Wednesday, October 21, 2009
1:12 PM | Posted by
Dan Ruemenapp
So this weekend a group of friends and I took a three day excursion to the city that once was the capital of the world, Rome. This was a trip from my dreams. I studied Latin and Classics in High School and I knew that while I was in Europe I had to make the trip to the birthplace of civilization. Traveling throughout Europe is so easy and cheap if you use one of the small cheap airlines. For Rome I used the airline RyanAir and my two-way flight cost around 80 € (around $120). After getting in the plane I soon realized why the flight was so cheap based on its size and quality of seats. After a two hour flight in the ghetto RyanAir plane, we arrived in the city of Rome. We arrived at around 12:30 p.m. so when I checked into my Hostel all of the other random people staying in my bedroom were sleeping. I hope I didn't disturb them as I got situated. The whole hostel situation was kind of strange at first, me living in the same bedroom as 5 other strangers for a weekend, but I eased into it. Also it helped having three of my friends stay in the same bedroom as me when they arrived a day later.
We started off just by walking around the city. There are many old buildings in Rome with ancient style architecture I can't even name them all. The first thing I noticed about Rome was that there are so many motorcycles and mopeds in the city. It looked like the primary source of transportation around its narrow and windy roads. We passed by the Four Fountains of Rome, which mark the highest point of its hilly landscape until we landed in the Quirinal Plaza. There we found a great view of the city and the Quirinal Palace, where the current President of the Italian Republic lives. We then made our way to the Trevi Fountain. It was more beautiful in person than what I've seen in pictures. We each threw a coin over our right shoulder into the fountain so that we can return to Rome soon. We then walked over and up the Spanish Steps. We found many Egyptian obelisks that were stolen by the Romans and placed in various locations throughout Rome to show the empire's conquest. Then we entered the Basilica of Santa Maria. The structure is just phenomenal on the outside, but the interior was more magnificent. To show the splendor of your faith, you build the biggest and most ornate of buildings. We also visited the Basilica of San Giovanni di Laterano. This used to be the papal residence until 1308. It is officially located outside of Vatican City, but is now a special territory of the Vatican. After that we walked around the city, ate a lovely Italian dinner, and went to bed for the second day.
We woke up at 5:45 the next morning in order to get a good spot in line for the Vatican. The line fills up quickly, so it was a good idea to get started as early as we could. St. Peter's Basilica is absolutely gorgeous. It perfectly exemplifies the grandeur and power the Catholic Church has had on humanity since its origin. We then walked through the Vatican museum to see many religious works of art to finally stumble into the Sistine Chapel. We weren't allowed to take photos, but it was one of the most spectacular works of art I have ever seen. After a quick lunch break we walked through the ruins of the Roman Forum, saw the cremated remains of Julius Caesar, and walked through the Imperial Roman Garden. After that we visited the spectacular Roman Colosseum. After our visit to the Colosseum we walked through the city and visited the Pantheon before dinner. The Pantheon was where the ancient Romans would worship their pagan gods. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, they converted it into a Basilica. On the way home I purchased a Fanta soda in a vending machine which was in a black can. I never saw this flavor before so I decided to try it. It ended up being black licorice and was the worst soda I have ever drank in my life. Some advice: Never drink black Fanta ever.
The third day was just a day of leisure and rest from all of the tourism we had been doing. We saw the Circus Maximus, which the Romans used to hold chariot races. Now the Circus is nothing more than an empty field with stairs on the sides. I guess it looked cooler back in the ancient time. Then we walked around different stores and streets taking everything in and just enjoying ourselves. Our final meal in Rome was the best. We went to this little pizza place off of a small side street. My pizza was AMAZING. It was huge and had cheese, mushrooms, sausage, and even a fried egg in the center of it!
All in all, this was an unbelievable trip and a walk through human history. I will never forget my trip to Rome, and after throwing a coin in the Trevi Fountain, I hope I do return soon. You can view photos of my trip at http://picasaweb.google.com/djruemenapp.
"When you look at the world / What is it that you see / People find all kinds of things / That bring them to their knees."
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