When in Rome...

So as started from the last entry, I fell right asleep on the train. I woke up like 5 minutes before we arrived in Rome and hurriedly got my stuff and woke Vanessa up. We got off the train and I looked at my backpack... All the zippers were open. I didn't remember doing that so I looked in the one where I kept my passport, cell phone number, wall... Oh crap. My wallet was NOT there. I immediately knew what happened. I did run back on the train and check all around the room we were in but it was no where to be found. I looked in my backpack all around and it wasn't there either. I had only had about 3 or 4 hours of sleep so I was freaking out. Vanessa calmed me a little and we found the train we needed to get to the train station we needed by our hostel. I kept looking through my bag but I knew it was a lost cause. I had read about stuff being stolen on overnight trains and all those guys getting on the train were just creepy and scary.

We got to the right train station and walked to our hostel. It was kind of a long walk and was still kind of dark out (it was like 6 am). I felt really unsafe. It was a residual effect from feeling violated by someone coming into our room thing on the train and I didn't like it. Plus I was just super tired and stressed out. So we got to our hostel, the Roma Inn. Turns out they had overbooked. The guy at the desk had to call like 5 hostels near by to get some beds for us. The guy said that it happens all the time, how dumb. This just fried my nerves more. I went to try and find a calling card while he was finding us beds. I got one and tried to call my bank but the 1-800 number wouldn't work and I kept trying and it wasn't working and the phone only spoke to me in Italian and it was just a bad situation. I never even thought of calling my mom or dad to have THEM call the bank at this point. I was so tired and beaten down that I didn't know what to do. I went back to the Roma Inn and had some free breakfast. It was good. The guy finally found us beds at this hostel called David's Flats which were 5 minutes away.

We got to David's Flats and got our beds. The ladies there were not super friendly about the situation that wasn't our fault so it was annoying. We got ready to go out for the day and left. Our first stop was the Roman Forum (pictures 1 and 2). This is the big area of ruins in Rome. The Forum was the political, spiritual, and social center of the city for something like 500 years. There used to be a TON of temples and buildings and palaces all around. Now its just kind of depressing looking columns and blocks of marble. A lot of the buildings in the Forum were torn down or taken apart to use in other buildings. It was cloudy and I was still depressed so the Forum was not very much fun for me. It all just seemed like a waste, all the tearing down and splendor gone. We walked through the whole thing and then up to Capital Hill which is at the end of the Forum. There is a museum on top of the hill and was where the seat of government of Rome has been for 2500 years. Michelangelo designed the square that is now on top of the hill. He also designed the steps leading up to it from road (picture 3).

We walked to the Pantheon next (picture 4) and along the way I was still worrying out loud to Vanessa about my debit card and she finally told me to call my mom which I did. She canceled my card for me which made me feel a lot better. We walked around and got lunch (paninis). The Pantheon was built by the Romans and is now a church. Alyssa told me that when she went to Rome she went to a Catholic mass inside it. Weird. Anyway, Raphael's tomb is in here. The most famous part of the Pantheon is the dome (picture 5). It 5 inches wider than the dome on St. Peter's Basilica (that dome is a lot taller though). It has a hole in the middle of it that lets rain and sunshine in. Overall the building is a masterpiece of the Roman's engineering abilities. So much so that when Brunelleschi was doing research for the Duomo in Florence, he came to the Pantheon and studied the dome. He even made a hole in it to see how the Romans did it.

Next up was Piazza Navona, an oval-shaped square (yup, that's what I said) with a couple of fountains in it. For those who have read Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, this is where the Fountain of the Rivers is located. The Fountain was under construction and completely blocked off however. There was a fountain of Neptune right by it though (picture 6). Very cool. We walked from there to Ponte Sant'Angelo (picture 7). Its an old bridge that leads to Castel Sant'Angelo (the place where the Hassassin in Angels and Demons works out of). The bridge and castle were built by Hadrian for his mausoleum (he was actually never buried there). Bernini redid the bridge in the 1600's by adding 10 statues of angels holding the 10 symbols of the passion of Christ (cup, cross, etc.). It's all very cool looking. We walked by the Castel and on to Vatican City.

St. Peter's Basilica is amazing. The square in front of it was designed by (who else?) Bernini. It has two halves of an oval split down the middle. Each oval half is a terrace with four rows of columns. In total, there are over 400 columns I think. When you stand in the middle of the square, it looks like there is only 1 row of columns because the 4 rows match up so well. Inside the oval is two super cool fountains and a giant obelisk from Egypt that has no hieroglyphics on it. From one side of the oval is the road and on the other side is the steps up to St. Peter's (picture 8 has the oval shaped terrace with columns on the right and St. Peter's behind the fountain).

it but wanted a Greek cross plan. When he died, St. Peter's was built on this spot because it was on this spot that St. Peter was crucified upside down (what a terrible way to die... ugh). St. Peter was then buried inside the hill that used to be here. A church was constructed by Constantine in 280. That church was taken down around 1500 and a new one was constructed. Michelangelo designedhe new designer made it into a Latin cross to accommodate more people. It can now hold over 50,000 worshipers. The church is the biggest church in the world. It has the tallest dome in the world as well. All the buildings in Rome have been required to be shorter than it which explains why Rome doesn't have any kind of a modern skyline. Inside the church is the sculpture by Michelangelo of the Pieta. That being a sculpture of Mary holding the dead body of Jesus. It is a spectacular statue.

We had to go through metal detectors to get inside and then leave our bags. The inside of the church is aweinspiring. I could have spent an entire day walking around inside looking at all the statues and paintings (hopefully someday I can, I really want to). There are probably over 200 statues inside it, most likely more. Each one is just so well done and so life like. Along the top of the outside of the church is Jesus, John the baptist and 11 apostles. St. Peter's statue is inside and you can go up and rub his foot for good luck which I had to do after my wallet incident (picture 9). The main focus of the church is at the center where an incredibly ornate 70 foot canopy by Bernini covers the main altar (picture 10). The altar is placed directly above where St. Peter's body is located. There are candles around the stairs down and altar lit at all times. In the back of the church is the more functional altar (still just amazingly ornate and extravagant and beautiful) with a stained glass window above it. The window was done by (him again!) Bernini. It is called the Starburst. There is a dove in the middle with rays of sun coming out of it. All the art in the church is either a mosaic or a statue, no paintings. We walked around some more and finally had to leave.

We walked back to the hostel which took about an hour (it was probably 3 miles or more). On the way, we stopped and at a Chinese restaurant. I had chicken with green peppers and onion and garlic sauce and fried rice. It was just so good. I loved it. It made me miss my friends at SJU a lot though. We went to a Chinese restaurant every other Sunday last semester. We rested at the hostel for a little bit and then headed out to see the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. The Founatin (picture 11) was really cool but I had forgotten my change back at the hostel so I couldn't toss a coin in (you're supposed to turn your back to the fountain and toss it for good luck). There were a ton of guys walking around trying to sell flowers. They wouldn't leave us alone. I kept saying no and walking away but then another would come up. Stupid. I bought some gelato from a place right by the fountain, banana and caramel. AMAZING!!!!!The Spanish Steps were next (picture 12). It was dark by them and the top monument was under construction which kind of ruined the mood. I was still glad we went there though. I wanted to see them. In the summer during the day, a ton of people just hang out here.

We walked back to our hostel and both of us went straight to bed. After all the stress and depression of the day plus all the walking plus getting only 4 hours of sleep the night before, I was a little sleepy.