Rome

This past week was one of my favorite ones. I was able to travel to Rome with other international students from my program! This was the first time I have traveled here so, I was extremely excited to experience another new part of Italy. My first impression when I traveled to Rome was that it was a lot bigger than Florence. There are still so many small cobblestone streets but for the most part it reminded me of New York with an ancient twist. Unlike Florence, the sidewalks are a lot bigger and the city is bigger in general so, it was easy to walk about 10 miles a day at least. Not only is it much larger than Florence, there are also so many hills! They’re not as steep as San Fransisco hills, but it seems like it once you are walking for so long! Overall, I loved Rome and it was a good thing we walked a lot because I was able to work off all of that pizza and gelato I’ve been eating here!

My classmates and I took a bus there which took about 3 hours and upon arrival, we went straight to the Sistine Chapel to sight see! This was one of my favorite places in Italy. each section of the Sistine Chapel had it’s own unique beauty. The ceilings of the Sistine Chapel really stood out to me. They were extremely detailed with the most amazing works of art. Its crazy to think about how long it must have taken to complete. After the Sistine Chapel we went over to the Trevi Fountain and got to see it close up! It was so much bigger than I had imagined. It was extremely crowded and chaotic there but once we were able to push our way up to the front I snapped a picture and threw a coin over my shoulder to make a wish!

The next day we were able to see the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. I’ve always seen pictures of the Colosseum from the outside but I never realized how big it really is. After about a few hours of walking around and learning about the ruins, my friends and I decided to go try out their gelato. It was amazing! The gelato in Florence is great but, there are some shops that are not as great as others. The one we went to in Rome was recommended by a friend who is from there and she said we had to check out the place. It was a little bit out of the way, but it was definitely worth it. They had so many different flavors to choose from and they even add a warm chocolate hazelnut syrup in your cone before they add your gelato! It was the best gelato I’ve ever had I wish I could go back already!

Rome was a short, but exciting experience. It was great to see a different city in Italy and it was a nice change from Florence. Rome was really interesting to me because it seemed so modern but at the same time you will see ancient ruins throughout the city where you would least expect it. Rome was so beautiful I wish I could have stayed there longer to explore.

In addition to exploring Rome, I had some free time during the week to explore Florence some more and I visited new markets on the way. about two miles away from my apartment, I discovered a brand new market that sold so many different things like shoes, handbags, and even fresh produce at a great price! I was able to find a lot of nice Christmas presents to bring back home to my family like bracelets, rings, a cute coin purse, and unique bow ties and belts for my dad and brother. There are so many cool places around the Florence that I feel like I still haven’t discovered yet. Hopefully I’ll have time to do more exploring this week! Next weekend I will be going on another trip with my school. We are going to Pisa! It’s about an hour train ride from Florence so it’ll just be a day trip, but I am so excited to go and see the famous leaning tower of Pisa. I only have one more month left before I go home so I have to try to travel and explore as much as I can!

-DM

 The beautiful Colosseum

The Trevi Fountain