Do as the Romans do..

My latest travel adventure was to the beautiful and historical city of ROME! Last Thursday my travel partner, Karla, and I set off to the ancient city. We had some slight drama with Ryanair and checking in our luggage but we were finally able to breathe a sign of relief when we landed in Rome. Our five days in Rome were jammed packed with site seeing. After we landed we began the journey to find our hostel. After a bus and a metro ride we stumbled upon a large neo classical building and entered cautiously. Our hostel was on the 4th floor. I have never stayed in a hostel before, even in my previous excursions outside Madrid. It was certainly an experience. The staff was very friendly and the place began to grow on me after the first few days. We then headed to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps, but not without sampling some gellato beforehand. The Trevi fountain was stunning, a crowd of people snapped pictures and posed in front of the clear waters of the fountain. Of course, I followed tradition and made a wish as I tossed coins behind my back. The legend goes, if you toss three coins behind your left shoulder you are guaranteed to come back to Rome. We then went to the Spanish Steps which were adorned with bright azaleas cascading down them. It was just a breathtaking a view. The next day we headed to Vatican City. Luckily we had booked a guided tour in advanced because the line to enter the Vatican wrapped along the walls of the city and seemed to go on for miles. We were able to cut the line and shortly after began our over 2 hour tour. It was astonishing to see the wealth of the church right before my eyes. Artifacts from all over the world have been collected and stored in the Vatican. Grecian statues, rare marbles, painting, and everything you can possibly imagine they have. Our guided tour ended in the Sistine Chapel. I could have stayed in there for hours admiring Michelangelo's work. I even sneaked two pictures of it. (They were very strict about no pictures, but I couldn't resist) After the Sistine chapel we walked over to St. Peters Basilica which is where the Apostle Peter is buried. Needless to say, we were exhausted and starving after a long day at the Vatican. On Saturday, we traveled back in time to the Colosseum. I was in sheer awe of how large it is. It was as if at any moment a gladiator will enter and a battle would begin. We easily spent 2 hours listening to our audio guide and walking around the Colosseum. After the Colosseum we walked to the Roman Forum, where Cesar was killed and where he is buried, and to Palantine Hill. We ate our lunch among ancient roman ruins. Truly an experience. After a gellato break we walked to the Pantheon, which was a Pagan temple converted into a Catholic church. It was interesting to see statues of pagan gods mixed among christian relics. Truly is an example of how paganism and Catholicism have intertwined. We then walked to Piazza Navona to check out local artist and of course to sample more gellato. Also since Saturday was May 1 which is a holiday in Italy our entrance into the Collesium and Roman Forum was just one euro! Sunday we headed to Piazza del Popolo and Villa Borghese. Villa Borghese use to be a summer home for the Borghese family who were an extremely powerful and wealthy family of Italy. Marco Borghese was a Cardinal. He also was had a passion for art and began amassing incredible pieces of sculpture and painting. His sister was even married to Napoleon. Here in Madrid there is the Thyssen which is an art Museum of a family collection, but the Borghese collection absolutely trumps the Thyssen. I fell in love with the sculpture by Bernini. His work depicts scenes from Greek Mythology and the Bible. The detail is so exact and precise it looks like marble has come alive right before your eyes. Another remarkable attribute other than his shear talent is that many of his masterpieces were done when is was only in his early 2o's. I am turning 20 next month and can not imagine completing something as impressive as his sculpture. The Borghese family also has an an extensive collection of painting, one of the most famous is the Deposition by Raphael. I preferred "The School of Athens" by Raphael in the Vatican over "The Deposition", but it still is a beautiful piece of work. After a little shopping in the book store we started our journey to Trastevere which is a section of Rome that is divided from the rest of Rome by a river. We visited the oldest church in Rome and went to see the infamous sculpture of Bernini, Beata Ludovica Albertoni, located in another very old church. The sculpture is of a women lying down touching her chest. It was criticized because the church thought she looked to be in a state of "pleasure." Monday morning was our last day in Roma and we went to visit the Capuchin Crypt. The Capuchin Crypt is where an unknown artist of the 18th century decorated the underground burial site of the monks with bones. The walls and ceiling are adorned with bones that are very very very old. There are skeletons of monks on display and mummified monks. There are even bones of the children of royal families. It was pretty creepy I would not want to be there at night. I have not even mentioned the food! I LOVE Italian food, i think I would live there just so I could indulge in pizza, pastas, and gellato everyday. It was a wonderful break from spanish food and the usual dinners I have here. My trip to Rome was almost perfect, the only thing that could have made it better was if I wasn't sick. Unfortunately I am sick..again. I went today to see the same medico for a second time. Not fun, but at least I will be better when I get home! I am so excited to see everyone in just over a week! xoxo