...on an evening in ROMA

This past weekend I went on a 4-day "traveling seminar" to Rome with my Imagery and Public Spaces class (or Imagery IN Public Spaces? I have never been sure). There were 10 of us girls all together, plus our English professor, whom I love, and Anna, the wonderful director of CET.

We had a ball! We had such a nice time powering through churches, museums, parks, and ruins and kept our sanity by breaking for the best cappuccino in Rome (Sant' Eustachio Il Caffe) and the best gelato in Rome (Giolitti). We came back for the gelato several times after that.

A very excited Kara and Annie amongst the ruins of the Forum

We saw so much that I can't even begin to discuss each place and what we saw, so here is quick break down of our stops:

Colosseum
Forum
Capitoline Hill
Trajan's Column
Pantheon
Vatican City
Sistine Chapel
St. Peter's Basilica
S. Maria della Vittoria
S. Luigi de' Francesi
Santa Maria del Popolo
Borghese Gallery

Some Post-Rome Reflections:

1) Caravaggio is my new favorite painter. Love him. Love his paintings. Especially the chapel with his paintings in S. Luigi de' Francesi. Or maybe his Madonna of the Pilgrims. That's a nice one. But I probably couldn't pick a favorite anyways.

2) I love cappuccinos. I technically knew this before going to Rome, but the cappuccinos I drank during our stay (from Sant' Eustachio or even just from the machine at the hotel breakfast) were just delightful. If only it wasn't a faux-pas to drink them all day long. (Coffee with milk is a morning thing and morning thing ONLY here in Italy).

3) Bernini is my new favorite sculptor. Appolo and Dafne?? Talk about awesome. One of the most amazing things I have ever looked at. The Rape of Proserpina?? Equally amazing (if not more). The David? Another great one. And then there is the Ecstasy of St. Theresa. Bernini rocks (pun intended). He turns rocks into these incredibly complicated, delicate, detailed figures that are so beautiful and wonderful to look at. Amazing.

4) In my next life, I might like to study abroad in Rome. Rome rocks! It is beautiful and vibrant and colorful and exciting and just feels so very Italian. There are obviously a lot of tourists there, as there are in Florence, but it just feels much more Italian since there is more space for everyone to just be. Now, don't get me wrong, the Vatican was a total zoo, like the Ponte Vecchio multiplied by however many square kilometers the Vatican City occupies. But otherwise, I just felt that I was getting gelato and the Italians were getting gelato and I was walking around and the Italians were walking around and it was just wonderful. It's hard to explain, but all I know is that I loved Rome even more than I remembered loving it last time. I hope that I will get a chance to go back there before I go home!

5) Comfortable walking shoes are necessary in Rome when keeping a schedule like the one we did. I unfortunately did not take this into account when packing. Lesson learned.

Taylor, Mary Raine, and I, so happy despite how much our feet hurt from a full day of touring the city

Margaret, MR, and I looking towards the Pantheon. (It's behind the photographer.)

About to toss our coins into the Trevi Fountain to ensure that we will come back to Rome one day!

In case I haven't been clear enough, I love Rome and had a wonderful time. Now it is crunch time- mid-terms, papers, and getting organized for FALL BREAK! (We leave in exactly one week for Munich, Salzburg, Prague, and Paris!!)

Ciao!
Grace (or Gra-che, as Caroline has speculated is the true Italian pronunciation)