When In Rome...

....do as the Romans!!



this first week in italy has been an amazing experience. i dont feel like i can fully express my love for this area. the first drive to our hotel, the first walk down familiar streets, i feel like i am returning home in a sense, that i never left from vacation two years ago. we are staying one metro stop away from the vatican, and our hotel room has a balcony all the way around the edge. it is an amazing view!



the girls i am living with are simply amazing. my main group of people to hang out with so far has been jane, somers, kelli, and travis. i love these people! we have been going out almost every night, to different piazzas. seeing the sights while others rest, and just having a blast. they like to travel like me, keep moving, just snack for lunch, and eat gelato. can i just say that i have had gelato EVERY SINGLE DAY? it is soooooo goooood! of course, my favourite flavor is still lemone, but the others have all been tasty too! havent made a bad chioce yet! (is that possible with gelato??)



our days have been jam packed with sights to see. we have seen the pantheon, colloseum, st. peters basilica, the forum, the house were john keats died (a famous english poet) and where he was burried, and so much more. we have been to many different piazzas, took a stroll in a park, and have been in countless churches. including the one where galileo renounced in a famous trial that the earth revolves around the sun, and then renounced that as soon as he walked out of the church. and today, we went to the catacombs. it was amazing! most of the girls thought it was a little creepy, but i found it fascinating. there were over 500,000 people burried there, and it has four levels. we only went to the second level, which was 60ft underground. it was only used as a burial place, not for hiding, like many rumours say. wow, so cool. we rode a bus on the appian way, which is where peter left rome, and saw christ right outside the gates. the story is the in the second half of the new testament, one i didnt remember, but thought was neat.



i have become comfy with the metro system now. i am able to get around where i need to go, and i'm not worried. i am sick now because i havent been getting enough sleep... totally my fault. so i am trying to slow down and get some rest... but... its not every day that you get to be in rome! cant waste any time!!! tomorrow is my last day here, and then we head out to siena, to meet our host families. i am starting to get a little nervous about that, but i know that it will be fine.



oh, did i mention my run in with the cute gladiator? he caught my eye across our group, and called out "blondie!" i just smiled and turned away. then he was right next to me, and somehow convinced me to get a picture with him, so i got allison in there too. our first pic was cuter, he was kissing my hand, but that only made it on her camera. and he called me cleopatra.. haha it was a fun experience, totally a tourist thing to do... but hey... i am a tourist!



I LOVE ROMA! I LOVE ITALIA!!



(internet is sooo sketchy here... pics will come later!!)