Sunday, June 8, 2008

Rome

Once again, it's a weird feeling only have a little time left here in Italy. Everything is winding down and we're all getting ready for our early flight on Tuesday.

To make the most of the weekend, myself and a few other students went off to Rome yesterday! It was one of my favorite places to see (After Venice that is!), and we had a great time.

After we first arrived, we immediately went to the Vatican. In there we went to see the Sistine Chapel, which is literally covered in artwork. One of the best things to do in there is simply look around the chapel and admire everything, but no matter how long you spend in there, you can't really ever leave feeling like you've seen it all.

After some exploring in the Vatican, we left and went to the Trevi Fountain. It's one of the great places in Rome to admire, but you can't leave that place without tossing a coin behind you into the fountain and making a wish! All of us made our wishes, took some pictures, and then headed off to the Colosseum.

I have to say that my favorite place in Rome is the Colosseum and other surrounding ruins. The Colosseum itself is amazing to look at, and only around 40 percent of the original structure is standing today, It leaves me wondering what it would have been like to see the Colosseum before Rome fell.

Even though the ruins are interesting to look at and learn about, I often find myself sad when I look at them. It's very disheartening to see the remains of what was once a powerful empire left behind in crumbling ruins. We have many ways to figure out what all of the ruins looked like and were used for, but it's not the same as actually seeing the ruins when they were at the high point of the Roman Empire.

In the end I had a wonderful time in Rome and look forward to visiting the city again at some point in the future. My time in Italy may be coming to a close, but I've seen and learned so much while I'm here. There's still so much more to see however, and hopefully I'll be able to come back and see it all.