ROME!

I have no idea why I haven't been updating my blog... I have a computer at the hostel and everything!

My first day here was pretty jam packed with site seeing.  I asked the front desk at the hostel where I should go and he drew me a loop with about 10 sites and said I could do them all in one day - which was almost accurate... I couldn't quite do them all :)

The first thing I saw was the Santa Maria Maggiore.  It is a beautiful church that is right down the street from our hostel.  It was pretty impressive during the day, but it is gorgeous at night!  In the evening it has this sort of surreal aura to it.  It's almost eerie... I know, it is weird to describe a church like that, but it is really different :)

Anyways, my next stop was to the Piazza della Repubblica.  The plaza had a very old brick church (if I remember correctly) that was dedicated to the great scientists of our times - namely, Galileo Galilee.  I found it quite interesting to have a church dedicated to science, but then I realized that they were simply trying to say that through science we can discover the beauty that God has created for us.  There was a very neat stain glass dome with pictures of stars.  I will put in a photo later, but I don't know if you will be able to see the details.  One other cool thing that I liked about this particular church was a video that they had playing in a back room.  It was an experiment that a man conducted on the moon that proved Galileo's theory that if you dropped a hammer and a feather at the same time on the moon that they would hit the ground at the same time, as the moon has no atmosphere.  Anyways, watching a hammer and a feather drop and hit at the same time was pretty cool!

My next stop was at the Trinita del Monti, which I didn't know where the Spanish steps until this morning - three days later :)  Anyways, they were pretty cool, but I hear that if you go at night time, they are packed with people.

Later, I went to the Piazza del Popolo, but I don't really remember what was there... I guess when I update the blog with photos later, I will be able to fill you in on it a little more!

Next, I made my way to the Pantheon!  Apparently it was dedicated to all of the gods of Ancient Rome and actually means "all gods" in Greek.  It has the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world - which is pretty impressive considering that it was built over 2,000 years ago!  Another interesting fact is that the famous artist Raphael is buried there because it used to function as a tomb as well.

My next stop was the Fonta di Trevi or Trevi Fountain.  It was the most impressive fountain that I have ever seen.  I believe that it is made almost completely out of marble or some other stone.  The carved figures are all Roman of course and they are huge!  The water falls surround them... truly incredible.  I can't wait to show pictures of this one!  On last fact is that supposedly 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain DAILY!  The proceeds are used to help the needy.  Also, it is said that if you throw a coin in the fountain, you are sure to return to Rome in the future.  I guess I am going to see Rome again sometime!

My final stop before seeing the Roman Coliseum was the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II.  An incredibly huge monument that I can only describe with photos.  This too is incredibly beautiful at night.  It seems as if all of Rome is lit up at night.

My final stop was the Roman Coliseum, which I will visit the inside of today.  Let's just say that at night, this site is epic!  I found myself imagining what it would have been like in the past - gladiators, chariots, lions, horses, fighting, and thousands of people.  I am really excited to tour the inside today!

So that was day one, I will have to update you about the Vatican Museum later tonight!  I hope everyone is doing well!  I haven't heard from you all in a few days!!! Must not miss me that much ;) haha