Spring Break Rome

This is a picture of me inside the Roman Forum, or the Roman ruins in Rome.  It was amazingly cool.
Spanish Steps were packed the day we walked there.
The Vatican, it was very busy because the Pope was going out that afternoon.

A view from inside the Colosseum, so cool!
Palatine Hill inside the Roman Forum.
Inside the Roman Forum.

Maja and I found this amazing park the first day  Rome.  It was on top of some ruins, down a random street, and was very peaceful and quiet.  It looked over all of Rome.  I am so glad we stumbled upon it.
Trevi Fountain on the first day.

This is the first photo I took of the colosseum.

Day Four (Rome):

Today we trained from Florence to Rome; it took a little over four hours.  The weather was great and when we arrived it was sunny and 64 degrees outside.  We walked from the train station to our hostel to check in and drop off our stuff.  We continued the afternoon by walking to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and the Trevi Fountain.  That night we had pizza for dinner, yet again, and crashed in our bed.  The hostel was busy, jam packed, and loud.  It was a tight squeeze and a very interesting night.  We were woken up at 1 a.m. to some drunk spanish roommates.  Let's just say it was an experience.

Day Five (Rome):  The weathermen predicted an 80% chance of rain for the whole day, so Maja and I prepared for the worst.  Luckily, as the day went on, we had no rain and it was a beautifully warm and sunny day.  I wish I hadn't worn pants and a jacket :(.  We woke up early this day because we wanted to get to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill as it opened.  From 8:30-10:30 am Maja and I roamed the ancient Roman ruins.  It was so peaceful.  We were one of very few people on the grounds and it felt like we were truly walking the streets of ancient Rome.  After our time in the Roman Forum we headed across the way to the Colosseum.  We spent from 11-1 at the Colosseum.  Words cannot describe how large, detailed, and impressive this structure is.  The history and story behind this amazing complex makes it that much more grand.  It is definitely a must-see. 

Our day of walking continued with the Parthneon and the Piazza de Santa Novella.  Oddly enough we ran into my friend Max on this walk.  I knew he was going to be Rome at the same time but I did not plan to run into him on a random street corner.  It was a random and nice surprise :)  The Parthenon is a unique structure and the Piazza de Santa Novella was packed with artisans trying to sell their works and amazing fountains.  We then walked to the Spanish Steps.  This was the least impressive of all the classic stops on a typical Roman tour, but still worth it.

That night Maja and I went to dinner and I had something other than pizza, yippee.  I had a very yummy eggplant dish.  After dinner we treated ourselves to some gelato and sat at the Trevi Fountain.  This fountain is equally as beautiful at night as it is in the sunlight of the day.

Day Six (Rome):

Rain was predicted for today, once again.  And again we got lucky, it did not rain until the evening when we had completed our list of to-dos.  Today's goal was to conquer the Vatican Museums and the Sistene Chapel.  Funny enough the Pope came out this day, sadly we missed him because we decided to go inside the museums than stay outside in the piazza in front of the St. Peter's Basilicia.  The Vatican was huge and impressive, but the Sistene Chapel was no doubt the highlight.  Michelangelo once again provided the world with an amazing masterpiece.  The Sistene Chapel is an amazing work of art that conveys a story that anyone can understand.  It was stunning.

That night we bought groceries, had dinner, and packed for the 10 hour train ride we were going to have the following day.  French Rivieria here we come.  Bye Bye Roma!