2/8/08

Today we checked out the IES center where we will be taking classes, and then Lauren, Jess, John, Sam, Tom, and I crossed the river to run around Vatican City. The Holy See was beautiful beyond imagination, and no matter what religion, you can feel a sense of spirituality that emanates from the marble of every building, statue, and fountain.
We reluctantly left after a couple of hours, because we needed to make it back in time to tour the city on foot with our tour groups. We were late, of course, because it’s hard to hurry when you are standing over the Tiber and looking back on the dome of the Sistine Chapel, but we hijacked a tour guide and a few other stragglers and formed our own group.
We began our tour only moments away from our school, at the Pantheon. The building echoed so much that I couldn’t understand a word our guide was saying, so I can’t say much about it except that it was built around 128 AD, and the giant marble columns that make up the entire structure of the building were brought in only one piece. Everything in the Pantheon is solid marble, and at come points, almost 20 feet thick. It is so perfectly preserved that I had to ask if they had just installed the floors. (This turned out to be a dumb question.) Pictures really do not show the building justice, so just try to imagine it about 100 times more amazing than it looks.
From there we went to the Trevi Fountain, which was my favorite site so far. It is absolutely gigantic, and won’t really even fit in pictures. Our tight knit group of friends all took turns throwing coins into the fountain. (One to come back alone, two to return with the people you first came with, and three to come back with the love of your life.) I thought that three seemed like a lot of pressure, but everyone made me do it anyways.
Afterwards we went to the Spanish Steps and raced up to the top. They were much taller than I had anticipated, and needless to say, I didn’t win. The view from the top was gorgeous, and the sun was setting over the city. (Also, Sylvester Stalone was there, but I didn’t see him…or care, really.) I braved the slippery path into the fountain at the Spanish Steps, and drank the water, which was fun, but splashy.
At night our program forced us all into going to a bar in Campo di Fiori, which is like America-land. It was kind of nice to be able to order a drink in English without waving my arms all around and pantomiming taking a shot, but it would have been nice to have visited somewhere with a bit more culture. At about one, Lauren and I got a big surprise. Stephie walked into the bar! She found out where we are and braved the cobblestone in heels to come visit. It was nice to see a friendly face from home, and we had fun introducing her to all our new friends. We all enjoyed each other’s company until the bar closed, and then we had to walk a ways to find the only bar open until 4 in all of Italy. It was horribly crowded and we left promptly. (Side note: the biggest culture shock any of us have experienced is that absolutely nothing is open late! If you are coming home from the bars and want a slice of pizza or a bottle of water, you’re making it at home. For this reason, Sam and John plan to come back someday and open a late-night place called “Pizza and Water.” I think they’ll make a killing.)