.

We went to the Coliseum first. As beautiful as it was during the day, it was 5x better at night. It was illuminated so perfectly and delicately. As we were walking around the Coliseum, we noticed the vast amounts of white dresses we saw by the Arch of Constantine. Apparently, in Rome, it is popular to have your wedding photos done at night in front of the Coliseum and the Arch…Our next stop was the Trevi Fountain. We hadn't been there during the day, so seeing it at night was so much more of an experience. Even though is was 10pm, it was still packed! Everyone was there, from tourists from around the world, to locals who go and sit with their significant others, just admiring the fountains beauty… It was a very romantic and beautiful place. To stay associated with Roman tradition, we threw coins into the Trevi, which according to legend will assure my return to Rome! Lets hope that's true!!! After the Trevi, we headed to the Spanish Steps, which is a vast staircase, 330 steps to be exact, that leads up to the Trinita dei Monti, a church that houses the famous fresco "The Decent from the Cross." During the day, the Spanish Steps is a major tourist attraction, but by night it is a whole different atmosphere…At night it is the place to drink. Hundreds and hundreds of youth consume the steps in drunken spirits and have an overall good time. We had no idea of this when we got there Saturday night, but were too tired to take part in the festivities. One of the many games we got to watch, was that they send empty bottles down the steps from the top, and it your bottle makes it to the bottom without breaking, you win…It was quite interesting to see…We jumped on the subway and got back to the hostel before midnight. We had a long day ahead of us…

On our last day, we had to check out of the hostel by 11am. We left our bags and finished up our trip of Rome. We went to the Spanish Steps again, this time as tourists wanting some great pictures… From the steps, we headed to the Piazza del Rupublica, which is a main Piazza in Rome. We had some Roman McDonalds, which is a must. We also headed down the biggest shopping streets in Rome, and took in all of the designer stores and drooled over all the things we couldn't have. We also went to the Piazza del Popolo, which is the Pope Piazza. There was a festival going on so there wasn't too much to see without joining the festival…To end our trip to Rome, we decided to see the second biggest church in Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore.

I must say that for 3 days, we packed in every major attraction in Rome. The trip itself was very successful, and it was worth every penny. It seemed unreal to be walking around a city that goes back almost 2000 years. To think that Julius Cesar, Michelangelo, and some of the greatest minds, artists, and more were a part of this city, was unbelievable to thing about. Nevertheless, we know how fortunate we are to have gotten this opportunity, and I will take every moment of Rome with me for the rest of my life…