The Eternal City
Ciao tutti!
Well, it has been one hectic first week here in the Eternal City. But a good hectic. After landing last week Wednesday and getting through initial registration on campus, we were free to jump right into making Rome our home away from home.
Despite the fact that most people go out and make their very first night in Rome memorable, I hope to always remember the second night. That was the night my full-year friend (who has a whole semester on me in terms of knowing how to get around the city) showed me as much as he could in one night. Mind you, I didn’t go inside or spend too much time in one place, so I WILL be revisiting them, but here’s some of what I saw: a panoramic view of the city from the top of a tall hill, the Vatican wall and St. Peter’s Square, the Castel Sant’Angelo, the Parthenon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. We saw many more things passing by and walking around and we also stopped and I had my very first gelato!
Over the weekend we had an orientation trip that took us to the wonderful village of Nemi, located in the Alban Hills. It’s situated over a volcanic crater lake called Lake Nemi. This town was beautiful with narrow roads leading up, up, and around as they twisted to different doorsteps and shops. It was the most adorable cliff-side town I’ve ever seen. We also visited the Colosseum and the Imperial grounds/Roman Forum. The ruins were like nothing I have ever seen before. Now, I’ve never been one for history class…but this was history like I’ve never experienced before. Imagine standing in or on a monument that has been standing for thousands (THOUSANDS) of years. Impossible right? The feeling is absolutely unreal and completely awe-inspiring. And that feeling happens all over Rome. They don’t call it the Eternal City for nothing!!
Classes started yesterday, which brought about some much needed routine after the beautiful chaos that was the first few days. This weekend we head down to the south of Italy to explore the Campania region.
Ciao for now!
P.s. check out some of my photos from the first week and a half!
