Rome January 2016 Day 1

     This past January I spent a long weekend exploring the wonderful city of Rome, Italy. I had been there before but I was with a large group of students and this was my opportunity to explore with other adults, kid free.

     The flight over while long was uneventful. After landing and getting our legs back we hopped on a bus and took off for the city. Our first stop was the Spanish steps. Here is where I admit I know very little about the history behind the meaning of the Spanish steps. I probably should do some research but yeah, that's not going to happen. We didn't get the opportunity to climb the steps or even sit on them because they were blocked off. Not that it would have been a euphoric moment or anything. My photos don't even look good because of the blockage.

In my opinion the best past of this site is the sculpture of the ship fountain. If must say, I live in the wrong part of the world. I am completely fascinated by sculptures and their beauty. The fountain is a remembrance of the flooding of the Tiber River in 1958. Before the walls were built the river flooded all the time. 

     We then made our way to the Trevi Fountain. The last time I was here, the fountain while impressive was very dirty. This time however, it was absolutely gorgeous! Over the past year the fountain had gone through a thorough cleaning and what was seemed impressive before, today managed to take my breath away. We enjoyed some gelato while basking in the beauty of the craftsmanship.

On my last visit I didn't get to toss a coin into the fountain so this time I made up for it. Tradition says that if you toss a coin into the fountain you will come back. One day I hope to return to Rome. Lucky for me, I have been there twice under 2 different Popes.

As you can see from my outer wear, it was cold. Sure beats sweating my butt off like the last time. The only downfall is the extra baggage of carrying the coat when I got too hot from all the walking we did.

After lunch and getting turned around, we made our way to the Pantheon. Ok, if you are anything like me, I was confused. The Parthenon, which is in Greece, is not I repeat not the same as the Pantheon.I knew what the Pantheon was and have been there before but I was lost not knowing what I was supposed to be seeing with the Pantheon. Now I am less confused and research might be my best option but like I said earlier, probably nit going to happen. Obviously the Pantheon has something to do with the Greeks I just don't know what.

The tomb Of Raphael is located inside the Pantheon. Is it morbid to be excited to visit graves of important people from our history? Several years ago I visited the grave of Shakespeare while in England and all I could think was how awesome it was to be in the presence (well, not exactly) of greatness. It was the same today.

 Apparently, the Romans liked to take from the Grecian's. All over the city of Rome you will find relics from the Greeks, many of them Oblesks. These Oblesks are directly in front of churches. They were placed there as a guide to visitors. It was fun walking around and seeing how many we could find. My favorite is the one with the elephant because it was significantly smaller than all the rest and none of the others had an animal. We took the opportunity to visit the church which was nothing lass than spectacular.

From the Pantheon we made our way to Piazza Navona. By this time the sun has set and the weather became so much colder. We walked what felt like in circles waiting for the rest of the group who arrived later than we did to catch up. By the time the bus arrived at 10p to take us to the hotel we were practically frozen.

What a long but great day! Certainly no time for jet lag.