When in Rome, Roam!

I know, the title is very cheesy, but it's true! Our program includes week long trips aside from the "Wednesday trips" and our first was to Rome. We spent three days there and visited as many monuments and museums as we possibly could. And let me tell you, MUSEUM FATIGUE AT ITS FINEST. I even broke my boot. We go hard in Rome, ya know.

The first day, we had a mini tour of all the sites, such as the Trevi, Spanish Steps, and the Pantheon. Basically the tour was to help us navigate around Rome by ourselves. The next two days, we toured the aforementioned places more intensively, went to the Capuchin monastery, Colosseum, Forum, Vatican City (Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum and St. Peters) and a Chinese restaurant (worth mentioning because it was the best decision ever). 

Can I just state that everyone in Rome dresses so incredibly well? I couldn't help wanting to snap photos of everyone! And if you look closely at the street, the cobblestone is, well, actually cobblestone. It was so rough and uneven compared to every other city I've been to. This is probably why my boot decided it needed to talk to me (my cheesy way of saying that my shoe broke apart from my sole).

The beautiful pietà of Michelangelo. Sadly it was in a glass box because some idiot decided to take a hammer to it some years ago.

A postcard of one of the tombs inside the Capucin Monastery (taken from Flickr)

The monastery was one of my favorite places we visited in Rome. The idea of "Momento Mori" and skulls  in Italy are so prevalent everywhere we go. There is a sign that reads "What you are we used to be, what we are now you will be," which is, although a tad morbid, so completely true. The use of human skeletons, and skeletal parts as "decor" is supposed to represent the idea that they are still being useful to their order and to God after they die. But to me, it also shows how fragile and even useless our physical body is compared to our spiritual soul. My body is nothing after death but my soul is what remains in tact and complete. 

CAT SANCTUARY!

I just want to let everyone know that I creeped on this beautiful couple taking their wedding photos at the Forum. I will cry myself to sleep now.

Fun fact: At the forum, we "performed" the Aggie War Hymn for our tour guide. I HAD SO MUCH AGGIE PRIDE DURING AND AFTER. There were so many tourists that stopped, were either in awe or in shock, and snapped pictures/videos of us. Being the Aggie that I am, it was one of my favorite moments in Rome and maybe even in Italy so far.

The Trevi at night is beautiful. There was a seagull just strutting in the fountain. I think he enjoyed his picture being taken!



Not that I can ever be tired of Italian food, we all felt like we needed a much needed break. We discovered this Chinese restaurant and I got fried pork dumplings, white rice and orange duck. All I can say is YUM and that I really miss my mother's home cooking.

Rome is very peculiar to me. When I was first there two years ago, I noticed that there was two sides of Rome, the modern every day life of Rome and then the ancient historical Rome. It's odd to see the two mix, but they mix well together. I wouldn't know how it would feel to be a Roman, to live perpetually in a state of history yet continue to live presently. Everywhere you turn, you are reminded of your past. It's definitely a very interesting city.

Until next time!

"Rome - the city of visible history, where the past of a whole hemisphere seems moving in funeral procession..." - George Eliot