Italia: Day 1

A couple of weeks ago, I met a great friend, Nia, and we decided to travel around Italy for our February spring break abroad. After weeks of planning, this trip has suddenly become a reality!

We arrived in our hostel in Rome late Friday night after a very extensive journey including a plane, a train, and an automobile. I was very surprised that when I got to the room, there were already three people there! I mean, I know you share hostels with other travelers, but for some reason the concept didn't sink in until I had to quietly sneak around to get ready for bed while my roommates were sleeping. I quickly got ready for bed and climbed up on my bunk. I

was so excited for the next day because Nia and I had planned a 9.5 hour walking tour where we would see all the key points of Rome.

The next morning, I woke up, got dressed, and left the hostel, eager to start seeing Rome. We took one of the two metro lines in Rome to the Arch of Constantine where our tour met. It was a small tour group of only seven people (I wasn't surprised because what nut job would want to walk around for 9.5 hours on a tour except for a few special people), and our tour guide had a master's degree in archeology and was very passionate about the information he shared.

Our first stop was the Colosseum, which was only a few meters away from the Arch. It was absolutely magnificent, much bigger than I'd imagined, and almost 2000 years old. We went inside and explored the second and third levels. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, and told us a lot of history about the Colosseum that I never would have known. He said that it was built as a political move. The previous emperor of Rome was narcissistic and frivolously spent the people's money. He had a huge palace with a man-made lake that he used for his own entertainment. When this emperor was dethroned,

the new leaders built the Colosseum, an amphitheater for free gladiator games, over the lake to signify that they were for the people.

The next stop was the Roman Forum. This ancient place is where the early tribes that made up Rome met to exchange goods. It also is where Julius Caesar was cremated. The Roman Forum was full of ruins of temples and buildings. While most of it was left to the imagination, this place was very impressive. It's crazy to imagine that the uneven stone streets I was tripping over were once in perfect condition.

Next, we passed the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II, known by tourists as the Wedding Cake building. It's white, it's grand, and it looks like a wedding cake with people on top. It's also a memorial for the unknown soldiers of WWII. And ironically, it's across the street from where Mussolini gave his speech where Italy

was entered into WWII. Our tour guide told us that many Italians are somewhat embarrassed by their participation in the war.

Then, we visited Rome's cat sanctuary, otherwise known as the place where Julius Caesar was assassinated. I thought it was interesting that Caesar had such a big impact that the city of Rome decided to preserve this location. I also thought it was funny that cats now haunt the area as well. I spotted about 6 cats just lounging around of the ruins of ancient Rome. They were adorable! Maybe Caesar was reincarnated as a cat? I don't know, but the many stray cats of Rome are just drawn to this place.

After this, we entered the Pantheon, one of the biggest and most unique churches I've ever seen. Thousands of years ago, this used to be a pagan temple with many statues of Roman gods decorating it.

However, after Rome converted to Catholicism, the statues were stripped away and replaced with Catholic symbols. It's a round temple designed as such because the architect saw all gods as equally important and did not want to put more emphasis on one than another. All of the marble was imported from Egypt, and it is the same marble today as it was originally. The most interesting design aspect about this church is the roof. It's in a dome shape that has a giant skylight. So, when it rains, the entire church is flooded!

After this, it was lunchtime, and I was so happy to have my first meal in Italy. I had a pizza with tomatoes and mozzarella. Oh my God, it was delicious. This Italian pizza definitely did not disappoint. And, it was the first pizza I've seen in Europe that was actually cut for me! Usually in France, the pizza just comes out whole, and you're supposed to cut it and eat it with a knife and fork (which is exhausting, I just want to eat).

After a yummy lunch, we headed for Vatican City. Technically, it is outside of Rome and Italy. It is a sovereign state. We entered Vatican City, and my breath was taken away. There was a beautiful, green courtyard that held statues of 2000 years in age. Unfortunately, we did not linger in the numerous museums. But we went straight to the Sistine Chapel. On the way there, there are about 3 long and ornate corridors. The first had paintings that were so accurate in dimension that they looked like statues. The second had intricate tapestries woven to depict the life of Jesus. And the third had maps of Italy because the pope at the time wanted to see all of the land he had conquered. Finally, we entered the Sistine Chapel. I got goosebumps when I walked in. Every inch of wall and ceiling had incredible religious paintings. The ceiling, painted by Michelangelo, depicted the book of Genesis. The walls covered the life of Jesus and the life of Moses. The pope's private chapel was just astounding. You could sit

in there for hours and still not absorb everything.

Immediately after the Sistine Chapel, we went to Saint Peter's Basilica. Saint Peter's remains are deep under the main altar. I don't think I have every seen something so grand. It was so big that it could've been made for giants. And I thought the Notre Dame in Paris was amazing! St. Peter's was incredible and beautiful beyond words, so I'll just put pictures. Inside is one of Michelangelo's statues. He carved it at 23, and it shows Mary holding her dead son. The detail in the statue is fascinating. Unfortunately, in the 70's, some lunatic came into the basilica with a hammer and tried to smash the statue to bits. So, it was moved far away and behind bulletproof glass.

Finally, our 9.5 hour tour was finished. Nia and I wandered around the basilica a little longer, but we were both so tired that we left through St. Peter's Square. We were finally far enough from the basilica about halfway across the square that we could take a decent picture of it, so we stopped for pictures. Then, we quickly found our way back to the hostel and took a three hour nap before dinner.

For dinner, I had a simple pasta dish which was pretty good, but nothing spectacular. We decided to walk around Rome and try to find the Trevi Fountain. After Man Siri had led us astray for a couple of minutes, we finally found it. Since it was nighttime, it was all lit up and it was so beautiful. It had to be about the length of a swimming pool. And what I thought was really funny was that it was crammed into this tiny little square. For such a magnificent artwork, I thought it would have this big open space where you could admire it. But it almost looked out of place in such a small area. Nevertheless, it was amazing and I threw a coin in. The rumor is, is that if you throw a coin in the fountain, you will come back to Rome. I really hope that's true!