This weekend I went with my program to Rome! It was so incredibly fun but honestly exhausting.The first thing that we saw was Roman ruins as we walked to the Campo de Fiori. The ruins were fascinating to me because they were some of the major buildings back in the day of the Roman Empire. The architecture that they were able to accomplish without cranes and other modern day technology is truly amazing.
The next site that we visited was the Pantheon! I was so excited to see this because when taking an architecture class my freshman year this building fascinated me. Seeing it in person was so so cool! The light comes through the large circle in the ceiling but the sun acts as a clock as time passes throughout the day. With the ceiling being open in the middle when there is rain it drains through strategically placed holes in the ground. I could go on and on about this awesome building, but I won’t bore you! Just know that for people that appreciate weird buildings this is a must do in Rome. (See a picture of the ceiling and the building below!)
Next, we headed to the Piazza Navona! I love fountains and water features so this was again right up my alley. The sculptures were amazing and so intricate. Again how they did this way back when will always amaze me! Since we had been going all morning we stopped for lunch at one of the many restaurants in Rome, honestly, you can’t go wrong by choosing one at random!
After lunch, the afternoon was packed with the Vatican City! Since we were a group we had a reservation and didn’t wait in line for entry a single second. We passed a line that wrapped down the block and halfway up the other street so I was so thankful to be skipping that. It was also about 85 degrees out and blistering hot so… not my first choice of things to do in Italy.
Inside the Vatican City, we visited the Vatican Museums the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. All of the artwork, the gardens, and the architecture was almost overwhelming it was so beautiful! Since summer is peak season it was absolutely packed in some corridors but nevertheless, it was amazing.
At the end of the day, I was exhausted and my feet were sore, but I couldn’t help but reflect on how amazing everything was! As soon as my head hit the pillow that night I was completely out, which in my opinion is the best sign that you had a very full and productive day! I can’t wait to share what all we saw on Saturday soon! Stay tuned for that post!
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Read more from Alexa at http://alexamclain.com/
To find out more about the AIFS Study Abroad in Florence program, check out http://www.aifsabroad.com/italy/florence/
