My friends and I decided to stay in Roma this past weekend to get to know our new home and make some travel plans! We did an excellent job of wandering and getting lost, but I think we have the basics of the public transit system down pat now.
On Thursday night, we went exploring and met up with our Santa Clara friends in the other Rome program! It was fun swapping stories and seeing what we'd all learned so far.
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| Bus stop on the way to Trastevere with the gang |
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| We found Alex and Gina! |
On Friday morning, our program dropped us off at the Colosseo to explore it on our own. It was a dream come true for me (whose favorite movie is Gladiator and has been for a number of years). I'd been wanting to see this structure for my entire life. I love Roman history - so I think I came to the right place. My next mission is to get a tour of the area beneath the stage!!
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| Jess and I outside the Colosseo |
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| Where I want to explore on my next adventure |
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| Sam and I inside |
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| The Loyola girls (my roommate's on the far right) - they are traveling with us to Cinque Terre this weekend! |
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| Dream come true |
We then continued on to the Forum. The views from atop Palentine Hill are incredible, as is the water flowing from the drinking spouts. We were thankful for this water because it got SUPER hot. I wish we could have stayed there for hours, but the heat got the best of us and we were all getting a little cranky. It was definitely time for a pizza and gelato stop. After that, we attempted to figure out the metro (subway). We got home eventually, but not without asking people for some guidance.
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| Atop Palentine Hill - a panoramic view of the city |
The following morning Father Al took us on a private tour of the Vatican. It just keeps getting better every time I see it! Such an inspiring place to be...
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| Courtney and I |
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| With some of the girls before entering the Basilica |
Finally on Sunday, we bought our month long bus passes and ventured out to explore the city! Father Bohr ended up being on our first bus and gave us some excellent tips on the fastest ways to get around...We started in Piazza del Popolo, headed down Via del Corso to the Spanish Steps, threw our coins into La Fontana di Trevi and ended at the Pantheon and Piazza Nevona. A pretty touristy trip but we saw some of the less popular sights also as we worked our way through the city. An excellent day!
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| Bus stop |
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| Piazza del Popolo |
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| Nike Roma |
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| View from the top of the Spanish Steps |
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| Trevi Fountain |
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| Throwing my coin in :) |
Classes have started so I have lots of reading, but it hasn't gotten too bad yet (fingers crossed it won't). We have a beautiful Mass of the Holy Spirit to attend tonight followed by a dinner, and this weekend we head to Pisa and are hiking the towns of Cinque Terre. Lots to look forward too!
Ciao Ciao
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