The weather was absolutely beautiful. It was definitely warmer than the weather in Berlin, where it had been raining when we left. On Monday morning I got up at 4:30, and walked down the street to be picked up by another teacher. It was dark, wet, and silent at the time, and I had the feeling that I was waking up the whole neighborhood with the wheels of my rolling suitcase bumping along the cobblestone roads. However, it was also cool to be out at that hour, especially with the rain.
It always takes forever for groups to get through all of the airport stuff. There were 36 of us: 32 students and 4 teachers (myself included). Luckily though, everybody made it there on time and no one was detained.
It was so sunny and warm in Rome that everyone was sunburnt by the end of the first day. It seemed that no one had even considered bringing sunblock.
We did a TON of walking. This was hard on me because I just had a minor surgery on my little toe the week before leaving. The doctor had to remove a tiny corn that had developed from the constant rubbing together of my toes as a result of walking everywhere. It wasn't a big deal, and had mostly healed, but between that and the two big blisters that formed, I started to limp by Tuesday night like an old, old woman.
One of my favorite things that we saw was the Colosseum. It was awesome! You see it in pictures, but don't really realize how massive it is until you actually go there. It's hard to believe that this has survived for thousands of years.
The Colosseum.
We also saw the Spanish Stairs, which lead up to the Triniti de Monti church and obelisk at the top. This is a popular place for people to meet up and hang out. It was crawling with tourists and street vendors when we were there, although I'm sure it's like that year round. To be fair, literally EVERYWHERE we were there were tourists, which was annoying (although we were also tourists). It's funny, because everyone hates tourists, but everyone wants to be a tourist. Guess we're all just a big bunch of hypocrites.
Spanish Stairs.
Anyway, on Wednesday morning we went to the Vatican and got to see the Pope deliver his weekly sermon in 4 or 5 different languages. It was cool to be so close to him, although I'm not Catholic so he's more like a celebrity figure to me. He was perched up on a little go-cart and his men drove him through the crowd so he could wave at the people. At one point I looked up and he was literally right above me, and we made eye contact for a split second. Of course, by the time I took a picture I only managed to get the back of his head.
At the Vatican.
The Pope.
Next we visited St. Peter's Basilica, which is directly next to St. Peter's Square in Vatican City (where we saw the pope). It is a spectacular cathedral, and pictures cannot convey how marvelous it is...it is something you simply must experience in person. It's the same thing with the Sistene Chapel, which is completely breathtaking. There is so much visible stimulation. Michaelangelo really did a wonderful job...although the famous "Creation of Adam" painting was a lot smaller than I expected!
"Creation of Adam."
For lunch that day, the 3 other teachers and I went to an average-looking street cafe to grab a bite and relax. I ordered a coke, and the next thing I knew the waiter slammed this massive 2-liter-sized, Oktoberfest-style mug filled with coke and half a lemon! I couldn't beleive it, and the other teachers got a good kick out of it (and I'm still mad at myself for not taking a picture of it). The food was so-so, and when we got the check we were shocked: for our small pizza and salads plus drinks it was 115 Euro ($160)! We thought there must have been a mistake. When we asked the waiter, he informed us that part of it was the massive tourist tax in the Vatican City. However, they also charged me TEN EURO ($14.50) for my coke, as well as 10 Euro for each regular cup of coffee!!!!!! We couldn't believe it. Talk about highway robbery!! We were all in a bad mood after that and snapped at a few students...oops. :(
The Pantheon.
A few other highlights we saw include: the Roman and Imperial Forums, the Museum of the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Castel Sant'Angelo, Vittorio Emannuale II monument, Piazza del Popolo, a farmer's market, Piazza Navona, and many others.
All in all, Rome was pretty cool to visit, and I'm glad I had the chance.
